Activities of Antoni COMÍN I OLIVERES related to 2022/0051(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937
Amendments (182)
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The behaviour of companies across all sectors of the economy is key to success in the Union’s sustainability objectives as Union companies, especially large ones, rely on global value chains. It is also in the interest of companies to protect human rights, labour rights and the environment, in particular given the rising concern of consumers and investors regarding these topics. Several initiatives fostering enterprises which support value-oriented transformation already exist on Union77 , as well as national78 level. __________________ 77 ‘Enterprise Models and the EU agenda’, CEPS Policy Insights, No PI2021-02/ January 2021. 78 E.g. https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/ societe-mission
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals83 , adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, include the objectives to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The Union has set itself the objective to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The private sector shall contributes to those aims. __________________ 83 https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.as p?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E.
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) This Directive aims to ensure that companies active in the internal market contribute to sustainable development and the sustainability transition of economies and societies through the identification, prevention and mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation and, where possible, reparation of potential or actual adverse human rights, adverse labour rights and environmental impacts connected with companies’ own operations, subsidiaries and value chains.
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Companies should take appropriate steps to set up and carry out due diligence measures, with respect to their own operations, their subsidiaries, as well as their established direct and indirect business relationships throughout their value chains in accordance with the provisions of this Directive. This Directive should not require companies to guarantee, in all circumstances, that adverse impacts will never occur or that they will be stopped. For example with respect to business relationships where the adverse impact results from State intervention, the company might not be in a position to arrive at such results. Therefore, the main obligations in this Directive should be ‘obligations of means’. The company should take the appropriate measures which can reasonably be expected to result in prevention or minimisation of the adverse impact under the circumstances of the specific case. Account should be taken of the specificities of the company’s value chain, sector or geographical area in which its value chain partners operate, the company’s power to influence its direct and indirect business relationships, and whether the company could increase its power of influence.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Adverse human rights, labour rights and environmental impact occur in companies’ own operations, subsidiaries, products, and in their value chains, in particular at the level of raw material sourcing, manufacturing, or at the level of product or waste disposal. In order for the due diligence to have a meaningful impact, it should cover human rights, labour rights and environmental adverse impacts generated throughout the life-cycle of production and use and disposal of product or provision of services, at the level of own operations, subsidiaries and in value chains.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The value chain should cover activities related to the production of a good or provision of services by a company, including the development of the product or the service and the use and disposal of the product as well as the related activities of established business relationshipsin the value chain of the company. It should encompass upstream established direct and indirect business relationships that design, extract, manufacture, transport, store and supply raw material, products, parts of products, or provide services to the company that are necessary to carry out the company’s activities, and also downstream relationships, including established direct and indirect business relationships, that use or receive products, parts of products or services from the company up to the end of life of the product, including inter alia the distribution of the product to retailers, the transport and storage of the product, dismantling of the product, its recycling, composting or landfilling.
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) As regards regulated financial undertakings providing loan, credit, or other financial services, “value chain” with respect to the provision of such services should be limited to the activities of the clients receiving such services, and the subsidiaries thereof whose activities are linked to the contract in question. Clients that are households and natural persons not acting in a professional or business capacity, as well as small and medium sized undertakings, should not be considered to be part of the value chain. The activities of the companies or other legal entities that are included in the value chain of that client should not be covered.
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) In order to allow companies to properly identify the adverse impacts in their value chain and to make it possible for them to exercise appropriate leverage, the due diligence obligations should be limited in this Directive to established business relationships. For the purpose of this Directive, established business relationships should mean such direct and indirect business relationships which are, or which are expected to be lasting, in view of their intensity and duration and which do not represent a negligible or ancillary part of the value chain. The nature of business relationships as “established” should be reassessed periodically, and at least every 12 months. If the direct business relationship of a company is established, then all linked indirect business relationships should also be considered as established regarding that companyall established business relationships.
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) Under this Directive, EU companies with more than 2500 employees on average and a worldwide net turnover exceeding EUR 1504 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year should be required to comply with due diligence. As regards companies which do not fulfil those employee criteria, but which had more than 250 employees on average and more than EUR 40 million worldwide net turnover in the financial year preceding the last financial year and which operate in one or more high-impact sectors, due diligence should apply 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this directive, in order to provide for a longer adaptation period. In order to ensure a proportionate burden, companies operating in such high- impact sectors should be required to comply with more targeted due diligence focusing on severe adverse impacts. Temporary agency workers, including those posted under Article 1(3), point (c), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council103 , should be included in the calculation of the number of employees in the user company. Posted workers under Article 1(3), points (a) and (b), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU, should only be included in the calculation of the number of employees of the sending company. __________________ 103 Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 173, 9.7.2018, p. 16).
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) In order to reflect the priority areas of international action aimed at tackling human rights, labour rights and environmental issues, the selection of high- impact sectors for the purposes of this Directive should be based on existing sectoral OECD due diligence guidance. The following sectors should be regarded as high-impact for the purposes of this Directive: the manufacture of textiles, leather and related products (including footwear), and the wholesale trade of textiles, clothing and footwear; agriculture, forestry, fisheries (including aquaculture), the manufacture of food products, and the wholesale trade of agricultural raw materials, live animals, wood, food, and beverages; the extraction of mineral resources regardless of where they are extracted from (including crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, lignite, metals and metal ores, as well as all other, non-metallic minerals and quarry products), the manufacture of basic metal products, other non-metallic mineral products and fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), and the wholesale trade of mineral resources, basic and intermediate mineral products (including metals and metal ores, construction materials, fuels, chemicals and other intermediate products). As regards the financial sector, due to its specificities, in particular as regards the value chain and the services offered, even if it is covered by sector-specific OECD guidance, it should not form part of the high-impact sectors covered by this Directive. At the same time, in this sector, the broader coverage of actual and potential adverse impacts should be ensured by also including very large companies in the scope that are regulated financial undertakings, even if they do not have a legal form with limited liability.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In order to achieve fully the objectives of this Directive addressing humanadverse human rights, adverse labour rights and adverse environmental impacts with respect to companies’ operations, subsidiaries and value chains, third-country companies with significant operations in the EU should also be covered. More specifically, the Directive should apply to third-country companies which generated a net turnover of at least EUR 1504 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year or a net turnover of more than EUR 40 million but less than EUR 150 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year in one or more of the high- impact sectors, as of 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this Directive.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) In order to conduct appropriate human rights, labour rights and environmental due diligence with respect to their operations, their subsidiaries, and their value chains, companies covered by this Directive should integrate due diligence into corporate policies, identify, prevent and mitigate as well as bring to an end and minimise the extent of potential and actual adverse human rights, labour rights and environmental impacts, establish and maintain a complaints procedure, monitor the effectiveness of the taken measures in accordance with the requirements that are set up in this Directive and communicate publicly on their due diligence. In order to ensure clarity for companies, in particular the steps of preventing and mitigating potential adverse impacts and of bringing to an end, or when this is not possible, minimising actual adverse impacts should be clearly distinguished in this Directive.
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) establishes the Union shall take into account the objectives of development cooperation in the policies that it implements which are likely to affect developing countries.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The behaviour of companies across all sectors of the economy is key to success in the Union’s sustainability objectives as Union companies, especially large ones, rely on global value chains. It is also in the interest of companies to protect human rights, labour rights and the environment, in particular given the rising concern of consumers and investors regarding these topics. Several initiatives fostering enterprises which support value-oriented transformation already exist on Union77 , as well as national78 level. _________________ 77 ‘Enterprise Models and the EU agenda’, CEPS Policy Insights, No PI2021-02/ January 2021. 78 E.g. https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/ societe-mission
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) In order to ensure that due diligence forms part of companies’ corporate policies, and in line with the relevant international framework, companies should integrate due diligence into all their corporate policies and have in place a due diligence policy. The due diligence policy should contain a description of the company’s approach, including in the long term, to due diligence, a code of conduct describing the rules and principles to be followed by the company’s directors, employees and subsidiaries; a description of the processes put in place to implement due diligence, including the measures taken to verify compliance with the code of conduct and to extend its application to establishedall business relationships. The code of conduct should apply in all relevant corporate functions and operations, including procurement and purchasing decisions. Companies should also update and publish their due diligence policy annually.
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals83 , adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, include the objectives to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The Union has set itself the objective to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The private sector should effectively contributes to those aims. _________________ 83 https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.as p?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, a company should identify actual or potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts. In order to allow for a comprehensive identification of adverse impacts, such identification should be based on quantitative and qualitative information. For instance, as regards adverse environmental impacts, the company should obtain information about baseline conditions at higher risk sites or facilities in value chains. Identification of adverse impacts should include assessing the human rights, and environmental context in a dynamic way and in regular intervals: prior to a new activity or relationship, prior to major decisions or changes in the operation; in response to or anticipation of changes in the operating environment; and periodically, at least every 12 months, throughout the life of an activity or relationship. Regulated financial undertakings providing loan, credit, or other financial services should identify the adverse impacts only at the inception of the contract. When identifying adverse impacts, companies should also identify and assess the impact of a business relationship’s business model and strategies, including trading, procurement and pricing practices. Where the company cannot prevent, bring to an end or minimize all its adverse impacts at the same time, it should be able to prioritize its action, provided it takes the measures reasonably available to the company, taking into account the specific circumstances.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) This Directive aims to ensure that companies active in the internal market contribute to sustainable development and the sustainability transition of economies and societies through the identification, prevention and mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation and, where possible, reparation of potential or actual adverse human rights and environmental impacts connected with companies’ own operations, subsidiaries and value chains.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) This Directive aims to ensure that companies active in the internal market contribute to sustainable development and the sustainability transition of economies and societies through the identification, prevention and mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation of potential or actual adverse human rights, adverse labour rights and environmental impacts connected with companies’ own operations, subsidiaries and value chains.
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Companies should take appropriate steps to set up and carry out due diligence measures, with respect to their own operations, their subsidiaries, as well as their established direct and indirect business relationships throughout their value chains in accordance with the provisions of this Directive. This Directive should not require companies to guarantee, in all circumstances, that adverse impacts will never occur or that they will be stopped. For example with respect to business relationships where the adverse impact results from State intervention, the company might not be in a position to arrive at such results. Therefore, the main obligations in this Directive should be ‘obligations of means’. The company should take the appropriate measures which can reasonably be expected to result in prevention or minimisation of the adverse impact under the circumstances of the specific case. Account should be taken of the specificities of the company’s value chain, sector or geographical area in which its value chain partners operate, the company’s power to influence its direct and indirect business relationships, and whether the company could increase its power of influence.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, if a company identifies potential adverse human rights, labour rights or environmental impacts, it should take appropriate measures to prevent and adequately mitigate them. To provide companies with legal clarity and certainty, this Directive should set out the actions companies should be expected to take for prevention and mitigation of potential adverse impacts where relevant depending on the circumstances.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Adverse human rights, labour rights and environmental impact occur in companies’ own operations, subsidiaries, products, and in their value chains, in particular at the level of raw material sourcing, manufacturing, or at the level of product or waste disposal. In order for the due diligence to have a meaningful impact, it should cover human rights, labour rights and environmental adverse impacts generated throughout the life-cycle of production and use and disposal of product or provision of services, at the level of own operations, subsidiaries and in value chains.
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) As regards regulated financial undertakings providing loan, credit, or other financial services, “value chain” with respect to the provision of such services should be limited to the activities of the clients receiving such services, and the subsidiaries thereof whose activities are linked to the contract in question. Clients that are households and natural persons not acting in a professional or business capacity, as well as small and medium sized undertakings, should not be considered to be part of the value chain. The activities of the companies or other legal entities that are included in the value chain of that client should not be covered.
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) So as to comply with the prevention and mitigation obligation under this Directive, companies should be required to take the following actions, where relevant. Where necessary due to the complexity of prevention measures, c. Companies should develop and implement a prevention action plan. Companies should seek to obtain contractual assurances from a direct partner with whom they have an established business relationshipin their value chains that it will ensure compliance with the code of conduct or the prevention action plan, including by seeking corresponding contractual assurances from its partners to the extent that their activities are part of the companies’ value chain. The contractual assurances should be accompanied by appropriate measures to verify compliance. To ensure comprehensive prevention of actual and potential adverse impacts, companies should also make investments which aim to prevent adverse impacts, provide targeted and proportionate support for an SME with which they have an established business relationship such as financing, for example, through direct financing, low-interest loans, guarantees of continued sourcing, and assistance in securing financing, to help implement the code of conduct or prevention action plan, or technical guidance such as in the form of training, management systems upgrading, and collaborate with other companies.
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) Under this Directive, all EU companies with more than 500 employees on average and a worldwide net turnover exceeding EUR 150 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year should be required to comply with due diligence. As regards companies which do not fulfil those criteria, but which had more than 250 employees on average and more than EUR 40 million worldwide net turnover in the financial year preceding the last financial year and which operate in one or more high-impact sectors, due diligence should apply 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this directive, in order to provide for a longer adaptation period. In order to ensure a proportionate burden, cthe exception of micro- enterprises within the meaning of Directive 2013/34/EU should be required to comply with due diligence. Companies operating in such high-impact sectors should be required to comply with more targeted due diligence focusing on severe adverse impacts. Temporary agency workers, including those posted under Article 1(3), point (c), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council103, should be included in the calculation of the number of employees in the user company. Posted workers under Article 1(3), points (a) and (b), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU, should only be included in the calculation of the number of employees of the sending company. _________________ 103 Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 173, 9.7.2018, p. 16).
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) As regards direct and indirect business relationships, industry cooperation, industry schemes and multi- stakeholder initiatives can help create additional leverage to identify, mitigate, and prevent adverse impacts. Therefore it should be possible for companies to rely on such initiatives to support the implementation of their due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive to the extent that such schemes and initiatives are appropriate to support the fulfilment of those obligations. Companies could assess, at their own initiative, the alignment of these schemes and initiatives with the obligations under this Directive. The mere compliance with industry schemes and multi-stakeholder initiatives should not prevent any company from its obligations and liability from breaches of due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive. In order to ensure full information on such initiatives, the Directive should also refer to the possibility for the Commission and the Member States to facilitate the dissemination of information on such schemes or initiatives and their outcomes. The Commission, in collaboration with Member States, may issue guidance for assessing the fitness of industry schemes and multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, if a company identifies actual human rights, labour rights or environmental adverse impacts, it should take appropriate measures to bring those to an end. It can be expected that a company is able to bring to an end actual adverse impacts in their own operations and in subsidiaries. However, it should be clarified that, as regards established business relationships, where adverse impacts cannot be brought to an end, companies should minimise the extent of such impacts. Minimisation of the extent of adverse impacts should require an outcome that is the closest possible to bringing the adverse impact to an end. To provide companies with legal clarity and certainty, this Directive should define which actions companies should be required to take for bringing actual human rights and environmental adverse impacts to an end and minimisation of their extent, where relevant depending on the circumstances.
Amendment 187 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) In order to reflect the priority areas of international action aimed at tackling human rights, labour rights and environmental issues, the selection of high- impact sectors for the purposes of this Directive should be based on existing sectoral OECD due diligence guidance. The following sectors should be regarded as high-impact for the purposes of this Directive: the manufacture of textiles, leather and related products (including footwear), and the wholesale trade of textiles, clothing and footwear; agriculture, forestry, fisheries (including aquaculture), the manufacture of food products, and the wholesale trade of agricultural raw materials, live animals, wood, food, and beverages; the extraction of mineral resources regardless of where they are extracted from (including crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, lignite, metals and metal ores, as well as all other, non-metallic minerals and quarry products), the manufacture of basic metal products, other non-metallic mineral products and fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), and the wholesale trade of mineral resources, basic and intermediate mineral products (including metals and metal ores, construction materials, fuels, chemicals and other intermediate products). As regards the financial sector, due to its specificities, in particular as regards the value chain and the services offered, even if it is covered by sector-specific OECD guidance, it should not form part of the high-impact sectors covered by this Directive. At the same time, in this sector, the broader coverage of actual and potential adverse impacts should be ensured by also including very large companies in the scope that are regulated financial undertakings, even if they do not have a legal form with limited liability.
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In order to achieve fully the objectives of this Directive addressing human rights, labour rights and adverse environmental impacts with respect to companies’ operations, subsidiaries and value chains, third-country companies with significant operations in the EU should also be covered. More specifically, the Directive should apply to third-country companies which generated a net turnover of at least EUR 1504 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year or a net turnover of more than EUR 40 million but less than EUR 150 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year in one or more of the high- impact sectors, as of 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this Directive.
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Companies should provide the possibility for persons and organisations to submit complaints directly to them in case of legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential human rights, labour rights and environmental adverse impacts. Organisations who could submit such complaints should include trade unions and other workers’ representatives representing individuals working in the value chain concerned and civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned where they have knowledge about a potential or actual adverse impact. Companies should establish a procedure for dealing with those complaints and inform workers, trade unions and other workers’ representatives, where relevant, about such processes. Recourse to the complaints and remediation mechanism should not prevent the complainant from having recourse to judicial remedies. In accordance with international standards, complaints should be entitled to request from the company appropriate follow-up on the complaint and to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are the subject matter of the complaint. This access should not lead to unreasonable solicitations of companies.
Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 43
Recital 43
(43) Companies should monitor the implementation and effectiveness of their due diligence measures. They should carry out periodic assessments of their own operations, those of their subsidiaries and, where related to the value chains of the company, those of their established business relationships, to monitor the effectiveness of the identification, prevention, minimisation, bringing to an end and mitigation of human rights and environmental adverse impacts. Such assessments should verify that adverse impacts are properly identified, due diligence measures are implemented and adverse impacts have actually been prevented or brought to an end. In order to ensure that such assessments are up-to- date, they should be carried out at least every 126 months and be revised in-between if there are reasonable grounds to believe that significant new risks of adverse impact could have arisen.
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) In order to conduct appropriate human rights, labour rights and environmental due diligence with respect to their operations, their subsidiaries, and their value chains, companies covered by this Directive should integrate due diligence into corporate policies, identify, prevent and mitigate as well as bring to an end and minimise the extent of potential and actual adverse human rights and environmental impacts, establish and maintain a complaints procedure, monitor the effectiveness of the taken measures in accordance with the requirements that are set up in this Directive and communicate publicly on their due diligence. In order to ensure clarity for companies, in particular the steps of preventing and mitigating potential adverse impacts and of bringing to an end, or when this is not possible, minimising actual adverse impacts should be clearly distinguished in this Directive.
Amendment 201 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, a company should identify actual or potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts. In order to allow for a comprehensive identification of adverse impacts, such identification should be based on quantitative and qualitative information. For instance, as regards adverse environmental impacts, the company should obtain information about baseline conditions at higher risk sites or facilities in value chains. Identification of adverse impacts should include assessing the human rights, and environmental context in a dynamic way and in regular intervals: prior to a new activity or relationship, prior to major decisions or changes in the operation; in response to or anticipation of changes in the operating environment; and periodically, at least every 12 months, throughout the life of an activity or relationship. Regulated financial undertakings providing loan, credit, or other financial services should identify the adverse impacts only at the inception of the contract. When identifying adverse impacts, companies should also identify and assess the impact of a business relationship’s business model and strategies, including trading, procurement and pricing practices. Where the company cannot prevent, bring to an end or minimize all its adverse impacts at the same time, it should be able to prioritize its action, provided it takes the measures reasonably available to the company, taking into account the specific circumstances.
Amendment 205 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
Amendment 207 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 51
Recital 51
(51) With a view to ensure that such emission reduction plan is properly implemented and embedded in the financial incentives of directors, the plan should be duly taken into account when setting directors’ variable remuneration, if variable remuneration is linked to the contribution of a director to the company’s business strategy and long- term interests and sustainability.
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) In order to ensure effective enforcement of national measures implementing this Directive, Member States should provide for dissuasive, proportionate and effective sanctions for infringements of those measures. In order for such sanction regime to be effective, administrative sanctions to be imposed by the national supervisory authorities should include pecuniary sanctions. Where t that are proportionate to the turnover of the company. The legal system of a Member State does notshould provide for administrative sanctions as foreseen in this Directive, the rules on administrative sanctions should be applied in such a way that the sanction is initiated by the competent supervisory authority and imposed by the judicial authority. Therefore, it is necessary that those Member States ensure that the application of the rules and sanctions has an equivalent effect to the administrative sanctions imposed by the competent supervisory authoritieswithout prejudice of their review by the judicial authority.
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, if a company identifies potential adverse human rights, adverse labour rights or environmental impacts, it should take appropriate measures to prevent and adequately mitigate them. To provide companies with legal clarity and certainty, this Directive should set out the actions companies should be expected to take for prevention and mitigation of potential adverse impacts where relevant depending on the circumstances.
Amendment 212 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) As regards direct and indirect business relationships, industry cooperation, industry schemes and multi- stakeholder initiatives can help create additional leverage to identify, mitigate, and prevent adverse impacts. Therefore it should be possible for companies to rely on such initiatives to support the implementation of their due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive to the extent that such schemes and initiatives are appropriate to support the fulfilment of those obligations. Companies could assess, at their own initiative, the alignment of these schemes and initiatives with the obligations under this Directive. The mere compliance with industry schemes and multi-stakeholder initiatives should not prevent any company from its obligations and liability by breaches of due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive. In order to ensure full information on such initiatives, the Directive should also refer to the possibility for the Commission and the Member States to facilitate the dissemination of information on such schemes or initiatives and their outcomes. The Commission, in collaboration with Member States, may issue guidance for assessing the fitness of industry schemes and multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 57 a (new)
Recital 57 a (new)
(57a) Breaches of the obligations laid down in this Directive that have entailed damage for a person or a group of persons can be extremely difficult to prove in court by claimants, since many times this requires access to information that is only possessed by the company. Therefore, it is necessary that this Directive provides for the reversal of the burden of the proof in judicial proceedings regarding damages caused by breaches of the due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive.
Amendment 214 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 58
Recital 58
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, if a company identifies actual human rights, labour rights or environmental adverse impacts, it should take appropriate measures to bring those to an end. It can be expected that a company is able to bring to an end actual adverse impacts in their own operations and in subsidiaries. However, it should be clarified that, as regards established business relationships, where adverse impacts cannot be brought to an end, companies should minimise the extent of such impacts. Minimisation of the extent of adverse impacts should require an outcome that is the closest possible to bringing the adverse impact to an end. To provide companies with legal clarity and certainty, this Directive should define which actions companies should be required to take for bringing actual human rights and environmental adverse impacts to an end and minimisation of their extent, where relevant depending on the circumstances.
Amendment 216 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 59
Recital 59
(59) As regards civil liability rules, the civil liability of a company for damages arising due to its failure to carry out adequate due diligence should be without prejudice to civil liability of its subsidiaries or the respective civil liability of direct and indirect business partners in the value chain. Also, the civil liability rules under this Directive should be without prejudice to Union or national rules on civil liability related to adverse human rights impacts, adverse labour rights impacts or to adverse environmental impacts that provide for liability in situations not covered by or providing for stricter liability than this Directive.
Amendment 218 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Companies should provide the possibility for persons and organisations to submit complaints directly to them in case of legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential human rights, labour rights and environmental adverse impacts. Organisations who could submit such complaints should include trade unions and other workers’ representatives representing individuals working in the value chain concerned and civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned where they have knowledge about a potential or actual adverse impact. Companies should establish a procedure for dealing with those complaints and inform workers, trade unions and other workers’ representatives, where relevant, about such processes. Recourse to the complaints and remediation mechanism should not prevent the complainant from having recourse to judicial remedies. In accordance with international standards, complaints should be entitled to request from the company appropriate follow-up on the complaint and to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are the subject matter of the complaint. This access should not lead to unreasonable solicitations of companies.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 60
Recital 60
(60) As regards civil liability arising from adverse environmental impacts, persons who suffer damage can claim compensation under this Directive even where they overlap with human rights or labour rights claims.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 43
Recital 43
(43) Companies should monitor the implementation and effectiveness of their due diligence measures. They should carry out periodic assessments of their own operations, those of their subsidiaries and, where related to the value chains of the company, those of their established business relationships, to monitor the effectiveness of the identification, prevention, minimisation, bringing to an end and mitigation of human rights and environmental adverse impacts. Such assessments should verify that adverse impacts are properly identified, due diligence measures are implemented and adverse impacts have actually been prevented or brought to an end. In order to ensure that such assessments are up-to- date, they should be carried out at least every 12 months and be revised in-between if there are reasonable grounds to believe that significant new risks of adverse impact could have arisen.
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 61
Recital 61
(61) In order to ensure that victims of human rights, labour rights and environmental harms can bring an action for damages and claim compensation for damages arising due to a company’s failure to comply with the due diligence obligations stemming from this Directive, even where the law applicable to such claims is not the law of a Member State, as could be for instance be the case in accordance with international private law rules when the damage occurs in a third country, this Directive should require Member States to ensure that the liability provided for in provisions of national law transposing this Article is of overriding mandatory application in cases where the law applicable to claims to that effect is not the law of a Member State.
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 51
Recital 51
(51) With a view to ensure that such emission reduction plan is properly implemented and embedded in the financial incentives of directors, the plan should be duly taken into account when setting directors’ variable remuneration, if variable remuneration is linked to the contribution of a director to the company’s business strategy and long- term interests and sustainability.
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) In order to ensure effective enforcement of national measures implementing this Directive, Member States should provide for dissuasive, proportionate and effective sanctions for infringements of those measures. In order for such sanction regime to be effective, administrative sanctions to be imposed by the national supervisory authorities should include pecuniary sanctions. Where t that are proportionate to the turnout of the company. The legal system of a Member State does notshould provide for administrative sanctions as foreseen in this Directive, the rules on administrative sanctions should be applied in such a way that the sanction is initiated by the competent supervisory authority and imposed by the judicial authority. Therefore, it is necessary that those Member States ensure that the application of the rules and sanctions has an equivalent effect to the administrative sanctions imposedwithout prejudice of their review by the competent supervisoryjudicial authoritiesy.
Amendment 232 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 58
Recital 58
(58) The liability regime does not regulate who should prove that the company’s action was reasonably adequate under the circumstances of the case, therefore this question is left to national lawBreaches of the obligations laid down in this Directive that have entailed damage for a person or a group of persons can be extremely difficult to prove in court by claimants, since many times this requires access to information that is only possessed by the company. Therefore, the company should bear the burden of proof in judicial proceedings regarding damages caused by breaches of the due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive and should demonstrate that the company’s action was adequate under the circumstances of the case.
Amendment 234 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 59
Recital 59
(59) As regards civil liability rules, the civil liability of a company for damages arising due to its failure to carry out adequate due diligence should be without prejudice to civil liability of its subsidiaries or the respective civil liability of direct and indirect business partners in the value chain. Also, the civil liability rules under this Directive should be without prejudice to Union or national rules on civil liability related to adverse human rights impacts, adverse labour rights impacts or to adverse environmental impacts that provide for liability in situations not covered by or providing for stricter liability than this Directive.
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) on obligations for companies regarding actual and potential human rights adverse impacts, labour rights adverse impacts and environmental adverse impacts, with respect to their own operations, the operations of their subsidiaries, and the value chain operations carried out by entities with whom the company has an established business relationship and
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 61
Recital 61
(61) In order to ensure that victims of human rights, labour rights and environmental harms can bring an action for damages and claim compensation for damages arising due to a company’s failure to comply with the due diligence obligations stemming from this Directive, even where the law applicable to such claims is not the law of a Member State, as could be for instance be the case in accordance with international private law rules when the damage occurs in a third country, this Directive should require Member States to ensure that the liability provided for in provisions of national law transposing this Article is of overriding mandatory application in cases where the law applicable to claims to that effect is not the law of a Member State.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive shall not constitute grounds for reducing the level of protection of human rights, labour rights or of protection of the environment or the protection of the climate provided for by the law of Member States at the time of the adoption of this Directive.
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) on obligations for companies regarding actual and potential human rights adverse impacts, labour rights adverse impacts and environmental adverse impacts, with respect to their own operations, the operations of their subsidiaries, and the value chain operations carried out by entities with whom the company has an established business relationship and
Amendment 254 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
3. This Directive shall be without prejudice to obligations in the areas of human rights, protection of the environment and climate change, and protection of labour rights under other Union legislative acts. If the provisions of this Directive conflict with a provision of another Union legislative act pursuing the same objectives and providing for more extensive or more specific obligations, the provisions of the other Union legislative act shall prevail to the extent of the conflict and shall apply to those specific obligations.
Amendment 254 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 258 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive shall not constitute grounds for reducing the level of protection of human rights, labour rights or of protection of the environment or the protection of the climate provided for by the law of Member States at the time of the adoption of this Directive.
Amendment 261 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
3. This Directive shall be without prejudice to obligations in the areas of human rights, protection of the environment and climate change, and the protection of labour rights under other Union legislative acts. If the provisions of this Directive conflict with a provision of another Union legislative act pursuing the same objectives and providing for more extensive or more specific obligations, the provisions of the other Union legislative act shall prevail to the extent of the conflict and shall apply to those specific obligations.
Amendment 263 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the company had more than 2500 employees on average and had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 1504 million in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared;
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. This Directive shall apply to companies which are formed in accordance with the legislation of a Member State and which fulfil , with the exceptione of the following conditionsmicro-enterprises as defined by article 3(1) of Directive 2013/34/EU:
Amendment 266 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 267 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 270 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – introductory part
(b) the company did not reach the thresholds under point (a), but had more than 250 employees on average and had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 40 million in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared, provided that, and at least 50% of this net turnover was generated in one or more of the following sectors:
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. This Directive shall also apply to companies which are formed in accordance with the legislation of a third country, and fulfil one of the following conditions: generated a net turnover of more than EUR 4 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year;
Amendment 277 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii
(iii) the extraction and transportation of mineral resources regardless from where they are extracted (including crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, lignite, metals and metal ores, as well as all other, non- metallic minerals and quarry products), the manufacture and transportation of basic metal products, other non-metallic mineral products and fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), and the wholesale trade of mineral resources, basic and intermediate mineral products (including metals and metal ores, construction materials, fuels, chemicals and other intermediate products).
Amendment 277 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 279 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 281 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii a (new)
(iiia) the financial sector;
Amendment 282 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii b (new)
(iiib) the building of infrastructures and logistics.
Amendment 286 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. This Directive shall also apply to companies which are formed in accordance with the legislation of a third country, and fulfil one of the following conditions:generated a net turnover of more than EUR 4 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year;
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) "adverse labour rights impact" means an adverse impact on protected persons resulting from the violation of one of the rights or prohibitions listed in the Annex, Part I Section 1, as enshrined in the international conventions listed in the Annex, Part I Section 1;
Amendment 288 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 293 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 297 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – point ii a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – point ii a (new)
(iia) that is not commercial in nature, but includes activities that are linked to the operations of the company.
Amendment 298 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) ‘value chain’ means activities related to the production of goods or the provision of services by a company, including the development of the product or the service and the use and disposal of the product as well as the related activities of upstream and downstream established business relationships of the company, and including semi-formal and informal working schemes as well as subcontracting and home-based work.. As regards companies within the meaning of point (a)(iv), ‘value chain’ with respect to the provision of these specific services shall only include the activities of the clients receiving such loan, credit, and other financial services and of other companies belonging to the same group whose activities are linked to the contract in question. The value chain of such regulated financial undertakings does not cover SMEs receiving loan, credit, financing, insurance or reinsurance of such entities;
Amendment 305 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) ‘independent third-party verification’ means verification of the compliance by a company, or parts of its value chain, with human rights, labour rights and environmental requirements resulting from the provisions of this Directive by an auditor which is independent from the company, free from any conflicts of interests, has experience and competence in environmental, labour and human rights matters and is accountable for the quality and reliability of the audit;
Amendment 307 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
(l) ‘severe adverse impact’ means an adverse environmental impact or, an adverse labour rights impact and an adverse human rights impact that is especially significant by its nature, or breaches essential international law obligations, or affects a large number of persons or a large area of the environment, or which is irreversible, or is particularly difficult to remedy as a result of the measures necessary to restore the situation prevailing prior to the impact;
Amendment 313 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
(na) ‘human rights, labour rights, environmental and rule of law and good governance defenders’ mean individuals, groups and structures of society, including non-government organisations, that promote, protect and defend human rights, the environment and the rule of law and good governance.
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Amendment 325 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – point ii a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e – point ii a (new)
(iia) that is not commercial in nature, but includes activities that are linked to the operations of the company.
Amendment 328 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Amendment 338 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) ‘value chain’ means activities related to the production of goods or the provision of services by a company, including the development of the product or the service and the use and disposal of the product as well as the related activities of upstream and downstream established business relationships of the company, and including semi-formal and informal working schemes as well as subcontracting and home-based work. As regards companies within the meaning of point (a)(iv), ‘value chain’ with respect to the provision of these specific services shall only include the activities of the clients receiving such loan, credit, and other financial services and of other companies belonging to the same group whose activities are linked to the contract in question. The value chain of such regulated financial undertakings does not cover SMEs receiving loan, credit, financing, insurance or reinsurance of such entities;
Amendment 342 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) a code of conduct describing rules and principles to be followed by the company’s employees, with a special emphasis on directors, and subsidiaries;
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) ‘independent third-party verification’ means verification of the compliance by a company, or parts of its value chain, with human rights, labour rights and environmental requirements resulting from the provisions of this Directive by an auditor which is independent from the company, free from any conflicts of interests, has experience and competence in environmental and, labour human rights matters and is accountable for the quality and reliability of the audit;
Amendment 355 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
(l) ‘severe adverse impact’ means an adverse environmental impact or, an adverse labour rights impact and an adverse human rights impact that is especially significant by its nature, or breaches essential international law obligations, or affects a large number of persons or a large area of the environment, or which is irreversible, or is particularly difficult to remedy as a result of the measures necessary to restore the situation prevailing prior to the impact;
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take appropriate measures to identify actual and potential adverse human rights, adverse labour impacts and adverse environmental impacts arising from their own operations or those of their subsidiaries and, where related to their value chains, from their established business relationships, in accordance with paragraph 2, 3 and 4.
Amendment 364 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Amendment 367 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Amendment 372 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Member States shall ensure that companies conduct human rights, labour rights and environmental due diligence as laid down in Articles 5 to 11 (‘due diligence’) by carrying out the following actions:
Amendment 376 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shall ensure that, for the purposes of identifying the adverse impacts referred to in paragraph 1 based on, where appropriate, quantitative and qualitative information, companies are entitled to make use of appropriate resources, including independent reports and information gathered through the complaints procedure provided for in Article 9. Companies shall, where relevant, also carry out consultations with potentially affected groups including workers and other relevant stakeholders to gather information on actual or potential adverse impacts.
Amendment 380 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take appropriate measures to prevent, or where prevention is not possible or not immediately possible, adequately mitigate potential adverse human rights impacts, adverse labour rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts that have been, or should have been, identified pursuant to Article 6, in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.
Amendment 388 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) a code of conduct describing rules and principles to be followed by the company’s employees, with a special emphasis on directors, and subsidiaries;
Amendment 388 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) where necessary due to the nature or complexity of the measures required for prevention, develop and implement a prevention action plan, with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring improvement. The prevention action plan shall be developed in consultation with affected stakeholders, including indigenous peoples in line with their right to free, prior and informed consent where these peoples are affected;
Amendment 403 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(ea) train, communicate or collaborate with suppliers on the enforcement of relevant protective laws.
Amendment 404 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take appropriate measures to identify actual and potential adverse human rights impacts, adverse labour rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts arising from their own operations or those of their subsidiaries and, where related to their value chains, from their established business relationships, in accordance with paragraph 2, 3 and 4.
Amendment 404 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e b (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e b (new)
(eb) establish a pricing policy whereby the company pays suppliers at a price that enables them to produce with respect for human rights, labour rights and the environment.
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e c (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e c (new)
(ec) carry out gender-sensitive human rights assessments, including by gathering and using dissagregated data.
Amendment 406 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
The contractual assurances or the contract shall be accompanied by the appropriate measures to verify compliance. For the purposes of verifying compliance, the company may refer to suitable industry initiatives or independent third-party verification. Compliance verification through industry initiatives or independent third-party verification shall not exonerate the company from its obligations and its liability under this Directive.
Amendment 410 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Amendment 414 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 6
Article 7 – paragraph 6
Amendment 415 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Amendment 423 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) neutralise the adverse impact or minimise its extent, including by the payment of damages to the affected persons and of financial compensation to the affected communities, public apologies, and, where possible, restitution and rehabilitation. The action shall be proportionate to the significance and scale of the adverse impact and to the contribution of the company’s conduct to the adverse impact;
Amendment 427 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) where necessary due to the fact that the adverse impact cannot be immediately brought to an end, develop and implement a corrective action plan with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring improvement. Where relevant, tThe corrective action plan shall be developed in consultation with stakeholdersall the affected stakeholders, including indigenous peoples in line with their right to free, prior and informed consent where these peoples are affected;
Amendment 434 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take appropriate measures to prevent, or where prevention is not possible or not immediately possible, adequately mitigate potential adverse human rights impacts, adverse labour rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts that have been, or should have been, identified pursuant to Article 6, in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.
Amendment 440 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Companies shall be required to take the following actions, where relevant:
Amendment 441 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
The contractual assurances or the contract shall be accompanied by the appropriate measures to verify compliance. For the purposes of verifying compliance, the company may refer to suitable industry initiatives or independent third-party verification. Compliance verification through industry initiatives or independent third-party verification shall not exonerate the company from its obligations and its liability under this Directive.
Amendment 442 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
The company shall be able to prove its efforts to minimise the actual adverse impacts prior in order to avoid liability for the adverse impacts generated prior to the conclusion of the contract.
Amendment 446 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) where necessary due to the nature or complexity of the measures required for prevention, develop and implement a prevention action plan, with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring improvement. The prevention action plan shall be developed in consultation with affected stakeholders, including indigenous peoples in line with their right to free, prior and informed consent where these peoples are affected;
Amendment 446 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 7
Article 8 – paragraph 7
Amendment 457 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) provide targeted and proportionate support for an SME with which the company has an established business relationship, where compliance with the code of conduct or the prevention action plan would jeopardise the viability of the SME;
Amendment 459 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(ea) train, communicate or collaborate with suppliers regarding the enforcement of relevant protective laws.
Amendment 459 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) persons who are affected or have reasonable grounds to believe that they might be affected by an adverse impact, . The procedure shall guarantee that these persons can file the complaint anonymously or confidentially.
Amendment 460 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e b (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e b (new)
(eb) establish a pricing policy whereby the company pays suppliers at a price that enables them to produce with respect for human rights, labour rights and the environment.
Amendment 461 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e c (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e c (new)
(ec) carry out gender-sensitive human- rights assessments, including by gathering and using disaggregated data.
Amendment 461 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) trade unions and other workers’ representatives representing individuals working in the value chain concerned,.
Amendment 465 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that the companies establish a legitimate, accessible, predictable, safe equitable, transparent, rights-compatible and adaptable procedure for dealing with complaintgrievances referred to in paragraph 1, including a procedure when the company considers the complaintgrievance to be unfounded, and inform theall relevant stakeholders, including workers and trade unions, of those procedures. Member States shall ensure that where the complaintgrievance is well- founded, the adverse impact that is the subject matter of the complaintgrievance is deemed to be identified within the meaning of Article 6. The company shall publicly report on how grievances are taken into account in identifying and responding to risks or violations, including inter alia statistics about the grievance received, the types of adverse impacts referred to, their treatment by companies and the publication of processed and anonymised cases.
Amendment 467 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
The contractual assurances or the contract shall be accompanied by the appropriate measures to verify compliance. For the purposes of verifying compliance, the company may refer to suitable industry initiatives or independent third-party verification. Compliance verification through industry initiatives or independent third-party verification shall not exonerate the company from its obligations and its liability under this Directive.
Amendment 472 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b
(b) to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are the subject matter of the complaint and propose appropriate remedy.
Amendment 476 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) temporarily suspend commercial relations with the partner in question, while pursuing prevention and minimisation efforts, if there is reasonable expectation that these efforts will succeed in the short- term;
Amendment 479 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Member States shall ensure that companies carry out periodic assessments of their own operations and measures, those of their subsidiaries and, where related to the value chains of the company, those of their established business relationships, to monitor the effectiveness of the identification, prevention, mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation of the extent of human rights and environmental adverse impacts. Such assessments shall be based, where appropriate, on qualitative and quantitative indicators and be carried out at least every 12 months and whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that significant new risks of the occurrence of those adverse impacts may arise. The due diligence policy shall be updated in accordance with the outcome of those assessments.
Amendment 480 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Member States shall ensure that companies that are not subject to reporting requirements under Articles 19a and 29a of Directive 2013/34/EU report on the matters covered by this Directive by publishing on their website an annual statement in a language customary in the sphere of international business. The statement shall be uploaded to the European Single Point. The statement shall be published by 30 April each year, covering the previous calendar year.
Amendment 482 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 6
Article 7 – paragraph 6
Amendment 483 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The statement shall include meaningful, relevant, timely and meaningful information about the operations of the company and its and value chains. A detailed mapping of the value chains of the company shall be provided, including names, locations, products and services.
Amendment 495 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. Where the adverse impact cannot be brought to an end, Member States shall ensure that companies minimise the extent of such an impact to the greatest extent possible.
Amendment 500 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) neutralise the adverse impact or minimise its extent, including by the payment of damages to the affected persons and of financial compensation to the affected communities, public apologies, and, where possible, restitution and rehabilitation. The action shall be proportionate to the significance and scale of the adverse impact and to the contribution of the company’s conduct to the adverse impact;
Amendment 501 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall, in order to provide information and support to companies and the partners with whom they have established business relationships in their value chains in their efforts to fulfil the obligations resulting from this Directive, set up and operate individually or jointly dedicated websites, platforms or portals. Specific consideration shall be given, in that respect, to the SMEs that are present in the value chains of companies.
Amendment 503 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) where necessary due to the fact that the adverse impact cannot be immediately brought to an end, develop and implement a corrective action plan with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring improvement. Where relevant, the corrective action plan shall be developed in consultation with stakeholdersall the affected stakeholders, including indigenous peoples in line with their right to free, prior and informed consent where these peoples are affected;
Amendment 508 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies referred to in Article 2(1), point (a), and Article 2(2), point (a), shall adopadopt and effectively implement a plan to ensure that the business model and strategy of the company are compatible with the transition to a sustainable economy and with the limiting of global warming to 1.5 °C in line with the Paris Agreement. This plan shall, in particular, identify, on the basis of information reasonably available to the company, the extent to which climate change is a risk for, or an impact of, the company’s operations.
Amendment 512 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Amendment 515 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that companies duly take into account the fulfilment of the obligations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 when setting variable remuneration, if variable remuneration is linked to the contribution of a director to the company’s business strategy and long- term interests and sustainability.
Amendment 521 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
The contractual assurances or the contract shall be accompanied by the appropriate measures to verify compliance. For the purposes of verifying compliance, the company may refer to suitable industry initiatives or independent third-party verification. Compliance verification through industry initiatives or independent third-party verification shall not exonerate the company from its obligations and its liability under this Directive.
Amendment 525 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Article 18 – paragraph 3
3. Inspections shall be conducted in compliance with the national law of the Member State in which the inspection is carried out and without prior warning to the company, except where prior notification hinders the effectiveness of the inspection. Where, as part of its investigation, a supervisory authority wishes to carry out an inspection on the territory of a Member State other than its own, it shall seek assistance from the supervisory authority in that Member State pursuant to Article 21(2).
Amendment 526 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. The company shall be able to prove its prior efforts to minimise the actual adverse impacts in order to avoid liability for the adverse impacts generated prior to the conclusion of the contract.
Amendment 527 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point a
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point a
(a) to order the cessation of infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive, abstention from any repetition of the relevant conduct and, where appropriatpossible, remedial action proportionate to the infringement and necessary to bring it to an end;
Amendment 528 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point b
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point b
(b) to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive pecuniary sanctions in accordance with Article 20;
Amendment 530 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 6
Article 18 – paragraph 6
6. Where tThe legal system of the Member State does notshall provide for administrative sanctions, to implement this Article and Article 20 may be implemented in such a manner that the sanction is initiated by the competent supervisory authority and imposed by the competent national courts, while ensuring that those legal remedies are effective and have an equivalent effect to the administrative sanctions imposed by supervisory authorities., without prejudice to the possibility of the judicial revision of such administrative sanctions;
Amendment 534 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 7
Article 8 – paragraph 7
Amendment 538 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 3
Article 20 – paragraph 3
3. When pecuniary sanctions are imposed, they shall be based onproportional to the company’s turnover.
Amendment 553 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) persons who are affected or have reasonable grounds to believe that they might be affected by an adverse impact,. The procedure shall guarantee that these persons can file the complaint anonymously or confidentially.
Amendment 554 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Member States shall ensure that, beyond monetary compensation, the complaining party can require the court to order companies to act or to refrain from acting in a certain way with the aim of preventing harm from an infringement of the due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive.
Amendment 562 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) trade unions and other workers’ representatives representing individuals working in the value chain concerned,
Amendment 562 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 3
Article 22 – paragraph 3
3. The civil liability of a company for damages arising under this provision shall be without prejudice to the civil liability of its subsidiaries or of any direct and indirect business partners in the value chain. It shall also be without prejudice to the administrative liability of the company before the supervisory authorities of Member States for breaches of the due diligence requirements set out in this Directive.
Amendment 570 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned.
Amendment 570 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 4
Article 22 – paragraph 4
4. The civil liability rules under this Directive shall be without prejudice to Union or national rules on civil liability related to adverse human rights impacts, adverse labour rights impacts or to adverse environmental impacts that provide for liability in situations not covered by or providing for stricter liability than this Directive.
Amendment 573 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that the companies establish a legitimate, accessible, predictable, safe equitable, transparent, rights-compatible and adaptable procedure for dealing with complaints referred to in paragraph 1, including a procedure when the company considers the complaint to be unfounded, and inform the relevant workers and, trade unions and organizations representing the interests of other affected stakeholders of those procedures. Member States shall ensure that where the complaint is well- founded, the adverse impact that is the subject matter of the complaint is deemed to be identified within the meaning of Article 6.
Amendment 575 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Member States shall ensure that the limitation period for taking legal action for damage caused as a result of a breach of a due diligence obligation laid down in this Directive is not less than five years.
Amendment 580 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 23 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 23 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Member States shall introduce the measures necessary to protect all stakeholders and their representatives, including human rights and environmental defenders, from any reprisals or adverse impacts when seeking to exercise their rights under the Directive.
Amendment 582 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 25 – paragraph 1
Article 25 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that, when fulfilling their duty to act in the best interest of the company, directors of companies referred to in Article 2(1) take into account the consequences of their decisionsintegrate climate risks and potential and actual adverse impacts identified pursuant to this Directive into for sustainability matters, including, where applicable, human rights, labour rights, climate change and environmental consequences, including in the short, medium and long term.
Amendment 585 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b
(b) to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are the subject matter of the complaint, and propose appropriate remedy.
Amendment 586 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b a (new)
(ba) to not receive reprisals because of the initiation of the complaint procedure.
Amendment 589 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Complaints procedures shall be established without prejudice of the right to effective judicial protection. Member States shall ensure that there is no requirement to start a complaint procedure before taking legal action in court.
Amendment 589 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) whether Articles 4 to 14 should be extended to adverse climateadditional adverse environmental, climate, biodiversity, human rights, labour rights or rule of law and democracy impacts.
Amendment 593 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Member States shall ensure that companies carry out periodicbiannual assessments of their own operations and measures, those of their subsidiaries and, where related to the value chains of the company, those of their established business relationships, to monitor the effectiveness of the identification, prevention, mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation of the extent of human rights, labour rights and environmental adverse impacts. Such assessments shall be based, where appropriate, on qualitative and quantitative indicators and be carried out at least every 12 months and whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that significant new risks of the occurrence of those adverse impacts may arise. The due diligence policy shall be updated in accordance with the outcome of those assessments.
Amendment 593 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1
Violations of human rights and labour rights prohibitions included in international human rights agreements
Amendment 602 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Member States shall ensure that companies that are not subject to reporting requirements under Articles 19a and 29a of Directive 2013/34/EU report on the matters covered by this Directive by publishing on their website an annual statement in a language customary in the sphere of international business. The statement shall be uploaded to the European Single Access Point. The statement shall be published by 30 April each year, covering the previous calendar year.
Amendment 603 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The statement shall include meaningful, relevant, timely and meaningful information about the operations of the company and its and value chains. A detailed mapping of the value chains of the company shall be provided, including names, locations, products and services.
Amendment 604 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – subheading 2
Annex I – Part I – subheading 2
Human rights, labour rights and fundamental freedoms conventions
Amendment 608 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 10 a (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 10 a (new)
- The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders;
Amendment 615 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 21 a (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 21 a (new)
- Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155)
Amendment 618 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 a (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 a (new)
- Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169);
Amendment 634 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies referred to in Article 2(1), point (a), and Article 2(2), point (a), shall adopshall adopt and effectively implement a plan to ensure that the business model and strategy of the company are compatible with the transition to a sustainable economy and with the limiting of global warming to 1.5 °C in line with the Paris Agreement. This plan shall, in particular, identify, on the basis of information reasonably available to the company, the extent to which climate change is a risk for, or an impact of, the company’s operations.
Amendment 644 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Amendment 651 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that companies duly take into account the fulfilment of the obligations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 when setting variable remuneration, if variable remuneration is linked to the contribution of a director to the company’s business strategy and long- term interests and sustainability.
Amendment 660 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that the name, address, electronic mail address and telephone number of the authorised representative is notified to a supervisory authority in the Member State where the authorised representative is domiciled or established. Member States shall ensure that the authorised representative is obliged to provide, upon request, a copy of the designation in an official language of language that holds official status in a Member State to any of the supervisory authorities.
Amendment 665 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Article 18 – paragraph 3
3. Inspections shall be conducted in compliance with the national law of the Member State in which the inspection is carried out and without prior warning to the company, except where prior notification hinders the effectiveness of the inspection. Where, as part of its investigation, a supervisory authority wishes to carry out an inspection on the territory of a Member State other than its own, it shall seek assistance from the supervisory authority in that Member State pursuant to Article 21(2).
Amendment 670 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point a
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point a
(a) to order the cessation of infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive, abstention from any repetition of the relevant conduct and, where appropriatfeasible, remedial action proportionate to the infringement and necessary to bring it to an end;
Amendment 672 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point b
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – point b
(b) to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive pecuniary sanctions in accordance with Article 20;
Amendment 674 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 6
Article 18 – paragraph 6
6. Where tThe legal system of the Member State does notshall provide for administrative sanctions, to implement this Article and Article 20 may be implemented in such a manner that the sanction is initiated by the competent supervisory authority and imposed by the competent national courts, while ensuring that those legal remedies are effective and have an equivalent effect to the administrative sanctions imposed by supervisory authorities., without prejudice to the possibility of the judicial revision of such administrative sanctions;
Amendment 687 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 3
Article 20 – paragraph 3
3. When pecuniary sanctions are imposed, they shall be based onproportional to the company’s turnover.
Amendment 689 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Member States shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that companies that have been sanctioned for breaches of due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive are excluded from public procurement.
Amendment 703 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Member States shall ensure that, beyond monetary compensation, the complaining party can require the court to order companies to act or to refrain from acting in a certain way with the aim of preventing harm from an infringement of the due diligence obligations set out in this Directive.
Amendment 705 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Member States shall provide for the reversal of the burden of the proof in judicial proceedings regarding damages caused by breaches of the due diligence obligations laid down in this Directive.
Amendment 706 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 3
Article 22 – paragraph 3
3. The civil liability of a company for damages arising under this provision shall be without prejudice to the civil liability of its subsidiaries or of any direct and indirect business partners in the value chain. It shall also be without prejudice to the administrative liability of the company before the supervisory authorities of Member States for breaches of the due diligence requirements set out in this Directive.
Amendment 708 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 4
Article 22 – paragraph 4
4. The civil liability rules under this Directive shall be without prejudice to Union or national rules on civil liability related to adverse human rights impacts, to adverse labour rights impacts or to adverse environmental impacts that provide for liability in situations not covered by or providing for stricter liability than this Directive.
Amendment 711 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Member States shall ensure that the limitation period for taking legal action for damage caused as a result of a breach of a due diligence obligation laid down in this Directive is not less than five years.
Amendment 730 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 25 – paragraph 1
Article 25 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that, when fulfilling their duty to act in the best interest of the company, directors of companies referred to in Article 2(1) take into account the consequences ofintegrate climate risks and potential and actual adverse impacts identified pursuant to this Directive into their decisions for sustainability matters, including, where applicable, human rights, labour rights, animal rights, climate change and environmental consequences, including in the short, medium and long term.
Amendment 762 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) whether Articles 4 to 14 should be extended to adverse climatditional adverse environmental, climate, biodiversity, human rights, labour rights or animal welfare impacts.
Amendment 776 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1
1. Violations of rightshuman rights and labour rights, and prohibitions included in international human rights agreements