Activities of Heidi HAUTALA related to 2023/2108(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Shaping the EU’s position on the UN binding instrument on business and human rights, in particular on access to remedy and the protection of victims (A9-0421/2023 - Heidi Hautala) (vote)
Reports (1)
REPORT on shaping the EU’s position on the UN binding instrument on business and human rights, in particular on access to remedy and the protection of victims
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (25)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas corporations are major players in economic globalisation, financial services and international trade, and are required to comply with all applicable laws and international treaties and to respect human rights; whereas business enterprises may cause, contribute or be directly linked to adverse impacts on human rights and the environment, such as modern slavery, labour exploitation, poverty wages and anti-union violations, including violations or abuses that affect the rights of vulnerable groups, as well as adverse impacts on the environment , including pollution, climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss ; whereas corporations may also have an important role to play in promoting human rights, environmental standards and corporate responsibility;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas there is an asymmetry between the rights of business enterprises, particularly in investment protection treaties, where investors are granted broad rights that are not necessarily matched by binding and enforceable obligations in terms of compliance with human rights, labour and environmental law;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas victims of corporate abuse face multiple and overlapping obstacles to accessing remedies, including judicial remedies and guarantees of non- repetition; whereas impunity for human rights abuses by transnational corporationbusiness enterprises remains largely unaddressed in the absence of a robust and comprehensive regulatory framework and alignment at global and regional level;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas, in recent years, the EU has initiated a number of legislative initiatives aimed at regulating business activities on human rights and environmental and climate-related obligations notably through the proposal of an EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the Regulation banning products made with Forced Labour, as well as numerous sectoral initiatives including the Regulation on Deforestation Free Products, the Conflict Minerals Regulation and the Critical Raw Material Acts;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas severala number of EU Member States such as France, Germany and the Netherlands have recently adopted or proposed mandatory due diligence legislation, while a number of other Member States are considering following suit;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas regulatory initiatives, including legislation, on business and human rights have been adopted, or are under discussion, in non-EU countries; such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland and the USA; whereas numerous other countries have developed a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas the draft LBI contains a Regional Integration Organisation clause to accommodate the respective role of the EU and its Member States;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
J b. whereas there is substantial and growing interest in, mobilisation around and expectations from the UN-level discussions on the LBI among affected communities, indigenous peoples, trade unions, members of civil society, scholars and experts globally;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Strongly supports the full implementation, within and outside the EU, of the international standards on responsible business conduct to complement and strengthen the implementation of the UNGPs, which are so far the only global framework that elaborates on a corporate responsibility for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity; regrets however that the UNGPs are not embodied in enforceable instruments; recalls that the limited implementation of UNGPs has been widely attributed to their non- binding character;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses that multilaterally- negotiated rules enjoy greater legitimacy within the international community, while national and regional corporate due diligence regulations may result in diplomatic tensions and conflicting expectations for companies alike;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the importance of closing the legal and regulatory loopholes which are being exploited by transnational corporations andbusiness enterprises, including investors at the cost of human rights and the environment;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States, in the meantime, to coordinate their positions ahead of the negotiations, so as to defend a strong, common and clear EU position presenting in a constructive manner the legislative initiatives aiming to regulate business activities in relation to human rights and climate-related obligations, while showing appreciation for the progress made to date; expects the European External Action Service and the Commission, in particular the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva, to play a proactive and constructive role in this process;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission, the European External Action Service and the Member States to engage proactively with all partner states and prioritise the topic in their dialogues with non-EU countries and regional organisations, notably in the framework of the EU’s structured human rights dialogues; encourages the EU to reach out in particular to key partners who are currently developing their own framework on business and human rights at national level, such as Brazil and Japan, or at regional level, such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Supports a broad scope for the LBI, which aims to cover all business enterprises, including transnational business activities and state-owned enterprises; considers that allowing states parties the flexibility to differentiate, under their domestic legislation, how business enterprises discharge the prevention obligations under the LBI, commensurate with their size, sector, ownership, operational context or the severity of impacts on human rights, would provide important leeway for national adaptation and would be consistent with the universal scope of the UNGPs;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Believes that business activities should be understood to include both actions and omissions and supports a broad definition of business relationships in line with the UNGPs;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Regrets the fact that several references, including liability, to the environment and climate change were removed from the scope of the LBI in the latest draft; considers that the EU and the Member States should strive for the environmental and climate impact of business activities to be included within the scope of the LBI, and reflect the growing realisation of the human rights impact of climate change and environmental degradation and the impact of business activities in this area;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that the LBI should provide for an ambitious, comprehensive, responsive and compulsory framework for the prevention of human rights abuses by corporations, notably by setting the obligation for States Parties to adopt appropriate and effective legislative, regulatory and other measures to prevent corporate abuse and to ensure the practice of human rights and environmental due diligence by all business enterprises; notes, in this regard, that allowing states parties the flexibility to adapt their preventive frameworks to their own legal systems would be a key factor in securing broad adherence to the LBI;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls for the EU and the Member States to ensure, in line with the provisions under the UNGPs, that the LBI prevention framework obliges corporate actors to pay particular attention to their activities in relation toand conduct heightened due diligence when operating in conflict-affected areas or territories under occupation or annexation, where the risk of gross human rights violations is heightened, including by adding references to international humanitarian law, international criminal law and customary international law in the scope of the LBI; believes that the LBI should also address aspects related to corporate activities in disaster-affected or in relation to climate-vulnerable communities, which are becoming ever more relevant in the context of the climate crisis;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses the importance for the EU and the Member States to ensure that the LBI includes the duty to protect the safety of human rights defenders, defenders of the environment, journalists, workers and indigenous peoples and other marginalised groups, and to mainstream consideration for these groups throughout the instrument; insists, in particular, on the importance of enshrining the principle of free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples therein;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Emphasises the need to ensure that states implement robust and effective, yet practical enforcement and compliance monitoring mechanisms; insists, furthermore, on the need for regular and in- depth reporting to be required from corporations and states parties; notes the potential role of processes adopted to develop National Action Plans on business and human rights in this regard;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Highlights the need for the LBI provisions on the rights of victims and rights-holders to spell out the means of ensuring the right to fair, adequate, prompt, non-discriminatory, appropriate and gender-sensitive access to justice, individual or collective reparations and effective remedy regarding human rights abuses caused or contributed to by companies; notes that this should include the right for collective redress, access to legal aid, the right to be heard in all stages of proceedings, access to information held by business enterprises and the protection from reprisals and re- victimisation; considers that the mechanisms to alleviate the evidentiary burden on victims should be provided for in the draft in order to facilitate the victims' right to access to remedy; considers also that States Parties should allow for the adoption of interim or precautionary measures in urgent cases;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Insists that the LBI should include the duty for states parties to develop a comprehensive and adequate system of legal liability that is responsive to the needs of victims, as regards remedy, and commensurate to the gravity of the abuse; insists that the LBI should establish conditions in which the liability of companies can be duly established for harms for which they are responsible, including in their value chains;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Insists that the LBI should address the practical and procedural obstacles faced by victims of corporate abuse when seeking justice, including a broad jurisdiction regime allowing courts to assert jurisdiction in a diversity of situations, a prohibition on the use of forum non conveniens and provisions on connected claims and forum necessitatis; articles guaranteeing that statutes of limitations are adequate and not unduly restrictive; as well as provisions providing for the choice of applicable law for victims in transnational legal cases;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30 b. Calls on the Commission to step up its financial and technical support to national authorities in non-EU countries in the area of business and human rights, notably through the adoption and implementation of National Action Plans under the UNGPs, as well as legislative initiatives aiming to regulate business activities in relation to human rights and environment-related obligations; encourages the Commission to increase its support to civil society organisations in this area, including in relation to the LBI;