29 Amendments of Judith SARGENTINI related to 2018/2656(RSP)
Amendment 9 #
Citation 9 a (new)
– having regard to the UN CESCR General comment No. 24 (2017) on State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities (E/C.12/GC/24),
Amendment 10 #
Citation 9 b (new)
– having regard to the Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights1a, _________________ 1a http://www.etoconsortium.org/nc/en/main -navigation/library/maastricht- principles/?tx_drblob_pi1%5BdownloadU id%5D=23.
Amendment 11 #
Citation 11 a (new)
– having regard to the International Labour Organisation’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy,
Amendment 13 #
Citation 11 b (new)
– having regard to the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility,
Amendment 40 #
Recital A
A. whereas the EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights; and whereas its action on the international scene (including its development and trade policies) shall be guided by these principles and consistent with PCD, as enshrined in Article 208 of the Lisbon Treaty;
Amendment 45 #
Recital B
B. whereas the implementation of Agenda 2030 implies that economic development should goes hand-in-hand with social justice, and good governance, respect for human rights, including high labour and environmental standards, and whereas development, trade and human rights can have an impact on each other and may reinforce each other;
Amendment 56 #
Recital C
C. whereas human rights obligations rest primarily with States; whereas although States are not per se responsible for human rights violationabuses by private actors, they may breach their international human rights law obligations where such violations can be attributed to them, or where they fail to take appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress private actors’ abuse; whereas States generally have discretion in deciding upon these steps, including policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication;
Amendment 60 #
Recital D
D. whereas States should set out clearly the expectation th’ obligation to protect implies to regulate all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction in order to ensure their respect of human rights throughout their operations including through their subsidiaries, controlled companies and entities in their supply chain worldwide;
Amendment 68 #
Recital E
E. whereas the UNGPs apply to all States and to all business enterprises, both transnational and others, regardless of their size, sector, location, ownership and structure and are grounded in recognition of the following: States’ existing obligations to respect,the three pillars of the UN “protect-respect- remedy” framework, namely: 1) the state duty to protect and fulfilgainst human rights and fundamental freedoms; the role of business enterprises as specialized organs of society performing specialized functions, required to comply with buses by third parties, including business; 2) the corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and 3) greater access by victims to effective remedy, both judiciall applicable laws and to respect human rights; and the need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breachednd non-judicial; although the UNGP’s are not legally binding, they are widely recognised and supported, and serve the basis for policy approaches towards business and human rights internationally;
Amendment 75 #
Recital G
G. whereas corporations are one of the major players in economic globalisation, financial services and international trade and are required to comply with all applicable laws and international treaties in force, and to respect human rights; whereas these business enterprises may at times cause, or contribute to human rights violationabuses, and whereas they may also have an important role to play in offering positive incentives in terms of promoting human rights, democracy, environmental standards and corporate social responsibility;
Amendment 80 #
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas there is a asymmetry between TNC’s rights and obligations, particularly in investment protection treaties, where investors are being granted broad rights, such as “fair and equitable treatment”, that are not necessarily matched by binding and enforceable obligations in terms of compliance with human rights, labour and environmental law throughout the whole supply chain;
Amendment 87 #
Recital H
H. whereas the EU has played a leading role in negotiating and implementing a number of initiatives for global responsibility which go hand in hand with the promotion and respect of international standards in relation to business and human rights; whereas the EU and its Member States have also committed to a number of instruments, in particular the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) and the 2016 Council of Europe Recommendation on human rights and business;
Amendment 89 #
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas in the recent years, the EU has started to adopt legislation to enhance corporate accountability and embed elements of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) into legislation, including the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation and the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFR); whereas member states have started to adopt national legislation with the same aim, such as the UK Modern Slavery Act, the France duty of vigilance law, the Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence Law, the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative, or the German and Italian National Action Plans to implement the UNGPs;
Amendment 92 #
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the European Commission has been reluctant to advance further legislation on other sectors such as garments, despite repeated calls from the European Parliament; whereas the multitude of national legislative initiatives might lead to an inefficient and unfair playing field within the EU; whereas a UN binding treaty could be a meaningful step forward in this regard;
Amendment 95 #
Recital I
I. whereas a global holistic approach to corporate liability for human rights violationabuses is still lacking, and whereas victims of human rights violationabuses involving multinational companies face multiple obstacles to accessing remedies, including judicial remedies;
Amendment 100 #
Recital J
Amendment 101 #
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights imposes both domestic and extraterritorial obligations on States regarding their duties to provide access to judicial remedies for victims of human rights violations;
Amendment 102 #
Recital K
K. whereas a system of corporate liability for human rights violationabuses is currently being negotiated in the UN;
Amendment 109 #
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that globalisation and increasing internationalisation of business activities and supply chains make the role that corporations play in ensuring respect for human rights more important and create a situation in which international norms and rules are crucial to avoid human rights violationabuses in third countries;
Amendment 114 #
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that due diligence is a key component of the UN Guiding Principles’ second pillar on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights; stresses that effective due diligence practices can also help to strengthen access to remedy; encourages the EU and its Member States to pursue the adoption of a coherent framework establishing mandatory human rights due diligence requirements for companies;
Amendment 124 #
Paragraph 3
3. Strongly supports the full implementation of the UNGPs, and calls on the EU and Member States to elaborate and adopt an EU, respectively national action plans for the swift, effective and comprehensive implementation of the said Principles; takes the view that the National Action Plans should include indicators to measure achievement; stresses equally that the EU should ensure independent and regular peer review of EU Member States’ National Action Plans and the progress made, particularly to facilitate access to remedy;
Amendment 130 #
Paragraph 4
4. Considers it regrettable that a global approach to the way in which transnational corporations abide by human rights law is still lacking; in particular, regrets that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are not embodied in enforceable instruments recalls that the poor implementation of UNGPs, as in the case of other internationally recognised standards, has been largely attributed to its non-binding character;
Amendment 131 #
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Notes with concern that many obstacles persist regarding access to judicial remedy, particularly in case of transnational corporations, due to i.e. the difficulty for victims to identify the competent court; lack of codification of certain human rights abuses in penal codes; corruption which can undermine legal proceedings in developing countries, etc.; recalls that appropriate non-judicial remedies are also of crucial importance, but are often lacking;
Amendment 134 #
Paragraph 5
5. Reaffirms the urgent need to act in an effective and coherent manner at all levels, including national, European and international, in order to effectively address human rights violationabuses by transnational corporations, to address legal problems resulting from the extra- territorial dimension of transnational companies, and the related uncertainty as to where liability for human rights violations liesnsnational character of the activities of business enterprises and TNCs and the related uncertainty as to where liability for human rights abuses lies; reaffirms the need to fully implement extraterritorial obligations of States, as set out in the Maastricht Principles, and building on the various instruments of the Council of Europe, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); more broadly, urges the EU to take initiatives to improve access to remedy in extra-territorial cases, in line with the recommendations set in the 2017 FRA opinion;
Amendment 140 #
Paragraph 6
6. Considers it necessary to establishReaffirms the primacy of human rights in international law, in accordance with Article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations, and the need to establish it through a clear system whereby human rights obligations take effectively precedence over other types of conflicting obligations, including over trade and investments agreements;
Amendment 155 #
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses that a binding treaty on business and human rights should build on the UNGP’s framework and encompass: the definition of mandatory due diligence obligations for TNCs and other business enterprises, including with respect to their subsidiaries; the recognition of extraterritorial human rights obligations of states; the recognition of corporate criminal liability; mechanisms for coordination and cooperation among states on investigation, prosecution and enforcement of cross-border cases; the setting-up of international judicial and non-judicial mechanisms for supervision and enforcement;
Amendment 176 #
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates once more its call on the EU and Member States to engage genuinely and constructively in these negotiations, with the aim to set up a mandatory and enforceable international treaty on business and human rights;
Amendment 177 #
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Strongly believes that a binding and enforceable UN Treaty could address the grave imbalances between the highly enforceable investor rights granted in investment agreements and the weak international protection of human rights and the environment; considering that the Commission has proposed to create a Multilateral Investment Court as a permanent body to enforce investor rights, urges the EU and its Member States to uphold the primacy of human rights by working on the advancement of the UN Treaty Process;
Amendment 179 #
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the EU and Member States to support and collaborate with regional human rights systems in the Americas and Africa when these are addressing human rights abuses by transnational corporations;