BETA


2018/2763(RSP) Resolution on the EU's input to a UN Binding Instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with transnational characteristics with respect to human rights EU's input to a UN binding instrument on transnational corporations with respect to human rights

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead DEVE MCAVAN Linda (icon: S&D S&D) ZAHRADIL Jan (icon: ECR ECR)
Committee Opinion INTA LANGE Bernd (icon: S&D S&D)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 136-p5

Events

2018/10/04
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2018/10/04
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2018/10/04
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2018/10/04
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2018/10/04
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted a resolution tabled by the Committee on Development on the EU’s input to a UN Binding Instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with transnational characteristics with respect to human rights.

Members recalled that a system of corporate liability for human rights abuses is currently being negotiated in the UN, within the UNHRC’s open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG), established by the UN General Assembly in 2014. The mandate of the working group is to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Whilst the EU and its Member States play a role at the OEIGWG, the Commission has no mandate from the Council to conduct negotiations on behalf of the EU concerning its participation in the OEIGWG.

Parliament reaffirmed the urgent need to act in an effective and coherent manner at all levels in order to effectively address human rights abuses by transnational corporations, to provide for access to remedies , and address legal problems resulting from the transnational character of the activities of business enterprises and TNCs and the growing complexity of global value chains and the extraterritorial dimension of transnational companies.

In this connection, Parliament noted that many obstacles persist regarding access to judicial remedy, particularly in case of transnational corporations, due to, for example, difficulties encountered by victims in identifying the competent court, lack of codification of certain human rights abuses in penal codes, or corruption. It considered it regrettable that a global approach is still lacking to the way in which transnational corporations abide by human rights law and ensure other remedy mechanisms, which may contribute to TNCs’ impunity for cases of human rights abuses.

Members warmly welcomed the work initiated in the United Nations through the OEIGWG to create a binding UN instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, stressing that corporate social responsibility on a voluntary basis risks is not sufficient for ensuring full conformity with international standards and obligations, and moreover, creates unfair competition for those who choose to comply with international standards.

They reiterated their call for the EU and its Member States to engage genuinely and constructively in these negotiations and in the intergovernmental process aimed at the completion of the OEIGWG’s mandate.

The binding treaty 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 the 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 enforceable obligation for States to adopt regulatory measures requiring companies to apply human rights due diligence policies and procedures.

Parliament urged the EU and its Member States to be actively involved in this intergovernmental process through the creation of a working group through the Commission, the EEAS, the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM) and the relevant committees of Parliament, on the basis of the principle of Policy Coherence for Development.

Documents
2018/10/04
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2018/10/02
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2018/10/01
   EP - Oral question/interpellation by Parliament
Documents
2018/10/01
   EP - Oral question/interpellation by Parliament
Documents
2018/10/01
   EP - Oral question/interpellation by Parliament
Documents
2018/10/01
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2018/03/20
   EP - MCAVAN Linda (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in DEVE
2018/02/19
   EP - LANGE Bernd (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in INTA

Documents

  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0472/2018
  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0473/2018
  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0474/2018
  • Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
  • Decision by Parliament: T8-0382/2018
  • Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
  • Oral question/interpellation by Parliament: B8-0402/2018
  • Oral question/interpellation by Parliament: B8-0403/2018
  • Oral question/interpellation by Parliament: B8-0404/2018
  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0443/2018
  • Oral question/interpellation by Parliament: B8-0402/2018
  • Oral question/interpellation by Parliament: B8-0403/2018
  • Oral question/interpellation by Parliament: B8-0404/2018
  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0443/2018
  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0472/2018
  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0473/2018
  • Motion for a resolution: B8-0474/2018

Activities

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

events/0/docs
  • url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-8-2018-10-02-TOC_EN.html title: Debate in Parliament
docs/3/docs/0/url
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docs/6/docs/0/url
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events/0/docs
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events/2/docs/0/url
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2018-10-04T00:00:00
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  • date: 2018-10-02T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20181002&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament body: EP type: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2018-10-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2018-0382 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0382/2018 body: EP type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
commission
  • body: EC dg: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commissioner: THYSSEN Marianne
committees/0
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committee
DEVE
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date
2018-03-20T00:00:00
rapporteur
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shadows
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committees/0
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docs
  • date: 2018-10-01T00:00:00 docs: title: B8-0402/2018 type: Oral question/interpellation by Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2018-10-01T00:00:00 docs: title: B8-0403/2018 type: Oral question/interpellation by Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2018-10-01T00:00:00 docs: title: B8-0404/2018 type: Oral question/interpellation by Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2018-10-01T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2018-0443&language=EN title: B8-0443/2018 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
  • date: 2018-10-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2018-0472&language=EN title: B8-0472/2018 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
  • date: 2018-10-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2018-0473&language=EN title: B8-0473/2018 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
  • date: 2018-10-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2018-0474&language=EN title: B8-0474/2018 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
events
  • date: 2018-10-02T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20181002&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2018-10-04T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2018-0382 title: T8-0382/2018 summary: The European Parliament adopted a resolution tabled by the Committee on Development on the EU’s input to a UN Binding Instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with transnational characteristics with respect to human rights. Members recalled that a system of corporate liability for human rights abuses is currently being negotiated in the UN, within the UNHRC’s open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG), established by the UN General Assembly in 2014. The mandate of the working group is to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Whilst the EU and its Member States play a role at the OEIGWG, the Commission has no mandate from the Council to conduct negotiations on behalf of the EU concerning its participation in the OEIGWG. Parliament reaffirmed the urgent need to act in an effective and coherent manner at all levels in order to effectively address human rights abuses by transnational corporations, to provide for access to remedies , and address legal problems resulting from the transnational character of the activities of business enterprises and TNCs and the growing complexity of global value chains and the extraterritorial dimension of transnational companies. In this connection, Parliament noted that many obstacles persist regarding access to judicial remedy, particularly in case of transnational corporations, due to, for example, difficulties encountered by victims in identifying the competent court, lack of codification of certain human rights abuses in penal codes, or corruption. It considered it regrettable that a global approach is still lacking to the way in which transnational corporations abide by human rights law and ensure other remedy mechanisms, which may contribute to TNCs’ impunity for cases of human rights abuses. Members warmly welcomed the work initiated in the United Nations through the OEIGWG to create a binding UN instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, stressing that corporate social responsibility on a voluntary basis risks is not sufficient for ensuring full conformity with international standards and obligations, and moreover, creates unfair competition for those who choose to comply with international standards. They reiterated their call for the EU and its Member States to engage genuinely and constructively in these negotiations and in the intergovernmental process aimed at the completion of the OEIGWG’s mandate. The binding treaty 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 the 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 enforceable obligation for States to adopt regulatory measures requiring companies to apply human rights due diligence policies and procedures. Parliament urged the EU and its Member States to be actively involved in this intergovernmental process through the creation of a working group through the Commission, the EEAS, the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM) and the relevant committees of Parliament, on the basis of the principle of Policy Coherence for Development.
  • date: 2018-10-04T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/employment-social-affairs-and-inclusion_en title: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commissioner: THYSSEN Marianne
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Old
INTA/8/12677
New
  • DEVE/8/15948
  • INTA/8/12677
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Rules of Procedure EP 136-p5
procedure/legal_basis/0
Rules of Procedure EP 128-p5
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Old
  • 6.40.13 Relations with/in the context of international organisations: UN, OSCE, OECD, Council of Europe, EBRD
New
6.10.09
Human rights situation in the world
6.40.13
Relations with/in the context of international organisations: UN, OSCE, OECD, Council of Europe, EBRD
procedure/title
Old
EU's input to a UN binding instrument on transnational corporations with respect to human rights
New
Resolution on the EU's input to a UN Binding Instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with transnational characteristics with respect to human rights EU's input to a UN binding instrument on transnational corporations with respect to human rights
activities/0/docs
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  • body: EP responsible: True committee: INTA date: 2018-02-19T00:00:00 committee_full: International Trade rapporteur: group: S&D name: LANGE Bernd
links
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  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/employment-social-affairs-and-inclusion_en title: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commissioner: THYSSEN Marianne
procedure
dossier_of_the_committee
INTA/8/12677
reference
2018/2763(RSP)
title
EU's input to a UN binding instrument on transnational corporations with respect to human rights
legal_basis
Rules of Procedure EP 128-p5
stage_reached
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
subtype
Debate or resolution on oral question/interpellation
type
RSP - Resolutions on topical subjects
subject
6.40.13 Relations with/in the context of international organisations: UN, OSCE, OECD, Council of Europe, EBRD