Special Report
| Global victims could seek European redress |
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| Written by Adrie van der Luijt | |
| Monday, 02 June 2008 | |
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Victims of human rights and environmental abuses by European firms around the world could find justice in European courts.
This is if policy proposals unveiled at an international conference at the European Parliament and developed by a team of legal experts are adopted. The European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) is a network of over 250 civil society organisations around Europe, including the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), Friends of the Earth, several Oxfam affiliates and national chapters of Amnesty International, WWF and Greenpeace among its membership. If adopted by the European Union, the ECCJ's proposals would guarantee the legal responsibility of companies based in Europe - and their directors - for human rights or environmental violations committed by their subsidiaries or subcontractors anywhere in the world. Weak accountability mechanisms The ECCJ has found that the legal structure of companies and weak accountability mechanisms all too often result in ethical mismanagement by companies. From mercury poisoning in South Africa to child labour in India, companies’ breaches of environmental and human rights standards have revealed systemic failings in the operation of many companies that has resulted in environmental and social harm for many years. Olivier de Schutter, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food, calls the current situation “unsatisfactory” in light of globalisation. He warns that host states competing to attract foreign direct investment from companies are unable or unwilling to protect their populations, including communities affected by the activities of transnational corporations. "What’s more, home states of these corporations are mostly reluctant to provide remedies to victims or to impose human rights obligations on parent companies to control their international operations," De Schutter adds. Parent companies legally responsible To address this situation, ECCJ is calling on the European Union to accept three proposals detailed in its report. The first is the extension of the direct liability of parent companies of multinational enterprises operating in Europe. This measure would assure that parent companies do not only obtain the economic benefits of their operations but are also made legally responsible for the negative impacts on people and the planet they and their subsidiaries cause. The ECCJ also calls for a mandatory duty of care for parent companies in Europe to prevent human rights abuses by persons under their economical influence. This would mean that companies would have to take reasonable steps to make sure no human rights or environmental abuses were committed along their supply chain, or by any associates operating within their ’sphere of responsibility’, or face legal action in Europe. The ECCJ’s third proposal is for a mandatory system for large companies to report on their social and environmental risks and impacts. The organisation has developed a model which would enable the European Union to increase the transparency of business’ activities, products and services needed by investors, consumers and local communities to make informed decisions, while also establishing a level playing field for all companies residing in the European Union. Competitive disadvantage Richard Howitt MEP (UK, Labour), European Parliament rapporteur on corporate social responsibility, says that extra territorial prosecution against the worst corporate abuses is allowed under the Brussels Convention, and recommendations to make company directors personally liable are already supported in the European Parliament. "Now is the time for the European Union to have the political will to implement these proposals," he adds. The measures proposed would ensure that multinational enterprises with responsible environmental and human rights practices are not placed at a competitive disadvantage within the European Community. Ruth Casals, coordinator of the ECCJ, explains that the ECCJ believes that these proposals would lead to a coherent and harmonised approach to business regulation, putting an end to what she describes as the unfair competition caused by companies who profit from human rights and environmental abuses. “These proposals will provide long needed justice for victims of environmental or human rights abuses by companies based in Europe,” Casals concludes. She says that the proposals are very timely as they represent a consistent next step to the recent report by the UN special representative on business and human rights, John Ruggie. Ruggie has called on states to step up their efforts to protect citizens from corporate misconduct, and for companies to respect human rights. He highlighted the need for victims to have access to justice in order to obtain redress. Related articles
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