Golden opportunity for EU to take global lead on human rights in business

Through a legislative initiative on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence regarding safeguards for human rights defenders, the European Union has the chance to set an example for the entire world by protecting people who risk their lives standing up for human rights in the context of business activities, said the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. Human rights defenders are often risking their lives facing violations along the supply chain.  In the 10 years since the Human Rights Council adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, business compliance has remained extremely low and, at the same time, increasing numbers of human rights defenders have been killed for their work. People who stand up for human rights related to environmental protection, community land rights, indigenous peoples’ rights, poverty, minorities and business accountability are most at risk of being attacked or killed. Potential risks for human rights defenders should be seen as a key component of companies’ due diligence duty to identify and assess human rights risks connected to their projects. Risks for defenders evolve over time and companies should have zero tolerance policies for attacks against defenders anywhere along their supply chain.