Due diligence directive agreement fails to protect persons with disabilities



Due diligence directive agreement fails to protect persons with disabilities

While we commend the fact that negotiators reached an agreement on the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, we are extremely disappointed to see the extent to which it has weakened its obligations to protect human rights.

One of the goals of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive was to guarantee businesses ensure their supply chains respect human rights. However, the final text severely undermines this goal by removing mentions of several human rights treaties from a detailed annex and relegating them to a vague and fleeting mention in a Recital.

This Directive will, therefore, do little to protect communities that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of companies’ global supply chains. Persons with disabilities, for their part, are particularly affected by underpaid or forced labour, as well as precarious and even dangerous working conditions. It now remains to be seen whether the watered-down Directive will actually have any impact on reducing such cases of exploitation.

Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum, stated:

While we understand negotiations were tense, the European Union squandered a chance to assert its position as a human rights champion. This Directive will do very little to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and other marginalised communities, or ensure quality employment.

Related documents

Contacts

André Félix

Communications Coordinator

andre.felix@edf-feph.org

Haydn Hammersley

Social Policy Coordinator

haydn.hammersley@edf-feph.org