"NGOs welcome support of European Parliamentarians for duty of care legislation of EU corporations towards people affected by their activities", 18 May 2016

Today, eight national parliaments launched a “green card” initiative at European Union (EU) level to ensure corporate accountability for human rights abuses...[T]he initiative calls for a duty of care towards individuals and communities from EU-based companies whose human rights and local environment are affected by their activities...Amnesty International, European Coalition for Corporate Justice, CIDSE, Forum Citoyen pour la RSE all welcome this initiative...Victims of corporate human rights abuses often experience great difficulty in accessing justice due to numerous legal and practical barriers. EU companies having a duty of care, as requested by European parliamentarians, would  allow victims of human rights abuses and environmental damage to hold EU companies accountable, if they failed to exercise adequate due diligence to prevent human rights abuses in the context of their own activities and also those of  subsidiaries, contractors and suppliers...