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Article

16 Jun 2016

Author:
Jérôme Chaplier, European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ), on Euractiv

Business and human rights: The world is still waiting for action

The UNGPs’ endorsement in 2011 represented an important step towards improved corporate accountability…

With the Principles, the debate moved from why to how states should ensure company responsibility for human rights…

But the UNGPs are only as effective as our governments allow them to be. And in the five years since their adoption, civil society excitement has worn off quickly. It has become obvious that despite their public commitments, the EU and its member states were in no hurry to walk the talk.

Proof is the multitude of human rights and environmental scandals that have continued to surface…

the EU-wide approach to business and human rights is limited to the promotion of voluntary and business-driven CSR, a system of rewards and recognitions in line with the wishes of conservative business lobby associations…

Along with developing robust action plans, other concrete opportunities for our governments to enhance business responsibility exist, in fields such as company reporting, trade and investment, corporate governance or public procurement…[Also refers to Nestlé, Nike, shell]

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