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Article

27 Feb 2017

Author:
John G. Ruggie, Harvard Univ, former UN Special Representative on business & human rights

John Ruggie calls for greater EU leadership on business & human rights in letter to President of European Commission

"John Ruggie Letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker", Feb 2017

My reason for writing is to express concern that this agenda seems today to be increasingly set aside by the European Commission. An EU Action Plan on CSR/responsible business conduct that has long been promised is yet to emerge, despite two calls last year from all Member States for one to be issued. Indeed, work across Directorates-General that could and should support business respect for human rights appears not to have materialized, or has been stalled altogether...The Commission’s past leadership on responsible business conduct, and in particular on business and human rights, had a catalytic effect on a whole range of actions, across the EU and beyond, that brought substantive progress in business practices. I respectfully urge you and your colleagues to renew that leadership and help build the foundations for a socially sustainable development without which neither our societies nor our businesses can thrive.