abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

13 May 2019

Author:
Luxembourg coalition for a duty of vigilance law

Luxembourg: Initiative for mandatory due diligence calls for law to help prevent attacks against human rights defenders & journalists

[English summary, full press release available in French here]

Recently, two parliamentary questions were asked (by a Luxembourg MP) on the possible involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi of a Luxembourg subsidiary of the Israeli company NSO.

According to information available on the website of the NSO group, its headquarters are located in Luxembourg. In February 2019, the executives of the NSO group announced that they had acquired the company with the support of the investment fund Novalpina Capital, which also has companies domiciled in Luxembourg.

Research has documented the use of the NSO group's Pegasus spyware to target a wide range of civil society, including at least 24 human rights defenders, journalists and parliamentarians in Mexico, an Amnesty International employee, prominent human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor, and reportedly Jamal Khashoggi.

According to the UNGPs on Business and Human Rights, states have an obligation to protect when third parties, including companies, violate human rights in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction. This requires the adoption of appropriate measures to prevent such violations, and when they occur, to investigate them.

The Initiative for a duty of vigilance in Luxembourg calls on the government to adopt a human rights due diligence law that would require companies to monitor respect for human rights and the environment throughout their value chain. The adoption of such law could help to prevent attacks against human rights defenders and journalists.

Part of the following timelines

Amnesty backs legal action against Israeli firm NSO Group over spyware use against Human Rights Defenders

Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence: Developments in Luxembourg

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.