"Decolonising CSDDD Debates," October 2024

The working paper ‘Decolonising CSDDD Debates: Through the Lens of Anti-Colonial Epistemology’ based on Pradeep Narayanan's presentation at [ Global North Dominance Watch's] Workshop on Democratisation Knowledge opens critical discussions on how CSDDD might reinforce neo-colonial paradigms. By treating social and environmental issues as mere "value chain risks," we risk commodifying workers and reducing the Global South to a line item on a balance sheet.

Can this framework truly drive meaningful change if it prioritises corporate interests over collective rights? The time to reframe these debates through anti-colonial perspectives is now.

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[I]f we use the "Removing Global North Dominance" framework, when evaluating actions taken by the Global North, such as formulating mHRDD laws, our assessment would be:

• Whether these laws require businesses to disclose information from the downstream value chain as much as the upstream?
• Whether these laws encourage businesses in redistributing profits to support their value chain, so that the latter use resources to address Human Rights violations?
• Whether these laws would level the playing field for Global South nations to negotiate international trade negotiations better?

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