"The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive - How to implement it for children’s rights," October 2024

On 25 July 2024, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EUCSDDD) entered into force. The Directive explicitly requires companies to identify, address and remedy their negative impacts on children’s rights. The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive has an enormous potential to contribute to the respect and protection of children’s rights, if EU and national policymakers, businesses, judges, and supervising authorities transpose it and implement it with children’s rights at its core. 

As the implementation phase starts, UNICEF provides its recommendations to the EU Institutions, EU Member States, and business on how to effectively implement it for children’s rights. 

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There are still significant gaps in business’ efforts to identify and act on their adverse impact on children’s rights that are often overlooked in companies’ sustainability due diligence. The inclusion of children’s rights in the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is a unique opportunity to address this gap by driving companies’ awareness and action to respect children’s rights. There are already some examples of companies integrating children’s rights into the steps of their sustainability due diligence process. The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence should accelerate and expand this practice, allowing for impact at scale...