The head of the UN human rights office, Volker Türk, has called on EU states to adopt the EU supply chain law. By adopting the controversial law, the EU would “show historic leadership,” said High Commissioner Türk on Tuesday. “I urge EU member states to show leadership on this landmark legal text and get it over the finish line.”
The EU supply chain law is intended to hold large companies accountable if they profit from child or forced labor outside the Union. They should also be more committed to complying with the Paris climate goals. Now that FDP-led ministries are pushing for Germany to abstain from the project, the entire EU supply chain law could fail. Since there is currently no majority in favor of the project among the member states, a planned vote last Friday was postponed.
Over the past four years, numerous interest groups have participated in the development of the policy to an unprecedented extent, said Türk. The process raised hopes that effective management of human rights risks could be ensured by large companies. “If the directive were to fail now, it would be a massive setback.” (dpa)