Chancellor Merz attacks supply chain law

In the course of his inaugural visit to Brussels last Friday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced plans to abolish the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG). Further, he spoke out against the proposed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). A broad civil society alliance, which also includes the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), reacted with clear protest and has started the petition “Keine Gewinne ohne Gewissen – Menschenrechte und Umwelt schützen!” (No profits without a conscience – protect human rights and the environment!)

The “Initiative Lieferkettengesetz” criticized the chancellor’s plans sharply. In the coalition agreement, the new German Federal Government had clearly committed itself to implementing the EU Supply Chain Directive. The fact that this promise is questioned only a few days after the government took office is a fatal signal – to the victims of human rights violations, to the coalition partners, and to companies that are dependent on reliable political framework conditions and planning security. We expect the Federal Government to stand up for the implementation of the CSDDD, as was agreed upon.

As an alliance of more than 90 organizations – including human rights organizations, environmental groups, trade unions, as well as church organizations and development policy groups – we are calling on the chancellor to hold up the German Supply Chain Act and to advocate for an effective implementation of the EU Supply Chain Directive. These two sets of regulations are among the most important achievements in recent years with regard to human rights and to climate and environmental protection.

“A watering down or abolition of the Supply Chain Act would be fatal for those who are submitted to forced labor in dictatorships such as in China. German and European companies that are operating in China would, de facto, be released from their duty of due diligence,” stated Hanno Schedler, China expert at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). The victims would be Uyghurs who have to perform forced labor in their settlement areas in Xinjiang / East Turkestan and in other parts of China – but also indigenous peoples whose rights are systematically undermined for the extraction of raw materials.

“Indigenous communities all over the world are especially affected by the race for resources such as lithium and copper, as many of these minerals can be found on their land. To this day, many Indigenous communities are still paying the price of colonial exploitation: Their habitats are being destroyed, and their rights are systematically ignored. A strong Supply Chain Act could help to break the cycle of injustice – and to finally hold companies to account,” stated Jan Königshausen, expert on Indigenous peoples at the Society for Threatened Peoples.  

With today’s launch of the petition, the Initiative Lieferkettengesetz is sending a strong signal for the coming weeks and months – calling for a values-based, resilient, and future-oriented economy.

The petition can be found here: https://www.gfbv.de/de/aktiv-werden/kampagnen-petitionen/lieferkettengesetz/

Contact:

Jan Königshausen (STP): j.koenigshausen@gfbv.de or +49 551 49906-14

Hanno Schedler (STP) h.schedler@gfbv.de or +49 551/49906-15.

Sofie Kreusch (Initiative Lieferkettengesetz): presse@lieferkettengesetz.de or +49 30 577132890