The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls on the German government to reject the watering down of the EU supply chain law in the upcoming vote in the EU Council. “The current draft law waters down the supply chain directive to such an extent that it becomes ineffective. Instead of protecting those affected by human rights violations and environmental destruction, most companies are exempted from the obligation to take responsibility for human rights violations along their supply chains,” criticizes Jan Königshausen, STP advisor on Indigenous Peoples.

The EU Parliament is set to vote on the CSDDD supply chain directive in the Omnibus I package in a few days. The EU Council must also approve the changes, which will also happen this week. The final compromise text, negotiated by representatives of the European Parliament, the EU Commission, and the EU Council, provides for a massive weakening of core elements of the EU supply chain directive, criticizes the Supply Chain Act Initiative, of which the STP is also a member.

For many indigenous communities, a strong supply chain law is not an abstract regulation, but a matter of survival. Without binding liability rules, mining, energy, and agricultural corporations have free rein to violate land rights and destroy territories. The EU must not allow Indigenous Peoples to bear the invisible costs of European business," says Jan Königshausen. “At the same time, free trade agreements such as the EU-Mercosur agreement are being pushed forward, which facilitate access to raw materials but do not contain any binding protection mechanisms. This creates a system in which economic interests are protected, while Indigenous Peoples are exposed to more violence, more displacement, and the unpunished destruction of their territories.”

"With a scope of 5,000 employees and annual turnover of €1.5 billion, the complete removal of climate transition plans, and the repeal of the EU-wide harmonized liability rule, little remains of the core elements that make the CSDDD an effective framework for protecting human rights, the environment, and the climate. Such an EU supply chain law deprives victims of human rights violations of the opportunity to defend themselves against injustice – and relieves most companies of the legal obligation to seriously address human rights violations in their supply chains and climate protection in their business model," commented Sofie Kreusch on behalf of the Supply Chain Act Initiative after the conclusion of the trilogue negotiations on December 9.

According to the Supply Chain Act Initiative, it is particularly worrying that, according to the latest revelations, the planned weakening of the EU Supply Chain Directive is also the result of large-scale lobbying by US fossil fuel companies.

This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at presse@gfbv.de.