On Wednesday, 15 December, business and human rights experts and leaders, including ECCJ director Claudia Saller, issued a joint statement to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the delay of the sustainable corporate governance initiative.

The EU’s legislative proposal for a sustainable corporate governance initiative — including mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence rules for European businesses across their global value chains and improved corporate accountability — was delayed again this month.

With no clear indication when the much-anticipated directive will be published, the undersigned leaders are uniting to make sure this essential legislation is not indefinitely put on ice. The message is clear: there is simply no time to lose.

The undersigned call on President von der Leyen and the European Commission to demand that this concerning delay will lead to a proposal that sets an ambitious standard of care, covers the widest possible range of businesses, and improves access to justice and remedy for those affected by corporate abuse.

The measure of success will be tangible improvements for workers and communities.

Signatories

Jasmine O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer, Anti-Slavery International
Phil Bloomer, Executive Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC)
Josianne Gauthier, Secretary General, CIDSE
Cecile Riou, Interim Secretary General, Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de l’Homme
(CNCDH – France)
Gilbert Pregno, President, Commission consultative des Droits de l’Homme du Grand-Duché de
Luxembourg
Elin Wrzoncki, Department Director, Human Rights and Business, The Danish Institute for
Human Rights
Wolfgang Kaleck, General Secretary, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
Claudia Saller, Director General, European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ)
Maria Isabel Cubides Sanchez, Head of Globalization and Human Rights Desk ad interim,
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Filip Gregor, Head of Responsible Companies Section, Frank Bold
Peter Paul van de Wijs, Chief External Affairs Officer, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Mike Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Global Witness
Joan Carling, Executive Director, Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI)
Phil Lynch, Executive Director, International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Alejandra Ancheita, Founder and Executive Director, Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y
Culturales (ProDESC)
Arockiam Aloysius, Founder and Managing Director, SAVE India
Sandra Cossart, Executive Director, Sherpa
Audrey Gaughran, Executive Director, Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
Mary Robinson, Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice, Trinity College Dublin; Chair of The Elders;
Former High Commissioner for Human Rights; Former President of Ireland
Ruslan Myatiev, Founder and Director, Turkmen.news