Corporate Accountability

For months, there has been an intensive and controversial debate in Germany on a Human Rights Due Diligence Regulation (so called supply chain law). Recently, a new proposal has been under discussion - a law for a supply chain register. Now that the debate on the supply chain register is public and this proposal has also been submitted to EU Justice Commissioner Reynders, Germanwatch, Greenpeace and INKOTA hereby publicly present their central points of criticism of the supply chain register.

In order to strengthen corporate responsibility along supply and value chains, so-called multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) are often used nationally and internationally. Most recently, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) announced its intention to step up its efforts to promote EU-wide sectoral dialogues within the framework of Germany’s EU Council Presidency.

Ab nächstem Jahr soll die Verordnung zur verantwortungsvollen Beschaffung von Zinn, Wolfram, Tantal und Gold (3TG) aus Konfliktregionen in der EU in Kraft treten. Die meisten EU-Staaten sind derzeit daher mit der Ausarbeitung entsprechender Umsetzungsgesetze beauftragt. Die ersten Entwürfe, darunter auch aus Deutschland, sorgen nun allerdings für massive Kritik seitens europäischer Entwicklungs- und Menschenrechtsorganisationen, darunter auch Germanwatch. Die vorliegende Stellungnahme wurde von Nichtregierungsorganisationen aus ganz Europa unterzeichnet.

The EU Regulation on the responsible supply of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRA) is a crucial first step towards supply chains free from human rights abuse. The EU Regulation on the responsible supply of 3TG from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRA) was approved in 2017 and will enter into force in 2021. Before this date, the EU member states need to adopt measures to ensure the implementation of the Regulation. However, the first implementation measures being discussed by member states risk diluting the efficacy of the Regulation by concealing the list of companies subjected to it.

Claudia Saller (ECCJ), Julia Otten & Johanna Kusch on why the German government should give the mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence agenda a real push, both at home and in Brussels.

Artisanal gold mining in Colombia is associated with the financing of armed conflicts. The adoption of the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation in 2017 has raised attention to respective challenges. One of the world's largest gold smelters, the Swiss smelter Metalor, has consequently withdrawn from small-scale mining business. However, as the following study argues, the link between artisanal gold mining and the financing of armed conflicts in Colombia is much more complex. At the same time, small-scale mining faces criminalization by national legislation. A general boycott of this sector by major smelters can further marginalize the artisanal mining sector in favor of international mining companies. At the same time, the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation excludes many serious human rights violations, such as violent expulsions and massive environmental destruction by large mining companies destroying the livelihoods of local populations.

Colombia is one of the countries categorised as a conflict region by the EU Regulation on Responsible Sourcing. This paper will take a closer look at gold extraction in Colombia in the context of the violent conflict and human rights abuses taking place there. From there, the paper will present recommendations directed towards the implementation of Accompanying Measures of the EU Regulation on Responsible Sourcing in Colombia, as well as additional measures needed to diminish the levels of conflict and human rights violations in this sector.

Over 20 leading NGOs working on corporate transparency have published a statement calling on EU policy-makers to define companies’ disclosure obligations on sustainability issues on the occasion of today’s high-level conference on the future of corporate reporting hosted by the European Commission in Brussels.

This paper analyses the current governance framework concerning mineral supply chains of electronic devices.
This is about ten years after leading IT companies began in 2007 to fund research to investigate the impact of mineral sourcing for IT devices, which established a connection between their products and human rights abuses.

Coolproducts, a coalition of environmental NGOs, with the support of over 30 stakeholders across Europe and beyond (including Germanwatch), urge Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, to regulate smartphones by 2021 with requirements that will make smartphones more energy efficient and more durable, repairable and recyclable.