Business and human rights

Globalisation of the economy has led to gaps in human rights protection. Companies utilise complex supply and value chains with production processes that repeatedly lead to fatal accidents, environmental disasters and serious human rights violations. Labour, safety and environmental standards are often not adhered to along the supply chains.

The duty to protect human rights lies fundamentally with the state. Companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, especially where the state fails to uphold them. In an increasingly interconnected world with often opaque supply and economic relationships, companies that fail to fulfil their due diligence obligations run the risk of causing, contributing to or being linked to human rights violations.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2011, emphasise the responsibility of business enterprises. They call on all companies - regardless of their size, sector and structure - to respect human rights in all their activities. The Guiding Principles also illustrate how companies should proceed in order to fulfil society's expectations of them. The German Supply Chain Act (click here for the English translation), which came into force on 1st January 2023, specifies the due diligence obligations of companies. The EU Supply Chain Directive (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, CSDDD) pursues the same goal.