Trade Unions & of 82 civil society organizations for gender responsiveness in CSDD proposal

Need for gender-responsive due diligence rules

On 23 February 2022, the European Commission finally proposed draft legislation on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. Despite some interesting features,  it falls far short of what is needed to protect human rights and the environment.

The current text does not recognize the fact that business and human rights abuses have differentiated impacts on individuals and groups, for instance on women and girls. This comes as a great disappointment when over 60 organisations wrote to the European Commission in November 2021, urging them to ensure that the upcoming proposal be gender-responsive and strongly aligned with the EU Gender Equality Strategy and the Gender Action Plan III. 

Gender-specific impacts on women happen in all sectors, from extractives, manufacturing and agriculture to accommodation, food services industry and the garment sector. Such issues frequently intersect with other grounds for discrimination many women are further discriminated against based on intersecting identities such as their ethnic origin, age, class, caste, migration status, gender identity and/or other factors.

This is why gender-responsive due diligence rules and corporate accountability are urgently needed to properly address these deep-seated inequalities. 

Gender-responsiveness must be included in all steps of the due diligence process; if not, it will render invisible the specific risks and additional barriers faced by women and/or groups in vulnerable situations. 

Furthermore, not addressing the obstacles in access to justice will continue tying the hands of affected women and girls to be able to defend themselves and demand remedy.

Read here the open letter.

Signatories
  1. ActionAid International
  2. AK EUROPA
  3. Amigas de la Tierra (Spain) 
  4. Anti-Slavery International
  5. Arisa
  6. ASTM
  7. Asociación de investigación y Especialización sobre Temas Iberoamericanos
  8. Asociación por la Paz y los Derechos Humanos Taula per Mèxic
  9. Avocats Sans Frontières
  10. Broederlijk Delen
  11. Brot für die Welt
  12. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
  13. Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
  14. Campagna Abiti Puliti
  15. CARE International
  16. CNCD-11.11.11
  17. Christian Aid Ireland 
  18. Christian Initiative Romero
  19. CIDSE 
  20. Clean Clothes Campaign
  21. CooperAcció
  22. CorA-Netzwerk für Unternehmensverantwortung
  23. Corporate Justice Coalition 
  24. cum ratione gGmbH
  25. Development Projects for Women – Marie-Schlei-Verein
  26. Diakonia
  27. Entraide et Fraternité
  28. European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
  29. European Coalition for Corporate Justice – ECCJ
  30. EU-LAT Network
  31. European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
  32. EZA Fairer Handel GmbH
  33. Fair Finance International
  34. Fair Trade Advocacy Office
  35. Fairtrade International
  36. FAIRTRADE Österreich
  37. FEMNET e.V.
  38. FIAN Germany
  39. Focus Association for Sustainable Development
  40. FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development
  41. Forum Fairer Handel 
  42. Friends of the Earth Europe 
  43. Foro Ciudadano de Participación por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos FOCO.INPADE Argentina 
  44. ForumCiv 
  45. Fundacion Alboan 
  46. Global Policy Forum
  47. Global Witness
  48. Grupo belga Solidair met Guatemala
  49. Human Rights Without Frontiers
  50. International Dalit Solidarity Network
  51. IM Swedish development partner
  52. INKOTA-Netzwerk
  53. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
  54. International Justice Mission Germany
  55. International Service for Human Rights
  56. Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights 
  57. Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya
  58. KOLPING International
  59. Lady Lawyer Foundation
  60. Les Amis de la Terre – Belgique 
  61. Manushya Foundation, Thailand 
  62. Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
  63. Oxfam International
  64. PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants)
  65. Project Organising Development Education and  Research (PODER)
  66. Protection International (PI)
  67. Rainforest Alliance
  68. Red europea de comité Oscar Romero
  69. ShareAction
  70. Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations – SOMO
  71. Stichting IUCN Nederlands Comité
  72. Südwind (Austria)
  73. Swedish Fellowship Of Reconciliation
  74. Swedwatch
  75. TERRE DES FEMMES e.V.
  76. Trócaire
  77. We Effect
  78. Women Engage for a Common Future – WECF International
  79. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
  80. Workers Assistance Center,Inc., Philippines
  81. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
  82. WSM