Human Rights – More responsibility – Süddeutsche.de

companies to assess whether their production rights violated. Fails, the plan threatens a law.

From Caspar Dohmen , Berlin

Whether for a Pakistani suppliers (KiK) or the construction of a power plant in Honduras (Voith and Siemens) or the import of platinum from South Africa (BASF): Time and again, international groups accused from Germany, to be indirectly implicated in the violation of human rights or to benefit from it: 23 of the 30 DAX companies have faced in the past decade with such accusations. Researchers at the University of Maastricht classified German company with a total of 87 complaints in an international comparison in fifth one, after the United States, Britain, China and Canada. Abuses involving German companies are not “rare exceptions”, but in some areas “a structural problem, says Armin Paasch of Misereor. Now to local companies to take more responsibility for their branched production and supply chains. This looks a national action plan, the . the Federal government has set up after nearly two years of discussions with industry, trade unions and civil society and is now present implemented are thus the UN Guiding principles on Business and human rights; this had the United Nations human rights Committee in 2011 adopted unanimously and the first time a global framework for the implementation of state duty to protect and corporate responsibility in relation to business and human rights together.

the German government expects therefore of companies to introduce a human rights risk analysis in their supply and value chain, “potential adverse effects corporate activities on human rights” should determined, be prevented and mitigated, according to the plan. It is not just about compliance risk for their own operations, but also and especially to human rights risks “potential victims of entrepreneurial activity”, ie its own employees or those in the supply chain, residents or customers. Businesses should also explain and justify, if they “fail to implement certain procedures and measures”. From 2018, the process by an independent body is scientifically verified and the action plan will be revised on this basis.

The Federal Government is that at least half of all companies domiciled in Germany with more than 500 employees by 2020. Such have elements of human rights care integrated into their business processes. Should the target be missed, also a law is possible. The speech is accordingly of a “process-liability” in the National Action Plan. Already binding to a human rights due diligence for the 174 companies that belong to the federal government. should remain outside front companies, communities or countries with own or control, including diverse businesses include from the energy sector.

The plan also various political approaches are formulated. So the government wants to call on the EU not to proceed with third countries a human rights impact assessment before concluding any trade and investment agreement. In FTAs ​​as TTIP the Federal Government supported the “systematic inclusion” of sustainability chapters. should be strengthened and the national contact point which already provides under an OECD process in the conflicts; she should be “upgraded as central complaints mechanism for projects to promote foreign trade,” it says.

Hardly any economy is so intertwined in global economic relationships such as the German, whether in the procurement of raw materials and intermediate or the sale of goods , Given the federal government comes to observers a special responsibility in implementing the so-called UN guidelines on business and human rights.

Bärbel Kofler (SPD), Human Rights Commissioner of the Federal Government considers the current Action Plan for “quite ambitious “, the Confederation of German employers (BDA) will not comment on individual aspects. Michael Wind Fuhr, director of the German Institute for Human Rights is, assuming “that the plan will make a difference”. NGOs such as Bread for the World, Amnesty International, Oxfam, Misereor or German Watch but had hoped that the federal government “adopted paradigm of pure voluntarism” of the. Some NGOs had even introduced its own bill for mandatory due diligence for companies in the consulting process.

Interested parties may comment on the plan and hope that it will be completed. Participating NGOs call for, among other things, that companies be punished who fail to comply with the due diligence. You should continue to receive any funding for operations abroad by the federal government, for example, guarantees. The same should apply to public contracts. They also call to facilitate actions for victims from third countries, for example through collective action.

Such serious improvements no longer expect representatives of involved ministries. The business organizations were the ideas of NGOs already much too far: Instead, they demanded that the entrepreneurial diligence requirements are voluntary, and wanted to prevent the implementation of the plan any binding elements are introduced. They have achieved their goal.