Nachrichten & Pressemeldungen - 06 September 2022 Justice concerns us all: Civil society and trade unions from all over Europe launch campaign As the supporting organisation of the Supply Chain Act initiative, FEMNET joins the call Justice is Everybody’s Business to. The campaign is supported by numerous civil society and trade union organisations from across Europe and beyond. It is committed to using laws to hold companies to account that violate workers' rights and destroy the livelihoods of communities. Press release of the Supply Chain Act initiative Now a strong EU supply chain law: Europe-wide alliance calls for improvements to the Commission's draft Berlin/Brussels, 6 September 2022. ‘Justice is Everybody’s Business’ is the guiding principle and objective of more than 100 organisations that have today launched a Europe-wide campaign to protect people and the environment in global supply chains. In an action in front of the Council of the European Union (EU) building in Brussels, the EU-wide alliance, which also includes the German Alliance ‘Initiative Supply Chains Act’, called for a strong and effective EU supply chain law. The objective: A comprehensive obligation for European companies to prevent human rights violations and environmental degradation, as well as legal consequences for companies that act irresponsibly. This requires improvements to the current draft law, which the Commission presented in February 2022, according to the pan-European alliance. The ‘Initiative Supply Chain Act’ expects the Federal Government to be more committed to improvements in Brussels. Federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) had announced on 3 September that the Federal Government supported the proposal of the EU Commission – including the planned civil liability. ‘Germany's support for the Commission draft is a good signal. In the coalition agreement, the traffic light has agreed on a “strong EU supply chain law”. Chancellor Olaf Scholz must now do justice to this and demand improvements in the negotiations in Brussels. EU citizens are fed up with businesses doing business at the expense of people and the environment., says Johanna Kusch, Coordinator of the Supply Chain Act Initiative ‘As a leading With the Supply Chain Act, the EU's economic region can pave the way for a sustainable and dignified global economy. However, the draft of the EU Commission does not yet live up to this claim. The due diligence obligations must apply without gaps and loopholes to the entire supply and value chains of European companies. Only then can the production conditions worldwide and thus the lives of the people in the Global South be improved.“, emphasises Dagmar PruinPresident of Bread for the World. "The EU Supply Chain Act must finally strengthen the rights of those affected worldwide in the event of human rights violations. If, for example, human rights violations occur in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the mining of cobalt for battery batteries of electric cars, those affected must be able to successfully bring the responsible European companies to justice here as well. To this end, access to justice must be urgently improved in the present draft law.“, says Markus BeekoSecretary General of Amnesty International Germany. ‘Ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest are being destroyed by the destructive way of farming. The federal government must now put an end to this exploitation at the expense of climate, biodiversity and human life and keep its coalition promises. Nothing less than our existence is at stake. The traffic light is also responsible with the EU supply chain law to do everything for the preservation of our livelihoods and more climate justice“, says Anna Castro Kösel, Fridays for Future Brot für die Welt and Amnesty International are among the more than 130 human rights, development and environmental organisations, trade unions and church actors that have joined forces in Germany to form the Supply Chain Act Initiative. Fridays for Future supports the goals of the initiative and the Europe-wide campaign. Further information Europe-wide campaign ‘Justice is Everybody’s Business’ German Alliance "Initiative Supply Chain Act" contact Supply Chain Act initiativeAnabel Bermejo, 0172-5870087, E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Bread for the World Thomas Beckmann, Press Spokesman, Tel.: 030-65211 1443, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Amnesty InternationalEllen Wesemüller, Press Spokesperson, Tel.: 420 248 306, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. background The Supply Chain Act initiative is supported by: Amnesty International Deutschland, Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Eine Welt-Landesnetzwerke in Deutschland e.V. (agl), Brot für die Welt, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUND), Christian Initiative Romero e.V. (CIR), CorA Network for Corporate Responsibility, German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), FEMNET e.V., Forum Fairer Handel e.V., Germanwatch e.V., Greenpeace e.V., INKOTA Network e.V., Bischöfliches Hilfswerk MISEREOR e.V., Oxfam Deutschland e.V., SÜDWIND e.V., ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerk, WEED - Weltwirtschaft, Ökologie & Entwicklung e.V., Weltladen-Dachverband e.V., Werkstatt e.V. A further 115 organisations support the Supply Chain Act initiative.
