Ahead of the European Union vote on whether to adopt the Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), ICAR, joined by 69 other partner organizations around the world, sent the following letter urging European countries to vote in favor of a strong due diligence directive. The letter was directed to the embassies of the following European countries:

• Germany
• Cyprus
• Malta
• Sweden
• Finland
• Luxembourg
• Bulgaria
• Lithuania

Below is the letter ICAR sent to the Embassy of Germany in Washington D.C.

Ambassador Michaelis:

The undersigned organizations are writing to urge your government to vote in favor of a strong Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) before the upcoming European Union elections. Within Europe, the CSDDD enjoys significant support from the public, businesses, church groups, academics and international institutions like the OECD, the ILO, and OHCHR. The undersigned organizations work primarily outside of Europe, but nonetheless have a vested interest in the passage of a strong Due Diligence Directive.

The CSDDD would have significant positive impacts on businesses that operate in the jurisdictions where we work. As it is currently structured, the CSDDD would apply to a large number of companies that are either headquartered outside of Europe (but nonetheless conduct a sufficient amount of business in Europe to be covered by the Directive), or that are headquartered in Europe but do a significant amount of business outside of Europe. This is an excellent feature of the Directive and would mean that companies across a variety of jurisdictions would need to undertake critical human rights and environmental due diligence. The Directive provides a real opportunity to transform the way European supply chains and the supply chains of goods headed to Europe operate, making them more humane and environmentally sustainable.

This is especially important given that enacting the CSDDD would put Europe way out front in
the effort to eliminate human rights abuses, labor rights abuses, and environmental destruction that result from corporate misconduct. The model that Europe has developed domestically—starting with the French Duty of Vigilance law and proliferating from there—has gained traction around the world. Civil society organizations like ours have developed or are exploring domestic legislation in our own jurisdictions that take their cue from this model. If Europe were to abandon this effort now, or take steps to dramatically weaken the Directive, this would send a signal to other jurisdictions that, even in Europe, legislation that enhances supply chains is too difficult to pass. While we would strongly disagree, the damage to the momentum created around the world in the wake of the effort to enact the CSDDD could be enormous.

The CSDDD will have far reaching impacts on corporate activity that will be felt around the world. We strongly urge your government to vote in favor of the CSDDD in the upcoming vote. If you are interested in discussing this in further detail or have any questions, please contact David McKean at david@icar.ngo.

Signed by:

United States
1. The International Corporate
Accountability Roundtable
2. Heartland Initiative
3. Verite
4. The Human Trafficking Legal Center
5. Freedom United
6. Accountability Counsel
7. Corporate Accountability Lab
8. Global Fund to End Modern Slavery
(GFEMS)
9. The Clear Chain
10. Inclusive Development International
11. Oxfam
12. Eko
13. Investor Alliance for Human Rights
14. Transparentem
15. Bennett Freeman, Former U.S. Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
16. Joe W. Pitts
17. Advocacy for Principled Action in
Government
18. Organization for Identity & Cultural
Development
19. Global Labor Justice-International Labor
Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF)
20. Action on Smoking and Health
21. Interfaith Center on Corporate
Responsibility

Canada
22. Canadian Network on Corporate
Accountability
23. Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project
24. Maquila Solidarity Network
25. IMPACT
26. Above Ground (a project of MakeWay)

Mexico
27. Project on Organizing, Development,
Education, and Research (PODER)
28. Proyecto de Derechos Económicos,
Sociales y Culturales (ProDESC)
Ecuador
29. Alianza de Organizaciones por los
Derechos Humanos del Ecuador

Peru
30. Programa Laboral De Desarrollo
(PLADES)

Chile
31. Somos la Plataforma Chilena de
Sociedad Civil sobre Derechos Humanos
y empresas
32. Fundacion Acue
33. Defensoria Ambiental ONG
34. Centro de Derechos Humanos
Universidad Diego Portales
35. Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de
Chile
36. Fundacion Liberia

United Kingdom
37. Corporate Justice Coalition
38. Labour Behind the Label
39. Business & Human Rights Resource
Centre
40. UNISON
41. Fauna & Flora International
42. The Freedom Fund
43. ABColombia

Australia
44. National Council of Jewish Women of
Australia
45. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
46. Josephite Counter Trafficking Project
47. Australian Human Rights Institute,
UNSW Sydney
48. Human Rights Law Centre
49. Project Respect Incorporated
50. Walk Free
51. Project Didi Australia
52. Be Slavery Free

South Korea
53. GongGam Human Rights Law
Foundation
54. Supporters for Health and Rights of
People in Semiconductor Industry
(SHARPS)
55. Korean House for International
Solidarity
56. KTNC Watch

Japan
57. Human Rights Now

India
58. Anukatham
59. Service to People (SAVE)

Pakistan
60. Foundation for Rural Development

Kyrgyzstan
61. The Human Rights Movement Bir Duino
Kyrgyzstan

Turkiye
62. Minerva Business and Human Rights
Association

Nigeria
63. African Law Foundation
64. Foundation For Environmental Rights,
Advocacy & Development

Uganda
65. Uganda Consortium on Corporate
Accountability
66. Disability Peoples Forum Uganda
67. Uganda Consortium on Corporate
Accountability (UCCA)

Kenya
68. Jamaa Resource Initiatives

Global
69. OECD Watch Network
70. Publish What You Pay

You can download the letter here.