On Thursday 4 October, the European Parliament in Strasbourg adopted a topical resolution by a slim majority but a majority nonetheless (301 votes to 288 and 17 abstentions). It calls on the European Union and its member states to hold constructive negotiation at the UN on a treaty to ensure that transnational companies uphold human rights (see EUROPE 12061).
The EP reaffirms that it is urgent to act effectively and consistently at every level – national, European and international - in order to effectively fight against human rights violations committed by transnational businesses, to allow access to appeal, to resolve legal issues resulting from the transnational nature of the activity of the transnational companies and businesses and from the growing complexity of global value chains, as well as the extra-territorial dimension of multinationals.
The resolution underlines that the binding treaty should be supported by the framework of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and that it is absolutely essential for the EU to play a constructive role in developing an effective and binding treaty, which truly commits the liability of companies for human rights violations that they commit, and for all the problems pertaining to this.
This subject was mainly dear to the GUE/NGL Group, at the origin of a topical debate which was held two days before the vote in plenary session. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)