Conflict & Due Diligence Legislation
June 29, 2022
PAX Policy Brief | Business, Conflict and Human Rights
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Both in the Netherlands and in the European Union, laws are currently being drafted on responsible business conduct (RBC). These laws will oblige companies to ensure that they do not cause or contribute to any damage to people and the environment, and to remedy harm that has been done. The law requires companies to be ‘diligent’ with human rights by repeatedly investigating whether, and if so how, human rights are violated and to address these risks. The legislation therefore concerns mandatory ‘human rights due diligence’.
Companies that operate in conflict-affected or are linked to them through their suppliers or customers should make an extra effort to identify and tackle the specific risks in conflict-affected areas. Also, companies should not only respect human rights, but also international humanitarian law when operating in conflict-affected areas. In this policy brief Pax explains how companies should do that and what should be included on conflict-affected areas in upcoming RBC legislation.