From the Factory Floor to the Boardroom: Ensuring Workers’ Rights in Global EU Value Chains Through Human Rights Due Diligence
(2024) JURM02 20241Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Många företag verkar idag i globala och ofta mycket komplexa värdekedjor; vägen från råmaterial till färdig produkt kan korsa flera kontinenter, ibland många gånger. Dessa värdekedjor uppmärksammas allt oftare som hem åt omfattande människorättskränkningar, däribland mot arbetare. Med anledning av detta har flera initiativ tagits de senaste åren, både i Europa och internationellt, som syftar till att öka företags ansvar för mänskliga rättigheter i värdekedjan. Ett framträdande sådant exempel är krav på human rights due diligence (tillbörlig aktsamhet i fråga om mänskliga rättigheter).
Den här uppsatsen ämnar bedöma hur stor del av EU-företagens värdekedja som i kommande lagar bör täckas av ansvaret att iaktta human rights due diligence... (More) - Många företag verkar idag i globala och ofta mycket komplexa värdekedjor; vägen från råmaterial till färdig produkt kan korsa flera kontinenter, ibland många gånger. Dessa värdekedjor uppmärksammas allt oftare som hem åt omfattande människorättskränkningar, däribland mot arbetare. Med anledning av detta har flera initiativ tagits de senaste åren, både i Europa och internationellt, som syftar till att öka företags ansvar för mänskliga rättigheter i värdekedjan. Ett framträdande sådant exempel är krav på human rights due diligence (tillbörlig aktsamhet i fråga om mänskliga rättigheter).
Den här uppsatsen ämnar bedöma hur stor del av EU-företagens värdekedja som i kommande lagar bör täckas av ansvaret att iaktta human rights due diligence gällande arbetares rättigheter. Frågeställningens normativa karaktär förutsätter ett de lege ferenda-perspektiv på rätten, där praktiska lärdomar från befintliga regleringar används som ett centralt rättesnöre.
I uppsatsen kartläggs de regelverk som styr företags ansvar för mänskliga rättigheter i värdekedjan på internationell, EU- och nationell nivå. Studien visar att det traditionellt har funnits få bindande lagregleringar på området och att olika former av frivilliga riktlinjer därmed har varit av stor betydelse. Detta håller på att förändras genom ny lagstiftning, såsom om obligatorisk human rights due diligence.
Studien finner vidare att värdekedjeansvarets omfattning varierar påtagligt mellan olika befintliga lagar och riktlinjer om human rights due diligence. De frivilliga instrumenten föreskriver generellt ett omfattande ansvar som täcker hela värdekedjan, både uppströms och nedströms, medan bindande lagar är mer återhållsamma och begränsar ansvaret till vissa typer av aktiviteter eller nivåer av värdekedjan.
I uppsatsen dras slutsatsen att konceptet human rights due diligence innehåller flera komponenter som gör ansvaret hanterbart för företag. Bland annat bestäms ansvarets omfattning av företagets storlek, resurser och faktiska möjligheter att påverka de aktörer i värdekedjan som utgör kopplingen till en rättighetskränkning. Dessutom kan företagen fokusera sina insatser där riskerna är störst. Mot bakgrund av detta kommer uppsatsen fram till att det inte är motiverat att begränsa ansvaret i kommande lagar till att endast täcka delar av värdekedjan. Det finns redan mekanismer som tar hänsyn till om ansvar för hela värdekedjan skulle vara orimligt eller omöjligt i det enskilda fallet. Då en betydande del av övergreppen mot arbetares rättigheter inträffar djupt inne i värdekedjan är ett omfattande ansvar helt enkelt en förutsättning för att lagarna ska få önskad effekt. (Less) - Abstract
- Many modern-day businesses operate in global and highly complex value chains; the journey from raw material to finished product can span multiple continents, sometimes numerous times. These global value chains are increasingly being recognized as home to extensive human rights abuses, including against workers. To address this, several initiatives have been introduced in recent years, both in Europe and internationally, which aim to increase companies’ responsibility for human rights in value chains. A prominent such example is laws on mandatory human rights due diligence.
This thesis aims to assess how extensively upcoming laws should require EU companies to conduct due diligence regarding workers’ rights across their value chains. The... (More) - Many modern-day businesses operate in global and highly complex value chains; the journey from raw material to finished product can span multiple continents, sometimes numerous times. These global value chains are increasingly being recognized as home to extensive human rights abuses, including against workers. To address this, several initiatives have been introduced in recent years, both in Europe and internationally, which aim to increase companies’ responsibility for human rights in value chains. A prominent such example is laws on mandatory human rights due diligence.
This thesis aims to assess how extensively upcoming laws should require EU companies to conduct due diligence regarding workers’ rights across their value chains. The normative nature of the question requires the investigation to adopt a de lege ferenda approach, with practical experiences from the implementation of existing regulations serving as guidance.
The thesis examines the regulatory frameworks that govern corporate responsibility for human rights in value chains at the international, EU, and national levels. It finds that there traditionally has been a lack of binding legislation in the area, leading to voluntary guidelines playing a central role. This is changing with recent legislative initiatives, such as those on mandatory human rights due diligence.
The study further finds that the value chain extension varies significantly between different existing laws and guidelines on human rights due diligence. Voluntary instruments generally establish an extensive responsibility covering the entire value chain, both upstream and downstream, while hard laws are more cautious and limit the responsibility to certain value chain levels or types of activities.
The thesis concludes that the concept of human rights due diligence inherently contains several elements that make the responsibility manageable for companies; its extent is determined by the company’s size, resources and de facto leverage over the entity connecting it to the harm, and efforts can be focused where the risks are most significant. In view of this, the investigation finds that it is uncalled for to exclude entire sections of the value chain from the responsibility in emerging regulations. If due diligence covering the full value chain is not reasonable or possible in a specific case, there are already mechanisms that take this into account. With a significant portion of workers’ rights violations occurring deep in the value chains, an extensive responsibility is simply necessary for the laws to have the desired effect. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9153327
- author
- Idborg, Amanda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- JURM02 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- public international law, EU law, business and human rights, human rights due diligence
- language
- English
- id
- 9153327
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-19 09:26:44
- date last changed
- 2024-06-19 09:26:44
@misc{9153327,
abstract = {{Many modern-day businesses operate in global and highly complex value chains; the journey from raw material to finished product can span multiple continents, sometimes numerous times. These global value chains are increasingly being recognized as home to extensive human rights abuses, including against workers. To address this, several initiatives have been introduced in recent years, both in Europe and internationally, which aim to increase companies’ responsibility for human rights in value chains. A prominent such example is laws on mandatory human rights due diligence.
This thesis aims to assess how extensively upcoming laws should require EU companies to conduct due diligence regarding workers’ rights across their value chains. The normative nature of the question requires the investigation to adopt a de lege ferenda approach, with practical experiences from the implementation of existing regulations serving as guidance.
The thesis examines the regulatory frameworks that govern corporate responsibility for human rights in value chains at the international, EU, and national levels. It finds that there traditionally has been a lack of binding legislation in the area, leading to voluntary guidelines playing a central role. This is changing with recent legislative initiatives, such as those on mandatory human rights due diligence.
The study further finds that the value chain extension varies significantly between different existing laws and guidelines on human rights due diligence. Voluntary instruments generally establish an extensive responsibility covering the entire value chain, both upstream and downstream, while hard laws are more cautious and limit the responsibility to certain value chain levels or types of activities.
The thesis concludes that the concept of human rights due diligence inherently contains several elements that make the responsibility manageable for companies; its extent is determined by the company’s size, resources and de facto leverage over the entity connecting it to the harm, and efforts can be focused where the risks are most significant. In view of this, the investigation finds that it is uncalled for to exclude entire sections of the value chain from the responsibility in emerging regulations. If due diligence covering the full value chain is not reasonable or possible in a specific case, there are already mechanisms that take this into account. With a significant portion of workers’ rights violations occurring deep in the value chains, an extensive responsibility is simply necessary for the laws to have the desired effect.}},
author = {{Idborg, Amanda}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{From the Factory Floor to the Boardroom: Ensuring Workers’ Rights in Global EU Value Chains Through Human Rights Due Diligence}},
year = {{2024}},
}