The Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights (ICBHR) was invited to present to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on 11 June as part of its scrutiny of “Omnibus I” – the legislative proposal from the European Commission to dismantle key human rights and environmental protections including those in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) that were introduced to protect workers and communities around the world from corporate abuse.
The speakers from the ICBHR included Evie Clarke, the Coordinator of the ICBHR, Chris O’Connell, Policy and Advocacy Advisor Human Rights and Civil Society Space from Trócaire, Ross Fitzpatrick, Policy & Advocacy Officer, Christian Aid Ireland and Dr. Rachel Widdis, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Trinity College School of Law.
We highlighted our main concerns with Omnibus I, as outlined in the ICBHR briefing on Omnibus I, and the essential areas that must be protected to ensure that the CSDDD does not become ineffective:
- Maintaining the CSDDD’s risk-based approach to due diligence and allowing companies to focus on and prioritise those risks to human rights and the environment within their chain of activity which they identify as the most severe and likely. SME protection should be adapted to the entire due diligence process and its purpose;
- Maintaining the CSDDD’s harmonised civil liability regime to prevent fragmentation and increased legal costs and ensure access to justice for victims;
- Ensuring that the CSDDD’s requirement to put into effect climate transition plans is maintained;
- Protecting the CSDDD’s provisions on stakeholder engagement.
Our key message was covered by the Irish Times: Ireland ‘silent’ on watering down of European Union’s sustainability rules for companies – The Irish Times.