Successful Completion of German Campaign “Holding Companies Liable”

By Anne Berk, Weltladen-Dachverband

In Germany, this year’s campaign “Holding companies liable” of Weltladen-Dachverband and Forum Fairer Handel was terminated with a great success: Representatives of the two organisations passed 37.736 signatures to the State Secretary of the Foreign Office, Stephan Steinlein, on 30 November 2015.

The petition urges the government to pass a law which will establish human rights due diligence for companies. The campaign is highly topical as six German ministries are currently working on elaborating the National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights. Shortly before the closing plenary session on December 3, Forum Fairer Handel and Weltladen-Dachverband drew attention to the need of introducing binding rules within the framework of the National Action Plan.

The meeting in the Foreign Ministry was marked by a serious yet friendly atmosphere. State Secretary Stephan Steinlein who is the closest confidant of Foreign Minister Steinmeier welcomed the guests and immediately gave them the floor. First, the delegation explained how the political work of Fair Trade in Germany is structured and which efforts were made by the numerous World Shops during the campaign. Their commitment made a particular impression on Steinlein because more than 90 percent of the signatures have resulted from conversations held by World Shop staff with citizens.

In the ensuing conversation, the Fair Trade campaigners together with a representative of the German Non-Governmental Organisation ‘Brot für die Welt’ discussed their demands with Steinlein. In their opinion a legal provision is vital for finally creating a level playing field. The wide range of recommendations based on voluntariness has remained largely ineffective.
In concrete terms, the campaign demands are: companies ought to conduct human rights risk assessments and establish confidential complaint bodies. Contracts and communication with business partners ought to be modified based on the information gained by these measures. Further, it is important to document these processes.

The representatives of the German Fair Trade movement took issue with the concern that these requirements could lead to boundless liability for companies. On the contrary: In case of damage caused, the company can be discharged. Liability would only apply for damages that were recognisable for the company and could have been avoided with reasonable due diligence measures.

Following the request by the EU Commission, other European countries discuss similar measures: In France, a bill is currently in the legislative process. The French Government considers the regulation useful, but hesitates to be the only European country to establish human rights due diligence for companies.

If Germany decides on binding targets within the national action plan, this will send a clear signal to other European countries: Economic success and respecting human rights are not mutually exclusive, but inseparable are two legs of the same body.