Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Regulation: Eurocentrism and Unintended Consequences in Supply Chains in Africa
摘要
A decade on from the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and in the absence of a treaty on business and human rights, there has been a growing trend toward the adoption of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) to regulate corporate supply chains. Several States in the Global North have enacted legislation imposing obligations for corporations to develop due diligence in their supply chain. France, Germany, and the European Union (EU) have adopted legislation which provides, to varying degrees, a framework for State institutions and companies to adhere to, including non-European companies which operate within European markets. However, these frameworks seem to prioritise specific rights, instruments, and impacts whilst neglecting others, giving rise to concern that this could undermine corporate responsibility and accountability efforts in Africa. This prompts the following question: To what extent is the currently developing standard of due diligence in mHREDD relying on a conceptualisation of human rights and environmental impacts from a Eurocentric perspective? Furthermore, given the extraterritorial effects of current mHREDD legislation, what possible ramifications could this Eurocentric conceptualisation have on African States and peoples? In seeking to explore these questions, this chapter examines the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (as adopted in July 2024), and French and German Laws, drawing on Third World Approaches to International Law in the analysis. Through this, the authors explore how mHREDD frameworks can replicate unequal power hierarchies, structures and relationships to the detriment of the Global South States and peoples, whilst also reiterating the importance of the Global South being an active participant in the monitoring and implementation of developing standards.