More than 200,000 people sign Supply Chains Act
Founded in September 2018, the German initiative on the adoption of a Supply Chains Act is a broad alliance of more than 80 human rights, development cooperation and environmental organizations, trade unions and church-related agencies. KOLPING INTERNATIONAL and Kolping Germany are also among those supporting this initiative.
This alliance is calling upon the German government to adopt a Supply Chains Act because it has turned out again and again that companies fail to live up to their responsibility to protect human rights. In September 2019 a joint petition was launched to be sent on to German Chancellor Merkel. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 people have requested a Supply Chains Act. This petition can be signed online until the end of July. Will it be possible to motivate people to break the 222,222 signature mark in a final round? To sign the petition, please go to https://lieferkettengesetz.de/ .
Putting a focus on human rights violations along supply chains is particularly important now during the coronavirus pandemic! People who are involved in the first stages of a supply chain are especially at risk because of a lack of social security. Even now there are reports from Asian countries that workers are no longer paid or that trade unions have been restricted in their work. A Supply Chains Act would help to prevent such effects. One thing is for sure: Human rights are not only valid in good times. They are not negotiable but internationally agreed fundamental rights that must be observed also in tough economic times.
This opinion was also endorsed by 110 bishops from all over the world. In a Bishops’ Statement they speak out to stop corporate abuse.
