Statement regarding the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
Today’s failure of the EU Council to endorse the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive marks a deplorable setback for corporate accountability and the protection of Human Rights and the environment worldwide. The blockage is largely attributable to big Member States: the early announced abstention from influential Germany – orchestrated by the minority German coalition partner, the FDP, and met with spiritless resistance by Chancellor Scholz – was followed by others. A last-minute attempt by France to derail negotiations by proposing a tenfold increase in company threshold last night increased the uncertainty for other states. These political games starkly defy the resounding support for the Directive from governments, trade unions, civil society, large, medium and small businesses, and individual citizens. Without binding EU legislation on corporate accountability, national governments fail to address human rights impacts, the exploitation of workers, and impacts on Indigenous Peoples’s rights and other traditional communities and natural ecosystems linked to corporate operations. It is a harrowing failure by EU governments to meet their obligations under international human rights law, and a green-light signal to reckless businesses that they can keep fueling the climate and ecological crises for corporate profits.
Appel à aider le peuple de Gaza avec UNRWA
The principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which includes heads of United Nations agencies, released a statement on 30 January appealing to Member States to reconsider their pausing of funding to UNRWA, the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees. Here is their statement in full: “The allegations of involvement of several UNRWA staff in the heinous attacks on Israel on 7 October are horrifying. As the Secretary-General has said, any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable. However, we must not prevent an entire organization from delivering on its mandate to serve people in desperate need. The harrowing events that have been snowballing in Gaza since 7 October have left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and on the brink of famine. UNRWA, as the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza, has been providing food, shelter and protection, even as its own staff members were being displaced and killed. Decisions by various Member States to pause funds from UNRWA will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza. No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need. We appeal for these decisions to be reconsidered.
Gros plan : Journée internationale des femmes
Ce 8 mars 2023, rejoignez ONU Femmes et les Nations Unies pour célébrer la Journée internationale des femmes placée sous le thème : Pour un monde digital inclusif : innovation et technologies pour l’égalité des sexes. Depuis les balbutiements de l’informatique jusqu’à l’ère actuelle de la réalité virtuelle et de l’intelligence artificielle, les femmes ont apporté un nombre incalculable de contributions au monde numérique dans lequel nous évoluons de plus en plus. Leurs réalisations se sont imposées contre vents et marées dans un secteur qui ne les a jamais véritablement accueillies ni valorisées. Aujourd’hui, un écart persistant entre les sexes en matière d’accès au numérique empêche les femmes d’exploiter pleinement le potentiel des technologies. Leur sous-représentation dans l’enseignement et les carrières dans les domaines des STIM reste un obstacle majeur à leur participation à la conception et à la gouvernance des technologies. Par ailleurs, la menace omniprésente de la violence en ligne fondée sur le genre – à laquelle s’ajoute l’absence de recours juridique – les contraint trop souvent à quitter les espaces numériques qu’elles occupent.