Last June, the European Parliament passed a new initiative on corporate due diligence, which will ensure that businesses based or trading in the EU fight against any kind of exploitation within their supply chains.

Exploitation may include dangerous working conditions, excessive hours, poverty or no wages and no freedom to leave, among others.

The law is now at the last stage in the legislative process, where the member states are discussing about the rules that businesses will have to follow, as well as the support they need to do so.

In order for the law to be definitively passed, EU member states, the European Commission, and the Parliament must all agree on a final text.

“Ambitious, workable, making a real difference”

The European Freedom Network (EFN), a Christian platform which unites 270 small organisations fighting modern slavery, along with the European Evangelical Alliance, point out that “it would be great if the final legal standards are as ambitious as possible, workable for business but making a real difference to those who are exploited”.

They have launched a video about this issue called Who pays for it?, and a petition in several languages to ask national governments across the EU to agree to the demands on due diligence.

A call to Christians

Furthermore, they call on churches and Christian organisations to “do their own due diligence, contacting the companies and brands that make stuff for us and asking them how carefully they check their supply chains”.

The two Christian organisations also urge believers to “pray that the introduction of due diligence requirements for big business across Europe might be the beginning of an ethical revolution, dramatically changing business practice and enabling millions of people to escape from exploitation".

[donate]