Throughout September and October, the Justice is Everybody’s Business campaign is touring European cities with a giant statue of Lady Justice being stabbed in the back, to build public pressure on policymakers to close loopholes in an EU law that holds corporations accountable.
The 10 metre tall statue represents the betrayal of justice by politicians willing to let reckless big business make huge profits by sacrificing public interest.
The EU institutions will enter into negotiations on the final text of a draft law, known as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) over the autumn months. The draft law seeks to hold EU corporations legally accountable for their impacts on human rights, the climate and the environment.
After several rounds of negotiations in the Commission and Parliament last spring and following sustained harmful business lobbying, the original draft was significantly watered down (1). The draft text currently fails to provide an airtight route to justice for victims and falls short of the EU’s own climate action targets.
Yet even after the damage done by private lobbying, the directive retains the potential to deliver systemic change and curb human rights violations, climate disaster and labour rights’ abuse.
“So close to the finish line, we are here to counterbalance the impact of bad business lobbying and show that there is public demand for a just law. Our lawmakers must create a real path to justice for victims of corporate abuse, and set the foundation for an economy that benefits communities and the environment.”
The statue tour coincides with the JIEB speaker tour, where activists from Uganda and Argentina will travel Europe to share their personal experiences of defending their communities and lands from private interests.
(1) Friends of the Earth response to European Parliament’s final position on the CSDDD https://friendsoftheearth.eu/press-release/eu-parliament-due-diligence-mountains-to-climb/
