15 March 2024 - The European Union's Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States has come to provisional agreement regarding the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). With the vote in favour of adopting the Directive after lengthy negotiations, the European Union will move to introduce a duty on corporations to see to the maintenance of human rights and environmental standards in their global supply chains.

UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller greeted the CSDDD agreement, stating: "Today, the EU has set the course for fairer and more equitable globalization. Millions of workers in developing countries will benefit from this Directive. Internationally operating European companies will now have to comply with fundamental international social and environmental standards such as the ban on child labor or the contamination of drinking water. This is urgently necessary: roughly 80 million children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour - including for products which are sold and consumed in Europe. From now on, Europe will show that European products stand for human rights and fair production. Exploitation and child labour in developing countries must no longer be a competitive advantage! The next step is a binding global set of rules that includes companies worldwide - as Director General of the United Nations organization for sustainable economic and industrial development, I am committed to this."