FAIRTRADE Austria invites to a panel discussion on securing human rights in global trade. Guest on the panel: Karin Lukas from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Fundamental and Human Rights.

Will the exercise of human rights responsibility by companies soon be regulated by law? Negotiations are currently underway at the UN and EU levels. In addition to civil society, representatives from the business community are also advocating this. Germany, Great Britain and France are already active at the national level and have enacted regulations that counteract violations of elementary protection standards in supply chains.

What measures are needed to ensure human rights responsibility in supply chains? The focus is on the question of what a binding legal regulation would change for companies. The panel discussion will also provide information on the status of international negotiations, the position of the Austrian federal government and what contribution FAIRTRADE can make to safeguarding human rights in supply chains.

“Supply chains are human chains. Therefore, legally binding rules in this area are essential. Examples from other countries show that the trend in Europe and the USA is increasingly moving in this direction,” says Karin Lukas of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Fundamental and Human Rights.