Welcome remarks by Christina Meinecke

Your Excellencies, dear experts, guests and colleagues,

I am happy to welcome you to the UN House and to this exchange on the possible human rights implications of the proposal to amend the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This is an ongoing conversation with some upcoming decisions to take, decisions which may have real and direct implications for workers, communities, and rights-holders around the world.

Please let me express at the outset: Europe’s leadership in translating the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into reality is well recognized and it is in this spirit that this conversation today seeks to support those ongoing efforts.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has long worked in partnership with the European Union, and we are very pleased that the “2025 Council Conclusions on EU priorities in UN human rights fora” reaffirm the EU’s cooperation with OHCHR and the UN Working Group to promote the global implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Conclusions also underlined support for National Action Plans in Member States and developing a comprehensive EU Framework for UNGP implementation. These are critical steps to enhance accountability, strengthen remedy, and protect victims, while also ensuring a global level playing field.

We also overall understand the need for simplification, for reducing bureaucracy but as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has warned in relation to the Omnibus Proposal and targeted adjustments to the CSDDD:

“while some streamlining of the EU corporate sustainability regime could be advantageous, it would be counterproductive to water down its alignment with international standards, in particular the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights."

This is the heart of the matter. Simplification should not come at the expense of human rights. It should not undermine the need for a risk-based approach to human rights and environmental due diligence.

Human rights due diligence must remain proactive, preventive, and forward-looking—ensuring that businesses identify, mitigate, and remedy adverse impacts across their operations and entire value chains, in line with international standards. Our stance reflects and aligns with the views of a broad range of actors, from business and investor communities to civil society.

So, how can legislation balance human rights compliance and competitiveness? How can we support businesses so that compliance does not become too complex and burdensome, but rather a driver of responsible conduct? And how can we make sure that we avoid creating blind spots where human rights abuses go undetected or unaddressed? These are the questions we must tackle together.

And I am pleased that today we have an opportunity to listen to and strengthen cooperation between UN and EU experts and colleagues, Member States, business, national human rights institutions and civil society representatives.

By bringing diverse perspectives to shape a human rights-based approach to due diligence and working together, we can ensure that the right decisions will be taken, that simplifying the CSDDD protects rights-holders, while making it easier for businesses to comply — demonstrating the clear business case for respecting human rights in Europe and around the world.

I look forward to fruitful discussions.