Recital 32

(32) This Directive aims to comprehensively cover human rights, including all five fundamental principles and rights at work as defined in the 1998 ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work. In order to achieve a meaningful contribution to the sustainability transition, due diligence under this Directive should be carried out with respect to adverse human rights impacts on persons resulting from the abuse of one of the rights as enshrined in the international instruments listed in Part I, Section 1, of the Annex to this Directive. The term ‘abuse’ should be interpreted in line with international human rights law. In order to ensure comprehensive coverage of human rights, an abuse of a human right not specifically listed in Part I, Section 1, of the Annex to this Directive which can be abused by a company or legal entity, and which directly impairs a legal interest protected in the human rights instruments listed in Part I, Section 2, of the Annex to this Directive should also form part of the adverse human rights impacts covered by this Directive, provided that the company concerned could have reasonably foreseen the risk of such human right abuse, taking into account all relevant circumstances of the specific case, including the nature and extent of the company’s business operations and its chain of activities, economic sector and geographical and operational context. Due diligence should further encompass adverse environmental impacts resulting from the violation of one of the prohibitions and obligations listed in Part II of the Annex to this Directive, as well as adverse impacts resulting from the breach of one of the prohibitions listed in Part I, points 15 and 16, of the Annex to this Directive taking into account national legislation linked to the provisions of the instruments listed in the Annex. Those prohibitions and obligations should be interpreted and applied in line with international law and general principles of Union environmental law, as set out in Article 191 TFEU. Those prohibitions include the prohibition of causing any measurable environmental degradation, such as harmful soil change, water or air pollution, harmful emissions, excessive water consumption, degradation of land, or any other impact on natural resources, such as deforestation, that substantially impairs the natural bases for the preservation and production of food, or that denies a person access to safe and clean drinking water, or that makes it difficult for a person to access sanitary facilities or destroys them, or that harms a person’s health, safety, normal use of land or lawfully acquired possessions, or that substantially adversely affects ecosystem services through which an ecosystem contributes directly or indirectly to human wellbeing. In order to assess whether the damage to ecosystem services is substantial, the following elements should be taken into account where relevant: the baseline condition of the environment affected, whether the damage is long-lasting, medium-term or short-term, the spread of the damage, and the reversibility of the damage. Due diligence requirements under this Directive should therefore contribute to preserving and restoring biodiversity and improving the state of the environment, in particular the air, water and soil, including to better protect human rights. The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in order to amend the Annex to this Directive for the purposes laid down in Article 3(2), including by adding the reference, once ratified by all Member States, to the ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No 155), and the ILO Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health, 2006 (No 187), which form part of the ILO fundamental instruments.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-08-27 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.