In April 2024, the European Union adopted an ambitious and important legislation: the Corporate Due Diligence Duty (CSDDD), aimed to hold large EU-companies accountable for the implementation of human rights and environmental due diligence.
However, in February 2025, in the name of a so-called "urgent simplification", the European Commission published an omnibus proposal attacking the key points of the directive. If approved, the wellbeing of people and communities who are negatively impacted by corporate activities will be threatened. Women and gender-non-conforming individuals are most at risk.
ActionAid EU, Netherlands, and France have partnered together to create a publication analysing the Omnibus Proposal from a feminist perspective. It aims to support the effort of CSOs and politicians to defend the potential of this directive, and fight against corporate impunity.
The report focuses on five key areas where Omnibus is proposing rollbacks, including:
- Limiting value chain scope: Focusing only on "direct" business partners, ignoring deeper systemic abuses.
- Weakening stakeholder engagement: Reducing the critical voice of affected communities, often excluding women.
- Maintaining financial sector impunity: Removing the potential for financial institutions to be held accountable for harmful investments.
- Making climate action non-binding: Undermining critical efforts to align business with climate goals, despite women being 14x more likely to die from climate disasters.
- Eliminating civil liability: Stripping victims of corporate abuse of a crucial avenue for justice.
- Reducing monitoring: From annual to once every five years, creating significant oversight gaps.