Human Rights Due Diligence in International Law: Where Do We Go from Here?

Abstract

This study outlines the case for mandatory human rights due diligence for the garment sector at the European Union level. There is growing world-wide attention paid to problems related to garment supply chains since the Rana Plaza disaster. Several domestic initiatives are currently hardening the standards established by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. There is only one international binding resolution on human rights due diligence, established by the European Union, for conflict minerals.On the basis of the comparative analysis of the EU regulation on conflict minerals and the most interesting initiatives at domestic level, this study makes several recommendations for the advancement of binding legislation on human rights due diligence for the garment sector. The European Union has the capacity to level the currently fragmented playing field in Europe by establishing harmonised rules for the garment supply chains, focusing on human rights due diligence.