The struggle surrounding the European supply chain law (Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence – CSDDD) is currently a public drama with far-reaching consequences for children and young people in international supply chains. After the directive was adopted at the European level in May 2024 – a milestone for human rights in corporate supply chains – it has been under constant pressure ever since.
- June 2025 – the decision, adopted under the leadership of the Polish Presidency of the Council, supports the EU Commission's plan to limit mandatory and systematic due diligence to direct suppliers.
- October 13 - the EU Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) approves a package of amendments limiting the scope to a few large corporations (with 5,000 employees or €1.5 billion in revenue) – a disaster for children's and human rights.
- On October 22, the European Parliament voted on the proposal and rejected the draft put forward by the EPP. Under EPP rapporteur Joergen Warborn, the once powerful initiative for human rights and climate was significantly watered down, and there was a threat to use votes from the far right to push through his compromise. Parliament did not follow this tactic.
What happens next?
“Now we need genuine willingness to compromise from the EPP and constructive negotiations with the parties of the democratic center,” says Heike Drillisch of the Supply Chain Act Initiative. The directive must not become a paper tiger. It must ensure that companies implement the end of exploitative child labor, effective safeguards against exploitation, and measures to prevent environmental damage. Only in this way can the future and health of young people be protected, because without binding liability rules, those affected often lose access to legal remedies and compensation.
What you can do now: Participate in the phone-in campaign
This law is not yet lost. Civil society engagement can make all the difference. Our petition with over 210,000 signatures, which we submitted to the German government in October, was successful! And what's next? Participate in our call-in campaign for the Supply Chain Act initiative and contact your EU representative directly. Every voice counts for the rights of today's and tomorrow's children and young people.
Take part nowWhy it is important to have a supply chain law
- A Terre des Hommes school project in India
- Case study: Supply chains for the mineral mica
- Study on the impact of due diligence laws by the ECCHR
Press releases