The Omnibus Package under the UN spotlight: risks to human rights and access to justice
The Omnibus Package is a European Commission initiative that seeks to simplify corporate sustainability regulations, with the aim of reducing the administrative burden on companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. This proposal introduces important changes to key directives such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU Taxonomy and the Carbon-Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Although regulatory simplification may have benefits from a business perspective, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), through its commentary “OHCHR Commentary on the Omnibus Proposal EU proposal risks backsliding on historic Corporate Sustainability Directive”, warns that some of these amendments could seriously weaken the legal tools that ensure redress for victims of corporate abuse.
The OHCHR document clearly states how several of the measures contained in the Omnibus Package represent a direct threat to victims’ ability to access justice. Among the most relevant observations are the following:
- Reduction of the scope of due diligence: the Omnibus Package limits the responsibility of companies to their direct business relationships, eliminating the requirement to monitor the entire supply chain. For OHCHR, this contradicts the UN Guiding Principles, which state that companies should prevent negative impacts throughout their entire business, including indirect relationships. This reduction leaves thousands of workers and communities affected by business practices outside of immediate contracts unprotected.
- Elimination of civil liability at the European level: Another major concern is the removal of the provision that would allow victims to sue companies for damages related to breaches of due diligence. By leaving this issue to the interpretation of each Member State, there is a risk of generating legal fragmentation that would hinder access to justice, especially in countries with less robust judicial systems.
- Dilution of reporting obligations: The Omnibus package significantly reduces reporting obligations. This may lead to a loss of transparency and make it more difficult for affected groups, as well as investors and regulators, to demand accountability based on verifiable facts.
- Exclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises: While the objective of protecting SMEs from disproportionate burdens may be legitimate, OHCHR notes that many of these companies operate in sectors with a high risk of negative impacts (such as agriculture, garments or mining). Excluding them from the regulatory framework may perpetuate precarious working conditions or rights violations without effective control mechanisms.
The OHCHR commentary insists that the European Union, as a global regulatory actor, has a special responsibility to set ambitious standards that promote human rights beyond its borders. The weakening of corporate sustainability standards would not only affect victims within the European territory, but would also have repercussions in developing countries where many of the global supply chains of European companies operate.
Moreover, by softening its regulatory framework in response to economic or industrial pressures, the EU could send a negative message to other countries currently developing their own due diligence legislation, which would compromise the progress made at the international level on business and human rights.
The UN interpretative document is a strong wake-up call: regulatory simplification cannot come at the expense of fundamental rights. The European Union must reconsider the regressive aspects of the Omnibus Package and ensure that any legal reform preserves the effective right to remedy, as required by its international commitments.
Carmen Coleto Martínez, collaborator of FIBGAR
