UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller on the vote of the COREPER on the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

UNIDO/UNCAV-Vienna March 2024,“Today, the EU has set the course for fairer and more equitable globalization. Millions of workers in developing countries will benefit from this Directive. Internationally operating European companies will now have
to comply with fundamental international social and environmental standards such as the ban on child labor or the contamination of drinking water. This is urgently necessary: Roughly 80 million children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour – including
for products which are sold and consumed in Europe. From now on, Europe will show that European products stand for human rights and fair production. Exploitation and child labour in developing countries must no longer be a competitive advantage! The next step
is a global set of rules that includes companies worldwide – as Director General of the United Nations organization for sustainable economic and industrial development, I am committed to this.“

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with its 172 Member States, has made sustainable supply chains a priority. It supports its Member States and pioneering companies in introducing fair production processes and implementing international
standards. It also helps suppliers in capacity building, developing new processes and applying due diligence obligations.