- Date filed
- 25 April 2024
- Keywords
- Countries of harm
- Current status
-
Filed
- Sector
- NCP
Allegations
On 25 April 2024, a coalition of six civil society organisations (European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Fundación TIERRA, Terra de Direitos, Base Investigaciones Sociales (BASE IS), and Bischöfliches Hilfswerk Misereor) filed a complaint to the German NCP against Bayer AG. The complaint alleges that Bayer has not conducted adequate human rights and environmental due diligence on impacts related to its genetically modified (GM) soy and pesticides value chains in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay, and that Bayer is contributing to actual impacts on rural and indigenous communities, including on the rights to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment, health, and an adequate standard of living, including the rights to land and food. According to the complainants, Indigenous, rural and semi-rural communities living in soy cultivation areas in the four countries are experiencing impacts as a result of Bayer’s agro-industrial model based on high levels of land concentration, GM soy seed cultivation and the intensive use of toxic pesticides.
The complainants are seeking improvement of Bayer’s overall due diligence processes and practices. As part of that due diligence, they ask for Bayer to consult and engage with impacted rights-holders and their representatives in the order to determine remedy, and to restore water quality alone or in cooperation with others in the areas of interest.
The complaint is filed under the 2023 OECD Guidelines for alleged breaches of Chapter II (General Policies), Chapter III (Disclosure), Chapter IV (Human Rights), and Chapter VI (Environment).
More details
- Defendant
- Company in violation
- Complainants
- Affected people