Global value chains: what does human rights due diligence cover?

At a time when globalization has profoundly transformed modes of production and exchange, value chains are now unfolding on a planetary scale, linking companies, suppliers and subcontractors in an unprecedented economic interconnection. However, this complexity has a downside: it makes it more difficult to trace social and environmental impacts, exposing companies to increased risks of human rights violations, forced labor or ecological degradation. Faced with these challenges, the concept of due diligence has become a central instrument of corporate responsibility.

Born of international soft law, notably through the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011), due diligence invites economic players to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for the negative effects of their activities on fundamental rights. It reflects a growing demand for coherence between economic performance and respect for universal values, particularly in a context where investors, consumers and governments are calling for more responsible and transparent governance.

This approach is now at the heart of international economic law and the sustainable finance movement, which aims to align financial flows with sustainable development objectives. However, while due diligence is an essential lever for transformation, its practical implementation within global value chains remains complex: between voluntary standards and legal obligations, the boundaries remain blurred.

This raises a central question: to what extent is due diligence an effective tool for holding companies accountable to international law and human rights?

I The foundations and international scope of the duty of care

1° The emergence of an international frame of reference

Initially developed as an internal risk management tool within companies, due diligence has gradually been extended to the field of human rights, in response to the ethical challenges posed by the globalization of value chains. This evolution reflects the growing need for economic players to take responsibility for the social and environmental impacts of their activities, well beyond the financial sector alone, where due diligence was once confined.

This evolution crystallized with the adoption, in 2011, of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (known as the ” Ruggie Principles “). These are based on three pillars:

the obligation of states to protect human rights,
the responsibility of companies to respect them, and
the need for effective access to redress for victims.

In this context, due diligence is defined as a continuous process of identifying, preventing, mitigating and reporting on potential human rights abuses.

At the same time, the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises have reinforced this momentum by setting out practical recommendations for integrating due diligence into management policies, corporate governance and supplier relations. Although these instruments belong to the realm of soft law, they have gradually shaped a veritable standard of behavior expected of economic players worldwide.

2° From soft law to the emergence of binding obligations in value chains

While due diligence was initially promoted by soft law instruments , it is now undergoing a process of legalization, marked by the transformation of voluntary recommendations into binding obligations for certain companies. This development responds to a recurring criticism of corporate social responsibility:

As long as commitments remain optional, their effectiveness depends on the goodwill of economic players, which limits their real impact in protecting human rights.

A major turning point is taking place in France with Law no. 2017-399 of March 27, 2017 on the duty of vigilance. This requires companies with more than 5,000 employees in France (or 10,000 worldwide) to draw up and publish a due diligence plan covering their activities, those of their subsidiaries, and those of their subcontractors and suppliers with whom there is an established commercial relationship.

This plan must include :

risk mapping, to identify and prioritize potential risks,
regular assessment procedures for business partners,
actions to prevent and mitigate identified risks,
an alert and reporting mechanism,
a system for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the measures implemented.

This text has two essential contributions:

it imposes a legal obligation of vigilance, rather than simply encouraging responsibility;
it paves the way for a civil liability mechanism, theoretically enabling victims or NGOs to take legal action for breach of duty of care.

The TotalEnergies case in Uganda is a case in point: the company was sued in France for environmental and human rights violations linked to an oil project operated abroad. Even if these cases remain complex, they show that the duty of vigilance can become a tool for legally challenging multinationals for acts committed in their value chain.

This French initiative is part of a wider European movement. The Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSDD), currently under revision, aims to harmonize due diligence obligations within the Union. It requires large companies operating on the European market, including foreign companies, to put in place procedures to identify, prevent, mitigate and, where appropriate, remedy serious human rights and environmental abuses in their global chain of activities.

The CSDDD introduces the concept concept of duty of carebased on four principles: responsibility, due diligence, transparency and redress. The companies concerned will have to assess their activities and those of their subsidiaries and business partners, implement measures to reduce risks, publish their results and make good any damage caused.

It will initially apply to companies with over 1,000 employees and sales in excess of €450 million, with gradual extension to other companies and certain non-European businesses.

This transition from soft law to legal obligations represents a decisive step in the transformation of due diligence into a genuine legal and operational standard of responsible governance on an international scale.

II Challenges and prospects for implementation in global value chains

1° The practical and legal difficulties of implementation

The implementation of due diligence in globalized value chains comes up against a number of structural and legal obstacles. These chains are often fragmented over several continents, involving dozens of levels of suppliers and sometimes thousands of companies. This complexity makes it difficult to delimit the ordering company’s sphere of influence: how far should it know and control its supply chain?

The risks of human rights abuses are particularly high: forced labor, discrimination, undignified working conditions, environmental violations. The company’s reputation and legal liability are directly at stake. Due diligence is therefore an essential tool for risk management and strategic leverage, making it possible to protect the brand, secure supplies and strengthen competitiveness over the long term.

However, the diversity of legal frameworks complicates the uniform application of obligations. While some companies are subject to binding legislation, such as France’s Duty of Vigilance Act, the Sapin II anti-corruption law and the European CSDD Directive, many are still bound only by voluntary commitments. This situation creates a competitive imbalance and limits the overall scope of the scheme.

Another major challenge concerns the nature of the due diligence obligation: it is an obligation of means, not of result. Companies must demonstrate that they have put in place reasonable measures to prevent human rights violations, but they cannot guarantee the total absence of violations. This flexibility, which is necessary to adapt to different contexts, nevertheless opens the door to superficial practices, sometimes reduced to exercises in communication or pure compliance(compliance washing).

Finally, access to justice for victims remains complex. Even when multinationals are based in Europe, proceedings remain long and costly, and it is often difficult to hold parent companies liable for acts committed abroad, as shown by the TotalEnergies case in Uganda.

2° Towards effective integration of the duty of care

Despite these challenges, encouraging trends show that due diligence is becoming a more systematic and strategic part of corporate governance.

Tighter regulations and standards

The introduction of a European legal framework, with the CSDDD, means that French standards can be applied to the entire European market. The directive obliges companies to assess their entire value chain, including subsidiaries and partners, to prevent and mitigate risks, and to repair any damage caused.

This preventive approach transforms due diligence into a genuine governance criterion, forcing companies to integrate human rights and the environment into their strategies and decision-making processes.

Implementation methods and tools

Due diligence is based on a range of complementary methods:

Risk mapping and assessment: identifying areas of vulnerability in the supply chain.
Questionnaires and supplier audits: regular checks on compliance with ethical and social standards.
Site visits and reputation surveys: verification of partners’ actual practices.
Internal alert mechanisms and ethical feedback: gathering critical information in real time.

This enables companies to detect potential violations at an early stage, enabling them to implement corrective measures such as training suppliers, reinforcing contractual clauses, stepping up audits or providing support to improve practices.

Concrete examples

Patagonia: for several years now, the company has applied independent audits, training programs and supplier monitoring to guarantee respect for human rights in its textile chain.
Danone: it has integrated due diligence into its CSR policies and supplier contracts, requiring regular reporting of compliance indicators and sanctioning non-compliant partners.
TotalEnergies (Uganda): illustrates the limits when due diligence is insufficient or difficult to monitor remotely, highlighting the role of civil liability and proactive vigilance.

Strategic dimension and sustainable finance

Due diligence is no longer just a defensive tool: it has become a strategic lever. Investors and markets value transparent, responsible companies that can demonstrate ESG(Environmental, Social, Governance) risk management. Effective implementation enhances reputation, facilitates access to financing and constitutes a competitive advantage, strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the value chain.

The implementation of due diligence in global value chains remains complex, involving fragmentation, obligations of means and diversity of legal frameworks. However, the combination of binding regulations, robust practical tools and an integrated strategic approach shows that this concept is becoming a genuine international standard of corporate responsibility, reconciling economic performance, respect for human rights and sustainability.