BEERG Newsletter - France: Court upholds complicity charges against Lafarge

An appeals court in France has upheld a charge of complicity in crimes against humanity against French cement group Lafarge - now part of the Swiss building materials conglomerate Holcim - over alleged payoffs to ISIS and other armed groups during the war in Syria. The appeals court sided with prosecutors who said Lafarge had “financed, via its subsidiaries, Islamic State [ISIS] operations with several millions of euros in full awareness of its activities.” (Here in French).

The European Union is currently considering legislation which would impose human rights, including labour rights, due diligence obligations on the vast majority of multinational companies with operations in Europe.

This is an issue which is on the agenda for our BEERG June Network Meeting in Sitges, Barcelona.