FOCSIV and others v. FCA Italy (Stellantis NV)

On April 4, 2022, FOCSIV and many other Italian associations submitted a specific instance to the National Contact Point on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises at the Italian Ministry on Economic Development. It was addressed to FCA Italy, a leading Italian company in the automotive sector and part of Stellantis NV. The need for decarbonization and ecological transition is pushing the automotive sector to increase production of electric cars. This increase, in turn, is boosting the demand for raw materials needed to produce lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Cobalt is one such material and a high percentage of it comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where serious human rights violations have been reported in mining operations. The applicants claim that FCA Italy, which purchases an increasing amount of cobalt from the DRC, is failing to provide adequate information about its suppliers, contrary to the relevant provisions of the OECD 'Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.' On April 11, 2022, the Italian National Contact Point held that it does not have territorial jurisdiction to hear the case, as the FCA’s parent company Stellantis NV is based in the Netherlands. The applicants submitted a new application to the Dutch National Contact Point. The contact point accepted the application and opened the formal procedure.