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| In the Netherlands, the Dutch Child Labour Act was adopted on 24 October 2019 and introduces a duty of care to any Dutch or foreign company that sells or provides goods or services to Dutch end users to prevent the supply of those goods or services which have been produced using child labour. The act is expected to enter into force in the course of 2022. Pursuant to the act a generic duty to exercise due diligence and a duty to notify the appointed regulator that such due diligence has been exercised will apply. The regulator publishes the respective corporate human rights due diligence statements in an online public registry. The act furthermore introduces criminal sanctions for a failure to act upon an instruction from the regulator in relation to the due diligence, any issues found or any complaints made in this respect.
On 11 March 2021, the legislative proposal ‘Responsible and Sustainable International Business Practice’ was presented by member of the Dutch parliament. This proposal introduces a legal duty of care to exercise due diligence for all companies engaged in foreign trade. Any that knows or can reasonably suspect that its activities can lead to adverse effects on human rights, labour rights or the environment, is required to take measures in accordance with the OECD guidelines in order to identify and prevent such adverse effects. This legislative proposal is currently being debated in the Dutch parliament.
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| The increase in attention for Business and Human Rights has resulted in many of the larger companies in the Netherlands to implement sustainability statements and codes of conduct including policy on the broad spectrum of the topics involved: human trafficking, child labour, sustainability, human rights, etc. Other than the Child Labour Act there is little ‘hard’ law on these topics, and guidelines and approach to corporate social responsibility is mainly dealt with within the various business sectors and the related business associations.
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| Taken all developments over the past year together, we expect this topic to continue to evolve further in the Netherlands. Regarding human rights due diligence, there has been a shift from ‘nice-to-have’ to ‘must-have’, at both international and national level. The Dutch Child Labour Act is expected to enter into force later this year.
In addition, the Minister of Foreign Trade at the end of 2021 announced the preparation of legislation that will require Dutch companies to take responsibility for their supply chains. The Dutch government plans to make corporate social responsibility mandatory. This legislation should include a duty of care to exercise due diligence in the areas of human rights, labour rights or the environment. Several organisations encourage a clarification of corporate responsibility obligations for companies that are on the Dutch market. This proposed legislation should ensure that companies comply with the OECD directive worldwide. With this proposed legislation, the Dutch government shifts away from its earlier position to wait for European legislation before introducing national rules on this topic.
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