abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb

Diese Seite ist nicht auf Deutsch verfügbar und wird angezeigt auf English

Artikel

6 Dez 2021

Autor:
Martje Theuws, Joseph Wilde-Ramsing & Pauline Overeem, SOMO

Commentary: Forced labour in apparel supply chains demonstrates the need for Dutch due diligence law

Last Thursday, the German human rights organisation ECCHR, with the help of Amsterdam-based law firm Prakken d’Oliveira, filed a petition with the Dutch Public Prosecutor against several clothing retailers for their involvement in forced labour in their supply chains.  On the same day, December 2nd, Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development de Bruijn announced that the Dutch government will immediately start work on ambitious national binding due diligence legislation to hold companies liable for human rights and environmental abuses in their supply chains. SOMO welcomes both of these developments. Companies who refuse to act responsibly and prevent human rights abuse in their supply chains must be forced to do so using the law. The global garment and textiles sector has a reputation for gross exploitation and labour rights violations. After a recent Dutch court ruling against Shell, the likes of Nike and C&A are now being called to account.

[...]

The garment industry has many voluntary initiatives aimed at improving working conditions, but none of these has brought about a sufficient degree of transparency and real improvements for workers.
[...]

Ultimately, legislation is needed, and indeed, a slate of new legislation is currently in the pipeline in various jurisdictions. A ban on products made with forced labour, which has been openly supported by European Commission President von der Leyen and the new German coalition government, would be an excellent initial step. In addition, ambitious human rights due diligence legislation that includes strong transparency requirements and enforceability mechanisms is required at the Dutch, European, and international (UN) level. Fortunately, detailed proposals for such mandatory due diligence legislation have already been made and are being discussed at the Dutch and European parliaments, and the UN in the form of a binding instrument on business and human rights. SOMO calls on the incoming Dutch government to continue the line set out by Minister de Bruijn and to introduce strong legislation in which transparency and human rights are central, at the national, European and international levels.

Part of the following timelines

Netherlands: Six political parties submit bill on mandatory due diligence to parliament

The Netherlands: Patagonia, Nike, C&A and State of Art sued for alleged reliance on Uyghur forced labour

Informationen zum Datenschutz

Diese Website verwendet Cookies und andere Web-Speichertechnologien. Sie können Ihre Datenschutzeinstellungen unten festlegen. Die Änderungen werden sofort wirksam.

Weitere Informationen über unsere Nutzung von Webspeicherung finden Sie in unserer Richtlinie zur Datennutzung und Cookies

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics-Cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Ihre Privatsphäre-Einstellungen für diese Website

Diese Website verwendet Cookies und andere Web-Speichertechnologien, um Ihre Erfahrung über die notwendigen Kernfunktionen hinaus zu verbessern.