"Frequently Asked Questions about the new Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence Law", Apr 2017

On the 7th of February 2017, the lower house of the Dutch Parliament adopted a law requiring companies to determine whether child labour exists in their supply chains and set out a plan of action on how to combat it...[The law] is still awaiting approval by the Senate...The legislation aims to prevent goods and services produced with child labour from being delivered to consumers in the Netherlands...Companies covered by the law (see below for an explanation of which companies are covered) have to submit a statement to regulatory authorities declaring that they have carried out due diligence related to child labour in their full supply chains...The law enters into force on 1 January 2020...The law applies not only to companies registered in the Netherlands, but also to companies from anywhere in the world that deliver their products or services to the Dutch market twice or more a year...Companies that fail to submit a statement will be fined, though at a mere € 4,100, the fine is largely symbolic...There remain many open questions regarding enforcement of the law...MVO Platform expects the law to have an overall positive effect and to contribute to a decrease of child labour in supply chains of consumer products...[I]t is crucial that the still-to-be-defined quality criteria for the action plans clarify that due diligence is not seen as avoiding risks but as taking responsibility for getting children not only out of work but also into school.