25 June 2020

Together with 49 other Dutch companies, we sent a letter to Minister Kaag. With this letter we, as a joint business community, call for support for a legal framework for due diligence. Legislation ensures more transparency and equality in the supply chain. And.. companies are forced to seriously tackle the negative impact on human rights and the environment in their chain. Go Kaag!

Do you remember?
Last year on 14 May, the Dutch Child Labor Compulsory Care Initiative Act was passed... 

Times up..
Twenty years ago, in 2001, the Harkin-Engel protocol was adopted... It's clear that all these noncommittal initiatives have been relatively ineffective. Now is the time to move on and build a legal framework.

Work to be done!
In the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the Netherlands has agreed that by 2025 all forms of illegal child labor in the world must be stopped. But that will take too long. We need legislation in line with UNGP and OECD guidelines. Despite this Child Labor Act, we are not there yet. The legal framework can be broader and should move from children's rights to human rights. Also legislation should be tighter and must also be properly enforced.

[letter attached - in Dutch]