Belgium – garment
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Encourages international framework agreements
Federal Government Action:
The Belgian NCP had issued recommendations for all companies active in the textile sector. – page 30
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Strengthen and monitor respect for human rights in public procurement
Federal Government Action:
The Sustainable Public Procurement working group of the Interdepartmental Commission for Sustainable Development will examine how to strengthen and optimize the integration of respect for human rights in the procurement policy of the Public Authority. To this end, in consultation with the Public Procurement Committee and the main stakeholders concerned, including the sector-specific business federations, the working group will formulate a series of proposals with a particular focus on risk sectors such as clothing, the extractive industry, etc. – Page 39
Pilot projects are being set up in which the policy areas “Employment and Social Economy” and “Chancellery and Public Governance”, in cooperation with the purchasers of the various contracting authorities, will check the credibility of the supporting documents (concerning respect for human rights, etc.) and compliance with the basic ILO conventions. This is necessary in order to verify that the human rights criteria included in the special specifications are actually respected. In this respect, the Flemish Authority will focus primarily on the purchase of textile products. – page 41
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Encouraging responsible supply chain management with a sector-specific approach
Context:
Following several accidents and tragedies in Bangladeshi garment factories, notably the one that occurred in April 2013 in the Rana Plaza building housing a complex of garment factories in Bangladesh, the NCP initiated a series of consultations and interviews with different stakeholders in the Belgian garment sector. As a result, it was decided at the OECD level to produce a due diligence guide for the garment and footwear sector. – page 57