NL – Conflict Areas, 2nd NAP

Pillar I

Action point Pillar I

Doing business in conflict areas and fragile states

ACTION POINTS PILLAR 1	Aim	Responsible party	Timeline
Doing business in conflict areas and fragile states
Include the UNGPs and conflict sensitivity in the Multiannual Country Strategies (MACS) of embassies in fragile states, through dialogue between embassies, implementing organisations, the business community, and with local stakeholder involvement	Further improve integration of conflict sensitivity into foreign policy”	BZ	From 2022
Develop conflict sensitivity guidelines for the Dutch business community in collaboration with businesses, NGOs and implementing organisations, and distribute them via the RBC support office	Inform businesses on conflict sensitivity	BZ in collaboration with implementing partners and appropriate businesses in the Netherlands and abroad.	From 2022

p. 9

The state duty to protect human rights

“The NAP will act as a central government-wide, coherent policy agenda for business and human rights. Its aim is to optimise the use of relevant national and international policy instruments with the inclusion of a ‘business and human rights’ perspective.

…

 • A survey of Dutch businesses will determine whether there is a need for any additional instruments specifically aimed at conducting business in conflict areas.”… P. 25

Integrating responsibilities in conflict areas and fragile states into policy

“States should pay particular attention to the human rights risks that can occur when enterprises conduct business in conflict areas, and help ensure that businesses do not exacerbate existing risks. States must also take action against businesses which become involved in human rights abuses. Although the due diligence procedures described in the UNGPs and the OECD Guidelines are not fundamentally different for conflict areas (the guidelines are based on proportionality, so the higher the risk, the more complex the procedures), the Dutch government notes that there may be extra risk of human rights abuses. This is in line with the report on doing business in conflict areas by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights43, which states that ‘heightened’ due diligence is

required in conflict areas. Dutch efforts in fragile states and conflict areas are therefore partly based on a ‘conflict-sensitive approach’. This approach aims to take better account of the unforeseen effects of business activities in the community and to ensure that activities do not exacerbate existing conflicts or lead to new ones.

The Netherlands is committed to collaborating with other donors and organisations in making joint analyses which include a gender dimension. An example here is Dutch investment in the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Conflict Affected States in Africa (CASA) initiative. A conflict-sensitive approach to private sector development was central in the 13 fragile states in which this IFC project was implemented. Furthermore, the European Conflict Minerals Regulation44, which came into effect in January 2021, requires all EU businesses importing certain metals and minerals to apply due diligence.45 All EU member states must appoint a national supervisory authority to monitor businesses’ compliance with this Regulation. In the Netherlands this is the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT). Regular meetings between the European Commission and member states aim to ensure uniform implementation of the Regulation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has drawn up conflict sensitivity guidelines for private sector development for its staff in The Hague and at its embassies around the world as well as for employees of implementing partners, with the aim of making conflict sensitivity a cross-cutting component of Dutch foreign policy. The guidelines explain the possible context-specific risks and responsibilities of conducting business in conflict-sensitive regions. Conflict-sensitive policy requires the early identification of conflict and instability risks (early warning) so that these can be addressed in a timely manner (early action). The involvement of local stakeholders is advisable here.

In discussions with responsible ministries and exploratory consultations with stakeholders on the NAP focus areas an effort was made to determine whether Dutch businesses need additional mechanisms when conducting business in conflict areas. These discussions generated insufficient information to conclude that there is a need for additional mechanisms. The topic was therefore raised again during national stakeholder consultations. The results indicated that communication about existing mechanisms within government as well as with the business community needs to be improved and that businesses require conflict sensitivity guidelines.

The government guidelines will, when applicable, be addressed in embassies’ Multiannual Country Strategies, with implementing organisations and in dialogue with the Dutch business community in order to improve the integration of conflict sensitivity into Dutch foreign policy. Furthermore, conflict sensitivity guidelines for the Dutch business community will be drawn up in collaboration with companies, NGOs and implementing organisations, with an additional focus on Dutch SMEs. These guidelines can be used to carry out the contextual analyses that businesses need to complete before doing business in such areas. As noted in chapter 2 of this NAP, businesses and implementing organisations share this responsibility with governments. Businesses are thus likewise expected to assume responsibility, especially in relation to conflict areas and fragile states.

The RBC support office for Dutch businesses abroad can provide a means of disseminating the forthcoming conflict sensitivity guidelines for the business community more widely.” pp 43 and 44.