Belgium

STATUS IN BELGIUM/ACTIONS ENGAGED:

In Section 4 “Scope of the action plan” p.7:

The NAP explicitly states that “the action plan and the baseline mapping specifically address the first and third pillars of United Nations  Guiding Principles on Business and Human rights, namely the obligation of the state to protect people, when third parties, including companies, infringe on human rights and need to ensure that victims of human rights violations have access to effective remedy.”

In Section 4 “The Belgian Framework on business and human rights” p. 7:

The NAP explains that “Belgium has a particularly broad framework for the protection of human rights. Firstly, the Belgian Constitution, Chapter II “Belgians and their rights”, recognizes a large number of basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. On the other hand, our country has also adopted / ratified the majority of international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, numerous International Labor Organization treaties, including the fundamental conventions, and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Belgian State was among the first to subscribe to OECD guidelines issued for multinational enterprises. In 2000, Belgium also ratified the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court.”

Also, “Belgium has made continuous efforts to ensure a high level of respect for these rights and taken an active role in the development of international standards for the protection of human rights and their promotion. Our country has also recognized all the individual complaint mechanisms put in place by the UN treaties that have been ratified.”

PLANNED ACTIONS:

Action point 3, Formulation de recommandations en vue d’améliorer l’accès à un mécanisme de reparation judiciaire[Recommendations for improving access to a judicial grievance mechanism] mentions that “The authorities have a duty to guarantee the access to effective remedial measures to victims of human rights violations by companies and organizations. These could be judicial, administrative, legislative or other appropriate measures. Access to effective remedy includes both the procedural and content-related aspects.”

Action point 17, Plaider au niveau de la Belgique pour le renforcement de l’intégration du développement durable (y compris des droits de l’Homme) dans les accords de libre échange [Advocate for strengthening the integration of sustainable development (including human rights) in free trade agreements] explains that “the region of Brussels will ensure that a HRIA has been carried out before any ratification of investment and trade agreements, and that any major negative impact on the respect, protection and promotion of human rights has not been detected in third-party countries.”

On Action point 20, Promouvoir les entreprises publiques socialement responsables [Promote state enterprises that are socially responsible] the NAP states that “Public authorities must perform an exemplary function by the respect, protection and promotion of human rights, as well as the responsible management of its activities, both in within their sphere of influence and more particularly with state companies and/or companies’ receiving public support.”

The NAP also presents several planned ratifications:

• Ratification of the Protocol of 2014 to the ILO Convention on Forced Labor (Action Point 24)
• Ratification of the ILO Convention No. 187 on Occupational Safety and Health, ILO Convention No. 167 on Safety and Health in Construction, Convention No. 170 on Safety in the Use of Chemical Substances at Work (Action point 26)
• Ratification of ILO conventions C156 – Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, C189 – Domestic Workers Convention, Convention No. 175 on part-time work. (Action point 25)