Belgium

STATUS IN BELGIUM/ACTIONS ENGAGED:

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

In the introduction it is stated that “the NAP aims to stimulate companies (active in Belgium and abroad) and international companies active in Belgium to respect and promote human rights both within their own enterprise and in their sphere of influence.” And, “The second pillar, which concerns companies’ responsibility to respect human rights, is of paramount importance for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles. Since this second pillar focuses exclusively on the initiatives of the companies themselves, the NAP does not deepen this issue. Through this NAP, Belgium wants to encourage and invite companies to organize the implementation of the second pillar in an ambitious and coherent way, and in consultation with stakeholders.”

PLANNED ACTIONS:

Several actions are focused on promoting human rights in the business community:

Action point 8, Encourager les accords-cadres internationaux [Encourage international framework agreements] states “in the course of 2017, the Federal Public Service of Employment, Labor and Social Dialogue will organize a seminar on international framework agreements to assess the issues and scope of these transnational collective negotiations. This seminar will be an opportunity to take stock of these framework agreements and their regulatory role alongside the law; of the observed trends; and the effectiveness of these instruments for enterprises and employees of multinationals companies.”

Action point 10, La Belgique s’engage à intégrer des critères « droits de l’Homme » et de Responsabilité sociétale des entreprises (RSE) dans la stratégie d’appui au développement du secteur privé local de la coopération belge [Belgium is committed to integrating human rights and corporate social responsibility (CSR) criteria into the local private sector development support strategy of Belgian cooperation] explains that both the management contract between the Belgian State and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) and the Convention 2014-2017 for the implementation of the Trade for Development Center, signed between the Belgian State and the Belgian Technical Cooperation, provide that all interventions aimed at development of the sector private sector must respect certain principles of intervention, among these the respect for social and environmental aspects as wells as good governance. These two legal tools also provide reporting obligations to monitor and evaluate compliance with the principles.

Action point 11, Assurer une meilleure coordination entre les autorités fédérales et régionales afin d’intégrer des critères relatifs aux droits de l’Homme et à l’ entrepreneuriat socialement responsable dans les aides publiques [Ensure better coordination between federal and regional authorities in order to integrate criteria relating to human rights and socially responsible entrepreneurship in public aid] aims at bringing together the various public services that work with Belgian companies on trade and foreign investment in order for them to exchange information at regular intervals. In this context, the government will examine a common method to integrate into the evaluation of applications the promotion of human rights and other aspects of social responsibility.

Action point 14, Evaluer le label belge visant à promouvoir la production socialement responsible [Evaluate the Belgian label to promote socially responsible production], presents “the Belgian label” that was a product label created in 2002 and promulgated by law to promote socially responsible production. Companies able to demonstrate that core labor standards were respected throughout their production chain for their products and services, can apply the “Belgian social label” to these products and services. The Minister for Economic Affairs grants the label on the basis of a binding opinion by a stakeholder committee.

While the Belgian social label guarantees consumers the respect for human rights, and labor rights in particular, throughout the entire supply chain, a series of limitations seem to have held back its success. The planned action includes drawing up these limitations, so that solutions can be formulated for the relaunch of a new upgraded label.

On 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] the federal government states that during negotiations at the European level, Belgium will advocate for the respect and inclusion of fundamental labour rights and international environmental standards – including in cases of development cooperation – in investment agreements and free trade agreements.

The issue is also covered in: Action point 13, Renforcer et contrôler le respect des droits de l’Homme dans les marchés publics [Strengthen and monitor the respect for human rights in public procurement]; Action point 16, Promouvoir les rapports sociétaux, droits de l’Homme inclus [Promote social reporting, including human rights]; Action point 22, Encourager la gestion responsable des chaînes d’approvisionnement avec une approche sectorielle [Encourage responsible supply chain management with a sector-wide approach]; and Action point 24, Accorder une attention particulière à la question des droits de l’enfant dans la sensibilisation des entreprises [Pay special attention to the issue of children’s rights in awareness raising of enterprises].