2014 Annual Report of the Government of the Netherlands. The Initiative on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Date February 2015

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1 The Initiative on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Date February 2015

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3 A. Commitment to the Voluntary Principles The Government of the Netherlands is firmly committed to and seeks to strengthen the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs). The Netherlands joined the multi-stakeholder Voluntary Principles Initiative (VPI) shortly after it was established in 2000 and endorses its mission, which is to provide guidance to extractive industries on maintaining the safety of their personnel and the security of their operations within an operating framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Netherlands will continue to strongly support the VPI and the Voluntary Principles Association (VPA) and will remain actively committed to strengthening the VPs. B. Policies, procedures, and related activities At the end of 2013, the Netherlands presented its implementation policy the national action plan for the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 1 It sets out existing policy, presents the results of the consultations on the Ruggie Framework and describes the additional steps the Netherlands is taking or plans to take. John Ruggie advises businesses to apply due diligence to their production and supply chains and processes. The Netherlands has conducted a due diligence study of various economic sectors in the Dutch economy. This comparative analysis has identified 13 priority sectors, including oil and gas, textiles and energy, in which production-related risks are high. The aim is to set the agenda for CSR issues that require urgent attention, and encourage businesses to take a pro-active approach to risks in their production and supply chains. The next step is to invite these sectors to set up a multi-stakeholder dialogue with NGOs, labour unions and the government, with the aim of reaching agreement on how to address these risks. The government is facilitating and encouraging industry sectors in this process. In November 2014, the Dutch government signed a covenant with Dutch energy utilities with the aim of improving social and environmental conditions in the coal supply chain. As stated in the covenant, both parties consider the VPs to be an important multistakeholder initiative. The document lists activities that will be carried out by Dutch 1

4 energy companies and by the government. Reflecting the importance assigned to the VPs, the government is committed to encouraging other countries facing safety risks in the extractive sector to familiarise themselves with the VPs and join the initiative. The government also supports existing VP members, such as Colombia, in implementing the Principles. The VPs provide a concrete example of how to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the first set of high-level global guidelines on this issue. Examples of promoting awareness of the VPs throughout the government The Ministry of Foreign Affairs International Trade Policy and Economic Governance Department (IMH) is responsible for Dutch policy on the VPs. IMH has worked closely with the Human Rights Department and other relevant ministry units on implementing the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. One of the action points in the Plan is to increase policy coherence with regard to business and human rights. For that purpose, civil servants from all ministries and implementing organisations that work on these issues have been trained in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by a Dutch NGO. A follow-up to this course was held in January The global network of embassies is key to implementing the VPs. IMH has on a number of occasions worked with Dutch diplomatic missions in VP priority countries on how to best promote the VPs and, if applicable, to ask missions to engage with local VP participants, governments in host countries and other stakeholders for outreach and onthe ground coordination. C. Country implementation IMH engages with all Dutch diplomatic missions in the current VP priority countries, most specifically with the embassies in the VP priority countries in which the Netherlands is leading government-to-government outreach (Nigeria and South Africa). IMH has provided the embassies with information on the VPs for this purpose. Several embassies have helped other lead governments engage with local stakeholders to encourage VP priority countries to join the VPs or to facilitate government-to-government outreach.

5 Efforts in VP priority countries as lead government The Netherlands undertook additional efforts in the VP priority countries in which it is leading government-to-government outreach. Nigeria Following a period of relative inactivity, in recent years there has been an upsurge in advocacy and in promotion and awareness of the VPs, thanks to the concerted efforts of an in-country team including embassies and NGOs. Arguably all relevant government ministries in Nigeria are now engaged and have had a reasonable degree of exposure to the VPs through roundtable meetings, awareness workshops, individual engagement and educational and communication materials. One key Nigerian ministry which was initially hesitant to get involved with the VPs has now been won over, hopefully clearing the way for adoption of the VPs in Nigeria in the near future. Despite these positive signals, there is still a lot to be done in promoting and implementing the VPs in Nigeria. Several activities were undertaken at different levels by governments through their embassies, as well as NGOs. Over the last year the Dutch embassy (both acting alone and in partnership with other embassies) has held a series of high-level meetings with several stakeholders advocating the VPs and the need for Nigeria to adopt and implement the initiative in its extractive industry. The Dutch embassy also participated in and contributed to the success of several meetings featuring the VPs. For instance, it facilitated the attendance of key participants from extractive companies and security forces at a workshop to develop a workable model for security and human rights in the Nigerian extractive industry, convened in January 2014 by the NGO Global Rights in conjunction with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The meeting explored the viability of the VPs as a model for addressing security and human rights issues in Nigeria s extractive sector. In June 2014 the embassy facilitated the attendance of Global Rights at an NGO meeting on human rights and the environment in Ogoniland held in Port Harcourt, Abuja. The meeting was also attended by Lilianne Ploumen, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, who was briefed on the VPs by a representative of Global Rights. The embassy also convened a meeting of VP stakeholders in Abuja in August 2014, affording participants an opportunity to interact, track progress, share ideas and devise a way forward for VP advocacy in Nigeria.

6 To strengthen advocacy and awareness of the VPs, the Netherlands also provided a grant to Community Policing Partners, an NGO based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State (a state within the Niger Delta region of Nigeria). Community Policing Partners demonstrated commitment to the VPs by engaging stakeholders and raising awareness. The grant will allow them to further strengthen stakeholders awareness and understanding of the VPs, with a view to emphasising the importance of Nigeria joining the VPs while improving adherence to their tenets at site level. In 2014, NGOs advocacy work had a positive impact on the Netherlands promotion of the VPs in Nigeria. The Netherlands recognises the efforts NGOs are making to realise the common objective of promoting the VPs in Nigeria. These NGOs engaged in a wide range of activities geared towards raising awareness and advocating the VPs in Nigeria. While VP member companies have participated in meetings on the VPs, some parties feel that they need to increase their efforts to convince non-signatory companies either individually or through the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) to join the VPs. It is essential that more foreign and national companies are brought on board. Given the perception that signatory companies are adopting a selective approach to implementing the VPs, there is a clear need for those companies to publicly demonstrate how they are putting the VPs into practice, so as to boost confidence in the VPs efficacy at site level. In conclusion, if the efforts of governments, NGOs and companies are continued, the VPs will remain firmly on the agenda in Nigeria and will hopefully be formally adopted by the Nigerian government in the near future. South Africa South Africa has been a VP priority country since the 2012 March Annual Plenary Meeting. There was limited outreach to the South African government in The government has been reluctant to discuss the VPs with all VP members. The current chair (the United Kingdom) was responsible for leading efforts in Other VP (priority) countries Angola The Netherlands is active in the VPs working group set up to help the Angolan government join the VPs, and in October 2014 was involved in a workshop on the VPs proposed by the Angolan government and the British embassy. The Dutch embassy supported the event by inviting a representative from Shell to present their perspective

7 on and experience of implementing the VPs in the oil and gas sector. Angola intends to present its Letter of Intent to join the VPs in March 2015, during the annual VPs plenary in London. The Dutch embassy will offer assistance and support where necessary. Colombia The Dutch embassy in Bogotá provides financial support to the Comité Minero Energético de Seguridad y Derechos Humanos (CME). This platform unites the private sector, the Colombian government and several NGOs in the mining and energy sector for the purposes of promoting and implementing international standards and guidelines on corporate social responsibility. Given Colombia s history, there is special focus on the role of human rights and security in relation to companies. The VPs and their implementation are an important part of CME s outreach programme. East Africa In 2014, the Netherlands awarded a grant of 470,000 to the Institute for Human Rights and Business for a project geared to preventing human rights abuses in the emerging extractive industry in East Africa. The project is running in Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in cooperation with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. The aim is to create a consensus among extractive companies, governments and civil society about the conditions needed to protect and respect the human rights of people in affected communities, and to put these conditions in place. As part of the project, implementation of the VPs will be promoted in East Africa. Kazakhstan In November 2014 Henk Kamp, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, went to Kazakhstan for an economic mission with around 20 companies from the oil and gas and maritime sectors. Labour conditions in the oil and gas sector are still a cause for concern. During his visit, Mr Kamp raised the issue of the VPs with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.