Letter of April 2016 from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bert Koenders, and the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Lilianne Ploumen, in conjunction with the Minister of Security and Justice, to the House of Representatives, presenting the government’s response to the study of the duty of care of Dutch companies in relation to international corporate social responsibility, conducted by the Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law of the University of Utrecht...

The study deals with the question of ‘how and to what extent the duty of care of Dutch businesses in relation to CSR is regulated or applied in Dutch statute and case law and how this relates to the UNGPs and the situation in neighbouring countries’...The researchers conclude that although, just as in neighbouring countries, there is no statutory provision specifically requiring enterprises to observe due care, either in their own activities or in relation to those of their subsidiaries or supply chain partners, towards people and the environment in host countries, injured parties are able, under general civil liability law, to hold the businesses concerned liable in law...In response to these and other matters raised in the study and in view of the undertaking to inform parliament about what measures can be taken to monitor and supervise compliance with the ICSR agreements, the government gives the following undertakings...The various parts of the study and the government’s assessment of them are examined in more detail below...