Fourth Consultation

The fourth and final consultation took place on 28-29 June 2019 in The Hague, the Netherlands, considering international business conduct agreements and sanctions.

Fourth Consultation

28 June 2019
    Opening Session

  • Welcome from the Chair
  • Pieter Jan Kleiweg de Zwaan, Deputy Director General for Political Affairs, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    • Sanctioning Slavers and Traffickers

    In June 2018, the UN Security Council, for the first time ever, imposed sanctions on six individuals for their specific involvement in human trafficking activities in Libya. This historic development was a result of the strategic collaboration between different stakeholders from various states. However, effective implementation remains a challenge. Asset freezes constitute a key component of UN sanctions and the financial sector has an important role to play in acting as an enforcer. This session will consider how international collaboration, in particular with the global financial sector, can help implement UN sanctions to address and prevent modern slavery and human trafficking.

  • Moderator: Commissioner Jennifer Fowler
    • Lipika Majumdar Roy Choudhury, Coordinator and Financial Expert, UN Panel of Experts Libya Sanctions Committee
    • Jasper van Mastrigt, Policy Advisor, Department of Multilateral Affairs, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    • Han Moraal, Chief Prosecutor, National Member for the Netherlands, Eurojust

    Fostering Financial Sector Cooperation with Government at Multiple Levels

    Modern slavery and human trafficking are multi-faceted phenomena that exist in diverse contexts. While the systemic root causes are often similar across countries and sometimes even regions, vulnerabilities can emerge from cultural and/or economic practices at the community level too. International cooperation is therefore as important as regional, national and local approaches in tackling these crimes. This session will consider how the financial sector can support anti-slavery approaches at multiple levels, by learning from the Dutch experience.

  • Moderator: Commissioner e.o. James Cockayne
    • Warner ten Kate, National Prosecutor for Trafficking in Human Beings
    • Herman Bolhaar, National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children
    • Maaike van Groenestyn, Senior Policy Adviser, City of Amsterdam

    Lessons Learned from the International Responsible Business Conduct Processes

    In an effort to address risks relating to international business conduct, the Dutch Government has developed semi-voluntary, sector-based agreements as part of their National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. Since 2014, eight Agreements on International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) have been created with a view to mitigating adverse effects, such as modern slavery and human trafficking, and fostering collective approaches. Of these, the Dutch Banking Sector Agreement and the Agreement for the Pensions Funds carry important lessons for the global financial sector in addressing and preventing modern slavery and human trafficking. This session will discuss lessons learned from the International Responsible Business Conduct processes and will explore how financial institutions can serve as enablers of remedy.

  • Moderator: Commissioner Amol Mehra
    • Jacqueline Cramer, Independent Chair, Dutch Banking Sector Agreement and Strategic Advisor, Utrecht Sustainability Initiative
    • Maria Anne van Dijk, Head of Environmental, Social and Ethical Risk and Policy, ABN AMRO
    • José Meijer, Vice-Chair, ABP
    • Mr Tuur Elzinga, Vice President, Federation of Dutch Trade Unions
    • Maartje van Putten, Chair, OECD National Contact Point

    Public Event for National Stakeholders hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • Moderator: Commissioner Daniel Thelesklaf
    • Co-Convenor H.E. Stef Blok, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
    • Co-Convenor H.E. Dr Aurelia Frick, Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein
    • Chris Buijink, President, Dutch Banking Association
    • Chair Fiona Reynolds
    • Commissioner Hennie Verbeek-Kusters

29 June 2019

    Internal Sessions
Herman Bolhaar is the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children. The Rapporteur’s main task is to report on the nature and extent of these issues in the Netherlands, and on the effects of the government policies pursued. The Rapporteur works independently and reports to the Dutch government. Previously, Bolhaar was appointed as Senior Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, USA. Before that, he was Chairman of the Board of Prosecutors General, the national management of the Dutch Public Prosecution Service. Bolhaar also chaired the Dutch National Task Force against Human Trafficking. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration, studied Dutch law at Radboud University, and public sector management at the Netherlands School of Public Administration (NSOB), the University of California – Berkeley, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Lipika Majumdar Roy Choudhury has had a long and distinguished career with the Indian government and retired in the rank of Special Secretary to the Government of India and Member, Central Board of Excise and Customs. In a career spanning 37 years, she has worked in different capacities in the Indian Revenue Service. She has successfully used this experience in investigating cases of violation of several sanctions regimes and highlighting lacunae in the implementation of the same. As Member of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, she was responsible for drafting of legislation relating to indirect taxation, and formulation and implementation of policies relating to indirect taxation throughout India. She worked for several years as Coordinator and Finance Expert on various UN sanctions monitoring teams and has a clear understanding of the working of the sanctions regimes and the legal and procedural issues surrounding these, as well as the historical context. As an expert, she gave valuable inputs during the working sessions of the High-Level Review of UN Sanctions in 2014. During the course of her assignments, she has studied, and reported upon, regional implementation of sanctions.

Dr Jacqueline Cramer is Professor of Sustainable Innovation at Utrecht University and senior advisor to industry and government on the implementation of sustainable entrepreneurship, circular economy and CSR. From 2007-2010 she was the Cabinet Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment of the Netherlands. Next to this, she was and still is member of various (inter-)national advisory boards of the government, industry and non-profit organisations. presently among others Chairman of the execution of the Dutch Banking Sector Agreement in international responsible business conduct regarding human rights.

Maria Anne van Dijk has worked in various roles in the financial services industry for over 25 years, focusing specifically on sustainability since 2003. Maria Anne is responsible for ABN AMRO’s sustainability risk policy and monitoring compliance of this policy by the bank. The policy describes the social and environmental requirements that ABN AMRO’s clients, in particular business clients, need to meet. She is also responsible for the bank’s human rights programme, one of the mainstays of ABN AMRO’s sustainability policy. Maria Anne is convinced that companies and banks should – and can – help solve the problems society faces today, such as human trafficking and modern slavery. And that partnerships with other parties have a key role to play here.

Tuur Elzinga has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (FNV) since May 2017 and Vice President since January 2018. His most important portfolios are pensions/retirement and international affairs. For the past 10 years he has been a policy advisor at Mondiaal FNV. He served in the Dutch Parliament for 9 years and was the spokesperson for social affairs and employment, pensions, international trade and development cooperation. He has gained a great deal of international experience and an extensive European network from his role as chair of the European Affairs Committee, as an active member in the Dutch delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and in the OECD parliamentary network.

Maaike van Groenestyn works for the municipality of Amsterdam as senior advisor on prostitution and human trafficking to the mayor. Previously she has worked for a The Hague based care organization where she offered psychosocial help to Hungarian sex workers and victims of human trafficking. Furthermore, she conducted research on the perception of victims of human trafficking of their own situation.

Warner ten Kate graduated in Criminal Law and Public Law from the University of Groningen in 1983. Since 2005, Warner ten Kate has been the national officer for human trafficking and smuggling at the National Prosecutor's Office of the Public Prosecution Service in Zwolle. On 1 September 2016, Warner ten Kate was also appointed as a flexible liaison prosecutor for human trafficking. Within the Public Prosecution Service and with national and international chain partners, he fights human trafficking in an integrated and innovative manner.

Jasper van Mastrigt works as a policy officer at the department for multilateral organisations and human rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. His focus is on UN sanctions and accountability. He was part of the Ministry's Security Council Task Force for the Dutch seat in 2018. In this context, Jasper, jointly with a senior expert from the Prosecution Service, coordinated the Dutch efforts leading to the first-ever UN targeted sanctions on human traffickers. Spearheaded by the Netherlands, this initiative to respond to human rights abuses in Libya, was the result of close collaboration of experts within the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Security (including the Public Prosecution service) and various embassies around the world. Joining the Foreign Service in the communications department in 2012, Jasper subsequently worked at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Hanoi, Vietnam, and for shorter assignments at the embassies in Moscow and Geneva.

José Meijer has been Vice-Chair and Member of the Board of Trustees (on behalf of the employees) of the largest pension fund in The Netherlands, ABP, since August 2013. Next to her work for ABP, she is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Dutch Federation of Pension funds (FNV) and Chair of the Global Unions CWC Trustee leadership network. José studied Social Sciences at Leiden University.

Han Moraal joined Eurojust in 2014 and is a National Member for the Netherlands. Han Moraal’s first appointment as a Public Prosecutor was with the Public Prosecution Service in 1987 in Rotterdam, from where he moved in 1994 to the Zwolle-Lelystad District Court. In 1996, Han Moraal was appointed Chief Public Prosecutor to the Flevoland police region, and in 1998, was appointed Chief Public Prosecutor at Groningen District Court. In 2007, following four years as Chief Public Prosecutor at The Hague District Court, Han Moraal was appointed Prosecutor General to the Dutch Board of Prosecutors General. Han Moraal is also holding the post of Secretary General of the International Association of Prosecutors.

Maartje van Putten is specialized in independent Complaints Mechanisms/Grievance Mechanisms, in particular for the structuring of the financial sector and its functioning. She wrote a PhD on Accountability Mechanisms and the publication ‘Policing the Banks, accountability Mechanisms for the financial sector’ (2008, McGill Queens University Press Canada). Her main focus is access of people to information and remedy when their lives are interrupted by international operating organizations and financial institutions. She is currently Chair of the OECD National Contact Point of the Netherlands, handling specific instances received against Netherlands-based international operating enterprises. Cases handled include: Heineken workers in Congo DRC (first OECD case handled by an OECD NCP with financial agreement made out of court), Rabobank operations and palm oil in Indonesia and Van Oord-Atradius in Brazil. The present case involves ING Bank and is related to the Paris agreement, climate change, etc. She is a Member of the Board Association of Achmea, the largest Dutch insurance company formed by the consolidation of many historical corporations (since 1889).