La Strada Documentation Center

Press release (NL) - Dismissal Legal Action against Dutch firms - North Korean Forced Labour case

Document number
3553
Date
29 April 2024
Title
Press release (NL) - Dismissal Legal Action against Dutch firms - North Korean Forced Labour case
Author/publisher
La Strada International
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
Media/News,
Keywords
press release Dutch firms labour exploitation forced labour trafficking Dismissal court of appeal legal action North Korean workers
Summary

On 15 of April 2024, the Hague Court of Appeal decided that two Dutch companies are not to be prosecuted for profiting from human trafficking, money laundering or fencing. The Court dismissed the complaint and found that there is not enough evidence to establish a direct link between those offences and the accused companies.

This is a huge disappointment for La Strada International, who filed the appeal with support of Prakken d’Oliveira, and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) on 16 December 2022, to challenge the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s rejection to investigate and prosecute the Dutch shipping companies for profiting from North Korean forced labour at their supplier’s shipyard in Poland. See press release (NL).