The Belgian Whistleblower Act
The Whistleblower Act is a law in Belgium that has been in effect since February 2023. Its purpose is to protect whistleblowers—employees who report misconduct within an organization or company—from any form of retaliation.
This law applies to companies with more than 50 employees, which includes many diamond traders who must comply with this requirement.
At AWDC, we strongly value transparency and integrity in Antwerp's diamond sector and aim to encourage a culture where employees feel safe speaking up about potential issues. To support this, we have created a tool called the "Internal Reporting Channel". This tool allows employees (in the broadest sense) working for Belgian-registered diamond companies to anonymously report any misconduct within their workplace. It also provides a framework to ensure whistleblowers are protected.
In addition, AWDC has developed a Whistleblower Policy that diamond companies can use to make it easier to implement the Whistleblower Act within their organizations.
Report Actual or Suspected Breaches
Every current employee can report a suspected or actual breach via our Whistlblowing Channnel. You can report if you have a reasonable basis for believing that:
- an act or omission constitutes a breach against the topics listed in annex 1 and
- such breach has occurred or is highly likely to occur.
Before reporting, it is important that you evaluate if your belief is based on facts and not on hearsay.
