On the 10th of July 2023, UNDP, supported by the Government of Japan, and facilitated by FIHRRST, held a High-Level Dialogue on Responsible Business Conduct. The Dialogue brought together selected business leaders, associations, and policymakers to exchange views on the role of businesses in promoting respect and protection of human rights as responsible business practices. Importantly, the Dialogue facilitated a discussion around emerging regulatory norms involving business and human rights, including the importance of human rights due diligence and sustainability reporting.
Opening remarks were given by Mr. Siprianus Bate Soro, as Team Leader for the Democratic Governance and Poverty Reduction Unit, UNDP Indonesia, Mr. Hiroki Sasaki, Labour Attaché, Economic Section, Embassy of Japan in Indonesia, Mr. Dhahana Putra, Director General of Human Rights, Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
The High-Level Dialogue Panel was moderated by Mr. Siprianus. Before the Dialogue began, Ms. Sagita Adesywi, UNDP Indonesia Business and Human Rights Specialist, spoke about UNDP B+HR Academy: Promoting Responsible Business Conduct, and recapped the impacts of the recent B+HR Academy batches 1, 2, and 3.
Subsequently, Ms. Sofia Alatas, SH, CN – Coordinator of Foreign Cooperation, Directorate General of Human Rights, spoke about the implementation of PRISMA: Promoting Business and Human Rights in Indonesia. Ms. Sofia explained that by the end of July 2023, Strategi Nasional Bisnis and HAM (Stranas -BHAM) will be enacted.
Next, Dr. Dhaniswara, SH, MH – Deputy Chairperson for Law and Human Rights of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry delivered a speech about Responsible Business as a Trend - Leveraging Competitiveness between Companies. Mr. Dhaniswara explained that the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry support and will encourage the implementation of Business and Human Rights in macro- and micro-companies.
The discussion was followed by words by Mr. Marzuki Darusman – FIHRRST co-founder, gave a speech titled, The Importance of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) for Companies. Mr. Marzuki emphasized how important it is to have a third-party assessment for objective results.
Lastly, Mr. Nanang Sahroini – VP of Sustainability, Strategy, Portfolio and New Ventures, PT Pertamina, shared their Best Practice on Responsible Business Conduct. Mr. Nanang explained that Pertamina already has three initiatives: Human rights protection and harassment prevention, a diversity program, and collective preservation.
The dialogue was closed with an open discussion between the high-level representatives from PT BUMI Resources Tbk, PT Autocomp System Indonesia (Yazaki Group), PT Asia Pulp and Paper, and PT BTPN Tbk.
To achieve responsible business conduct with regard to human rights, we need collaboration between the government, companies, and civil societies. From this High Level Dialogue, we can see that some stakeholders are willing to work together to protect, respect and fulfill human rights.
We hope this event will encourage more companies to implement human rights in their businesses.
See you in another B+HR Academy!