Understanding and Implementing Respect for Human Rights in a Business Context: A Conference for Business Leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta, 6 November 2014—Today, a unique and timely conference will be held in Jakarta to explore the responsibilities of business regarding human rights – including good practices, innovations and challenges. Over 150 representatives from Indonesian private and state-owned enterprises, multinational companies, and civil society experts will convene to exchange experiences, share challenges, and suggest ways forward regarding human rights in a business context.

The conference will be in plenary and small group discussion sessions and will explore:

  • Recent context and developments, including the value of international standards and the  UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

  • Business perspectives on what respect for human rights means in practice, including how companies get started, what the business case is, and how to integrate human rights into business operations

  • Issues and priorities for Indonesia and ASEAN from the perspective of civil society – including human rights challenges and common issues and impacts

  • Practices to address particular impacts including: core labour rights; impacts via business relationships, including supply chain, joint ventures and customers; and communities, indigenous peoples and security practices

The objectives of the conference are to:

  • Convene a committed group of business representatives from Indonesia to discuss corporate action around the corporate responsibility to respect human rights

  • Demonstrate the business benefits of integrating respect for human rights into operations, products and services

  • Introduce the UN Guiding Principles, and tools and resources to assist businesses in their human rights journey

  • Explore common human rights challenges that businesses facearound the world

  • Share business experiences and approaches to implementing corporate respect for human rights in policies, processes and systems

The conference is being convened by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), the Human Rights Resource Centre, Praxity Member Firms in Indonesia and the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights.

Contact: Praxity Indonesia – bahtiar.manurung@moores-rowland.comHuman Rights Resource Centre – info@hrrca.orgGlobal Business Initiative on Human Rights – katryn.wright@global-business-initiative.orgKamar Dagang dan Industri (Kadin)