19 August 2020

Business investment in Indonesia has grown dramatically in recent years. [...]

At the same time, business-related human rights violations have continued unabated. [...]

The number of complaints suggests that the Indonesian government’s existing policies have been ineffective in ensuring that businesses in Indonesia show adequate respect for human rights.

They have accordingly highlighted the need for Indonesia to implement the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). [...]

[...]

Thus far, Indonesia has not yet developed a national policy on business and human on the basis of multi-stakeholder principles. This is because of the lack of involvement of business as an important actor regarding business and human rights. At the same time, as noted earlier, the lack of policy coherence indicates that there is no consensus on the UNGPs among the key elements.

[...]

To secure some recognition for the business and human rights agenda at a national policy level, those lobbying for a specialised National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, including ELSAM, have instead decided to advocate for the incorporation of the business and human rights agenda into the National Action Plan on Human Rights. It is believed that this inclusion will have advantages in terms of coordination among government bodies. It should be especially useful for regional and local governments, which are increasingly becoming important actors for the implementation of human rights. However, at the time of writing the National Action Plan on Human Rights for the 2020-2024 period is yet to be enacted.