Business support for Indigenous Peoples' rights, including FPIC, Human Rights Defenders and meaningful stakeholder engagement in the CSDDD
This compilation is part of our Mandatory Due Diligence portal, where we have collected more examples of business support for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.
...[T]he list of the rights of land tenure and access [...] must be completed to include all relevant conventions and documents. This should include, consistently with the principles in the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, and other relevant documents, respect for local communities’ and indigenous peoples’ community and land tenure rights in all forms, whether they are public, private, communal, collective, indigenous, women’s or customary rights, and the procedural right to give or withhold their free, prior and informed consent...
A stronger requirement for meaningful and continuous engagement should be written into the Directive as part of each stage of the due diligence process. Special efforts should be made to engage with particularly vulnerable groups, including smallholders and indigenous peoples and local communities, and engagement strategies should be gender-sensitive.
7 cocoa companies (Mondelez, Nestle, Ferrero, Mars, Tony’s Chocolonely, Hershey, Toms), Fairtrade International, Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Rainforest Alliance, International Cocoa Initiative, Solidaridad and VOICE Network, 19 Sep 2022
We strongly believe in the essential role played by workers‘ representations in improving working conditions in the banana industry and making it more sustainable [...]. We trust that human rights defenders within these workers‘ representations will be able to express their opinions freely, without fear of reprisals, in line with the principles set out in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders...
German Retailers Working Group on Living Income and Living Wages (ALDI NORD & SÜD, dm, Kaufland, REWE), 21 Dec 2023
...We believe meaningful engagement with rightsholders and civil society, including human rights defenders (HRDs), that is gender-sensitive and intersectional, is critical to a due diligence process that effectively identifies human rights impacts and responds to their concerns. For Indigenous Peoples, meaningful engagement will also mean full respect of the principle and process of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). For these reasons, we believe it should be prioritized in the upcoming legislation...
We therefore agree the mHREDD law also needs to serve as a vehicle to safeguard HRDs through requirements of consultation, FPIC for Indigenous Peoples, engagement and access to information [...]. As part of the law, business enterprises should be required to continually assess, address and mitigate risks to HRDs in their investments, operations and value chains...
43 investors and companies incl. Aviva, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Patagonia, Storebrand, Tchibo, Unilever, 10 Nov 2021
Photo: sinonimas, Getty Images via Canva
...The due diligence requirements should be risk-based and apply to the entire spectrum of risks and impacts across the full value chains of companies in all sectors, including financial institutions, in line with the international standards... The distinguishing feature of sustainability due diligence is that it depends for its effectiveness and credibility on the perspectives of affected stakeholders. These include workers and trade unions in a business’ own operations and value chain; local communities affected by its operations or those of its value chain partners; people affected by use of its products or services; and human rights and environmental defenders...
40+ businesses and networks incl. Aldi Süd, Unilever, Mars, IKEA, Ericsson, 11 Apr 2023 (updated 30 Aug 2023)
...We [...] propose that the due diligence obligation should aim to ensure: [...] respect for local communities’ and indigenous peoples’ community and land tenure rights in all forms, whether they are public, private, communal, collective, indigenous, women’s or customary rights, and the procedural right to give or withhold their free, prior and informed consent...
The legislation should also specify the importance of meaningful stakeholder engagement in carrying out due diligence...
5 cocoa companies (Mondelez, Nestle, Ferrero, Mars, Tony’s Chocoloney), Fairtrade International, Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Rainforest Alliance, International Cocoa Initiative and VOICE Network, 18 Oct 2021
Meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders and legitimate value chain representatives, with a strong focus on indigenous peoples and local communities [...] should occur throughout the due diligence process.Guidelines.
European Coffee Federation (over 700 member companies), May 2022
Karen Toro / Climate Visuals Countdown
...Listening to the voices of workers, community members and others is vital to a company’s understanding of risks to people and planet and strengthens its due diligence. To ensure that the EU legislation encourages people-centric HREDD, robust engagement with affected groups, workers and other relevant stakeholders including unions and human rights and environmental defenders should inform all stages of the required due diligence process...
100+ companies incl. Danone, Ericsson, IKEA, Hapag-Lloyd and VAUDE, 8 Feb 2022
...In line with OECD Guidance, GNI recommends specifically articulating the importance of broad and meaningful stakeholder engagement...
The Global Network Initiative, Nov 2023
...Throughout the human rights and environmental due diligence process, businesses should meaningfully engage with actually and potentially affected stakeholders or their appointed representatives...
The Investor Alliance for Human Rights & 94 investors representing over USD 6.3 trillion in AUM, 7 Oct 2021