VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Business and human rights issues are one of the new issues related to the implementation of human rights globally. The issue has become a concern of many countries around the world after the United Nations passed the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs on B & HR) in 2011. This guide becomes the reference of many countries around the world in formulating policies related to business and human rights. However, in addition to guiding these principles, the state should look at how the characteristics of business actors operating in the country. This was conveyed by the Director General of Multilateral Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard in his speech at the opening of Regional Workshop on Business and Human Rights in Jakarta, February 5^th. The two-day workshop was the initiation of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the European Union (EU), the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), and the Indonesia Global Compact Network.

"Each country has its characteristics that need to be carefully scrutinized and certainly become the factor in the formulation of business and human rights policy. Indonesia for example, micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs are the majority of economic actors in the country. In addition there are alsostate-owned enterprises that certainly havetheir own characteristics. Therefore, dissemination and enhancement of undestanding among stakeholders are important,  Ruddyard said. 

Ruddyard added that the growth of industrial and investment sectors in Southeast Asia is now one of the factors driving countries in the region to formulate policies related to business and human rights. Indonesia is a country that pioneers the launching of business and human rights policies through the National Business Action Plan and Human Rights initiated by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in cooperation with the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) in 2016. (Rezha)