Over the past three days, I have been in Bangkok, Thailand, taking part in a very exciting meeting- the 2nd Meeting of the Human Rights and Business in ASEAN Baseline Study, hosted by the Human Rights Resource Centre in ASEAN (HRRCA).
The purpose of the report is to provide a comparative analysis of the duty of the State to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises in ASEAN. This Duty to Protect is based on the Ruggie Framework on Business and Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in June last year. In an increasingly globalised world, corporate violations of human rights have been increasingly documented. This includes environmental degradation, indigenous peoples rights, labour rights, and land rights.
As an emerging field in international human rights, this is the first study of its kind to map out the existing business and human rights framework for a region, in the world. As Singapore researcher, I have been tasked with writing the Singapore report, an exciting, but also challenging assignment. Luckily, a very capable team is leading the project, and I have received research assistance at SIIA from a very supportive intern, Natalie.
As country reports take shape, and authors feedback, it has already been incredibly interesting to learn of the business and human rights landscape (or lack thereof) in ASEAN. With the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Committee on Human Rights, the commitments towards human rights with the ASEAN Charter, and the increasing imperative of including business when we think about human rights, I am looking forward to seeing the final report which will be released later this year, after a meeting of experts in October.
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