Business & Human Rights

What is the problem?

As ASEAN continues to deepen its regional economic integration, more challenges are arising for the protection of human rights from corporate power: from lowering labour and environmental standards for business activities; to land confiscations; forced evictions; and attacks on human rights defenders by corporate interests.

Within Southeast Asia, few countries have taken measures to ensure that the activities of companies headquartered in their own country, but operating abroad, do not result in human rights violations.

Recent developments, however, show that fresh attention is being paid to this issue by civil society and governments alike. For instance, the integration of investment abroad was one of the key concerns in Thailand’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, the first of its kind in Asia.

What are we doing about it?

APHR is supporting and mobilising its members to ensure that ASEAN governments protect human rights and the environment from the impact of corporate activities. To achieve this, APHR is working towards the adoption of national and regional measures to help stop companies from violating human rights abroad, in particular in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, the biggest contributors to Foreign Direct Investment in the ASEAN region.