On Wednesday, 17 October 2018, FIHRRST conducted a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as part of its study to assess and rank 100 public companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and included in the KOMPAS 100 index, on their responsibility to respect human rights. The Focus Group Discussion was intended to obtain feedback from government representatives and civil society organizations on the draft methodologies and indicators to be used for the study.

Held at Cosmo Amaroossa Hotel, Jakarta, the FGD was attended by numerous NGOs and government representatives that included the Senior Advisor of HRWG, Mr Rafendi Djamin, Expert Staff in Health Economics at the Ministry of Health, Mr. Mohamad Subuh, Mediator at The Indonesia National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Mr. Ono Haryono, and representatives from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Ministry of Coordinating Economy, ELSAM, and Oxfam.

In his opening remarks, FIHRRST co-founder, Mr. Makarim Wibisono explained, “The study on respect for human rights at 100 companies is a platform for these companies to demonstrate that they understand their responsibilities to respect human rights and also publicly show the means they have set in place for accepting these responsibilities. Respect for human rights will provide a competitive advantage to companies and afford access to larger markets, plus more and more investors are today looking for responsible businesses.” As a former member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and Chairman of the Second Annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, Mr. Makarim also provided a brief background to the development process of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and how they are being embraced by many countries around the world at either governmental or business level.

The participants were largely supportive of this initiative to carry out a study on respect for human rights in 100 Indonesian public companies, most having high hopes that such a comprehensive study will be supported and accepted by the government, as well as influence companies to improve on their efforts to respect human rights. From FIHRRST’s viewpoint, meanwhile, the Focus Group Discussion was extremely fruitful with a range of opinions and feedback being received from the participants, which will prove invaluable in strengthening the study’s approach and indicators.

Mr. Rafendi, for instance, was very positive, suggesting, “The study is a good initiative to boost respect for human rights, plus open discussions for government, companies, and the public”. Mr. Mohamad Subuh also made an important point during the discussion, stating, “Violations with regard to labour health laws are human rights violations. The safety of the people working in the companies is a top priority and needs to be preconcerted.”

Mr. Andi from ELSAM, meanwhile, questioned the proposed scoring system for the ranking of the 100 companies and suggested that some indicators having more significant impacts, such as the existence of human rights policy and procedures, be given a higher score. Mr. Adi and Widyanto from OXFAM advised that that the study should clearly state its objective, either to just rank the companies’ human rights performance, or to rank and influence the improvement of the companies’ human rights practices. On a more cautious note, Mr. Haryono from Komnas HAM recommended that the study very carefully analyse the companies’ human rights performance in order to avoid companies given the highest human rights performance scores being among those that have been reported for human rights violations.

While the FGD was the first step of the study in order to engage related stakeholders, it will be swiftly followed by a seminar to be held in November 2018 to socialize the study. This will bring together representatives from the 100 companies who are the focus of the study, as well as government officials, business associations and other related stakeholders with the hopes of reaching a sense of inclusivity and transparency for the study.