The rights of Indigenous peoples have never been more important. With the reinvigoration of the global Black Lives Matter movement, new Closing the Gap targets for Australia and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a spotlight has once again been shone on the inequalities they face.
In business, a new guide aims to help Australian businesses understand, respect and embed the rights of Indigenous Australians into their daily operations.
UTS Business School has produced The Australian Business Guide to Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in collaboration with KPMG Australia and the Global Compact Network Australia (GCNA).
The guide is about a ‘fair go’ for our businesses
The lead author of the guide, researcher and Gumbaynggirr man Dr Dean Jarrett – who sadly passed away having seen it launched – hoped the guide would help shape an economic reboot for Indigenous businesses and the buyers of Indigenous goods and services. “The guide is about a ‘fair go’ for our businesses and is framed by a human rights-based approach that prioritises people and sustainability now and into the future,” he said at the time of its release.
Designed to complement the global Business Reference Guide to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the new guide has been written specifically for Australian businesses.
“The Guide shows businesses how to engage in meaningful consultation and partnership with Indigenous peoples and outlines how companies can identify and deal with risks to Indigenous persons that often occur during times of crisis,” GCNA Executive Director Kylie Porter says.
“Respecting human rights is the minimum standard expected of businesses, but businesses also have a significant opportunity to demonstrate their respect for human rights and take additional voluntary actions that promote and support human rights.”
The Guide is not intended to provide a one-size-fits-all approach but instead outlines the business benefits of greater engagement and key steps to achieve this. It includes practical case studies from many sectors. It provides a best-practice risk management framework for companies to adopt, and – when fully embraced – it takes businesses beyond compliance to empowerment.
Catherine Hunter, who worked on the project as KPMG Australia’s then Partner, Corporate Citizenship, says society expects businesses to do more than simply take a “do no harm” approach to human rights. “The global pandemic has raised our awareness of our human connectedness and with this a greater expectation that businesses will act in the best interests of all stakeholders, including their employees, community and environment.”
The Australian Business Guide to Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: uts.ac/GuideRights