About this Violation
As a human rights defender, you may be arrested and/or detained for reporting business-related human rights abuse.
As a human rights defender, you may be arrested and/or detained for reporting business-related human rights abuse.
Being arrested means to be bodily confined by the police. In order to be lawfully arrested or detained, the procedures stipulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure should be followed.
A business person or business might get involved in your illegal arrest, because they provided wrong information to incriminate you or because they illegally detained you (kidnapped you).
Those acts are prohibited by the Indonesian legal framework.
When a businessperson has committed any of those offences, you can consider filing a criminal case against them or a civil lawsuit.
Should you want to bring to the court the business entity as a whole, you can only initiate a civil lawsuit.
You should know that under the Indonesian criminal framework, business entities do not have criminal responsibility. Therefore, if you have been a victim of crime, where a business entity is involved, you cannot file charges against the entity. The only person that you can bring before the criminal court, is the specific person (from the business) who committed the crime against you.
The Indonesian Constitution protects your right to recognition, guarantees, protection and certainty before a just law, and of equal treatment before the law and the Human Rights Law states that “No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention, torture or exile.” Those protections are further elaborated through various articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Warning: Before taking any of the steps listed below, you can strategically assess the risks involved with taking certain actions and make sure that you prioritise your physical and psychological safety and security.
A person from a business might be involved in your illegal arrest and detention if he/she has wrongfully accused you of a crime and led the police wrongfully to consider you as a suspect.
It constitutes an offence under Article 220 of the Penal Code if someone has lodged a complaint against you, knowing that it has not been committed by you.
In addition, under Article 317 of the Penal Code “Any person who with deliberates intent submits or causes to submit a false charge or information in writing against a certain person to the authorities, whereby the honour or reputation of said person is harmed, shall, being guilty of a calumnious charge, be punished by a maximum imprisonment of four years.”
Under Article 318 of the Penal Code “Any person who with deliberate intent by some act falsely casts suspicion upon another person of having committed a punishable act, shall, being guilty of calumnous insinuation.”
It might also be the case, that a businessperson or someone working on his behalf is illegally detaining you. This falls under the criminal offence of kidnapping and your relatives or you can report it to the police.
You can file a criminal complaint reporting the incidents to the nearest police station.
The police have to investigate your case and forward it to the Prosecutor. If the Prosecutor decides to charge the person who committed the offence against you, then a criminal trial will start. As a victim of the crime, you will give evidence at the court as a witness. Most probably, it will be the District Court that will try the case. As a sentence, the Court will order a sanction for the offender, and it might also award compensation for you. The prosecutor will have to prove that the offender is guilty ‘beyond reasonable doubt.’ If an appeal is filed against the judgment by the Prosecutor or the defendant, then the case will be tried at second instance.
Warning: Before taking any of the steps listed below, you can strategically assess the risks involved with taking certain actions and make sure that you prioritise your physical and psychological safety and security.
If you have suffered harm due to the false allegations of a businessperson or due to the fact that he/she illegally detained or kidnapped you, you can file a civil lawsuit against him/her before the civil court and ask the offender for compensation.
Note that if the circumstances allow, you might consider directing your lawsuit against the company as an entity and not solely against the businessperson that committed the offence. The procedure that you will follow is the same, but the respondent to your lawsuit will now be the corporate entity and the businessperson.
You will have to prove that:
The basis of your claim is that the businessperson or business entity committed an act that was against the provisions of the Indonesian Penal Code, or the 1999 Human Rights Law. According to the Human Rights Law, everyone should “respect the human rights of others, and social, national, and state morals, ethics, and orders.” Therefore, the obligation to respect your human rights falls also on business entities.
You can ask for compensation or an order from the court directing the offender to stop.
At the court in the district where you live.
If the District Court was mistaken in its investigation or the investigation was incomplete or if your lawyer told you that the process was not proper, then you can file an appeal before the High Court within 14 days after you officially learnt about the decision of the District Court. You can file an appeal by signing a deed of appeal (akta banding) at the District Court which rendered the decision.
If you think that the High Court did not properly apply the law, or the civil trial was not properly carried out or the court did not have the competence to take the case, then you can file a cassation application before the Supreme Court, within 14 days after you officially learnt about this second decision (of the High Court).
Also, if you think that new circumstances arose or that the judges made an obvious error, then you can file a request for reconsideration or review of the judgment before the Supreme Court.
If you are not the only victim of illegal arrest and/or detention, but there is a big group of people who like you suffered the same harm, then you can submit a class action lawsuit on behalf of the class. This is called class action!
Warning: Before taking any of the steps listed below, you can strategically assess the risks involved with taking certain actions and make sure that you prioritise your physical and psychological safety and security.
The People Communication Service (Yankomas) team in the Regional Office of Ministry of Law and Human Rights can be helpful in cases where a business or a businessman has violated your rights. This Service was put in place by the Human Rights Committees (RANHAM committees) as a mediation mechanism. It receives complaints from the victims of human rights violations. Then, it calls the parties for mediation, and issues recommendations.
The committee is not like the courts and its recommendations are voluntary for the parties to the dispute.
Yankomas’ actions might include receiving and following up on communications, reviewing allegations of human rights violations; and coordinating and providing Recommendation Letters.
You can file your complaint to the People Communication Service (Yankomas) team in the Regional Office of Ministry of Law and Human Rights in your region.
If someone from a business was involved in your wrongful arrest or detention, you can try to report it to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). It might also be the case that the state is not properly investigating the violation you suffered. This amounts to an additional violation, this time by the state.
The National Commission on Human Rights is responsible for monitoring the human rights situation in Indonesia, receiving complaints for human rights abuses, investigating them and providing recommendations to the respective agency or authority that committed the violation. Importantly, for your case, Komnas HAM has handled many cases involving corporations.
The complaint should be in written form and should be sent to:
Jalan Latuharhari No. 4B, Menteng Village, Central Jakarta 10310, Indonesia
During the investigations by Komnas HAM, you have the right to ask them how the process is going. Komnas HAM will investigate the complaint you submitted, along with all the evidence and if it deems it appropriate, it will issue recommendations to the respective agency.
If someone from a local or foreign business is detaining you because of your work exposing a company’s wrongdoings, that behaviour also contravenes the obligations of that company according to the Investment Laws of Indonesia. More specifically, 2007 Investment Law No. 25 obliges domestic and foreign investors to foster a relationship that respects the local community’s values and norms and provides a safe environment for workers. Threats and intimidation are neither in line with these shared values and norms nor are they conducive to safety. You can report it to the relevant administrative agency. That agency will investigate the situation and impose administrative sanctions if it finds out whether the allegations are credible.
In addition, if you are a trade union member, you can consider informing the Labor Inspectorate in your province.
If you are a woman:
You can find information on how to submit your complaint here Komnas Perempuan.
You can also approach the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection. You can find further information here Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (kemenpppa.go.id).
If you are an environmental rights defender, you can consider approaching the Ministry of Environment, the Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment, the Ministry of Mining or National Land Agency, depending on the circumstances of your case.
To grow, expand or simply operate, corporate entities often borrow funds from financial institutions, including private banks, investment funds, development banks or export credit agencies.
Sometimes, those financial institutions have put human rights standards in place and expect that they are respected by their borrowers. In practice, this means that if a business borrows money from them, then it should respect human rights standards, as required by those entities. To monitor compliance against those standards, several financial institutions have developed complaints mechanisms where you can report if a business, funded by them, is violating your rights.
After a complaint is filed those mechanisms usually ask the respective business to take measures to mitigate and prevent further harm.
Note also that those mechanisms can guarantee confidentiality, under certain circumstances. In addition, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman of the World Bank has established an “Approach to Responding to Concerns of Threats and Incidents of Reprisals in CAO Operations.” For more information see here CAO-Approach to Responding to Threats and Reprisals (cao-ombudsman.org).
Therefore, if a business is violating your rights, you should check whether it is funded by an institution that has in place a grievance mechanism of this kind.
Below you can find a non-exhaustive list of grievance mechanisms by funding institutions.
The Equator Principles are a financial industry standard for environmental and social risk management in high value projects funded by private banks. A financial institution committing to the Equator Principles should respect the standards and report publicly on their implementation.
The Equator Principles usually cannot be used as a legal basis for legal remedies but have been widely relied on for advocacy purposes.
In addition, depending on the bank, it might be the case that the bank which is funding your project has put in place a grievance mechanism or a whistle-blower policy. On that basis, you should first acquire information on who the lender of the company that is violating your rights is. You should then find out whether that bank has any mechanism in place, as well as guidelines on how to approach it.
You should be cautious and protect yourself from potential retaliation by asking for confidentiality if this is provided.
The Green Climate Fund was established in 2010 by 194 states, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It aims to support investments in low-emission and climate-resilient projects and programs in developing countries. It provides investment to “accredited entities” such as public institutions, development or commercial banks, or private companies that implement climate-resilient projects.
It has in place a grievance mechanism called the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM).
Click here to watch an explanatory video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs17w0pVbpw.
Any person or a group of persons, or a community that has been or may be affected negatively by a GCF project or programme may file a complaint.
A complaint with the IRM can be filed by:
For more information, visit the IRM’s website.
If the company that has harmed you works for a project which is financed by the International Development Association (‘IDA’) or the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (‘IBRD’), both of which form the “World Bank.”
To approach the Inspection Panel, the project should have harmed you or be likely to harm you or the environment in a direct and material way.
Complaints can be submitted by “any group of two or more people in the country where the Bank-financed financed project is located who believe that, as a result of the Bank’s abuse of its policies and procedures, their rights or interests have been, or are likely to be adversely affected in a direct and material way.”
Note that one individual alone cannot submit a complaint, but an organization or group of individuals can!
You should send your request by post to:
The Inspection Panel 1818 H Street,
NW Mail Stop: MC10-1007
Washington, DC 20433
USA
Or by email to ipanel@worldbank.org
The suggested format for a request for inspection can be found at www.worldbank.org
The Inspection Panel will not provide any remedy but will facilitate the dispute resolution between the parties.
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman hears complaints regarding projects supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) or Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), where those projects have a direct social or environmental impact.
Any individual or group of individuals who have suffered, or are likely to suffer, direct social or environmental impact by a project supported by the IFC or MIGA. Someone representing the people harmed can file a complaint on their behalf, provided he/she has authorization.
Your complaint should include your name and contact address. Note that you can ask for the process to be carried out confidentially.
You should describe the project, the harm it has caused to you or the environment and the performance standards that have been violated.
You can submit your complaint by post to:
Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO)
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, DC 20433,
USA Tel: + 1 202 458 1973
Fax: + 1 202 522 7400
Or by e-mail to CAO@worldbankgroup.org
🡪 Note also that the CAO has established an “Approach to Responding to Concerns of Threats and Incidents of Reprisals in CAO Operations.” For more information see here CAO-Approach to Responding to Threats and Reprisals-web.pdf (cao-ombudsman.org)
The CAO will investigate your case and mediate the dispute between you and/or project-affected communities and companies and will aim to address any environmental and social concerns. It will further monitor how the IFC and MIGA are complying with the applicable Performance Standards in relation to social and environmental risks.
If your social or environmental rights have been abused by a business financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Any individuals or organisation that are concerned with an EIB-supported project. The complainant is not obliged to demonstrate that they are directly affected or that the policies are being violated by the specific project.
In your complaint you should:
You should send by post to
European Investment Bank Secretary General
100 boulevard Konrad Adenauer
L-2950 Luxembourg
Or by email to complaints@eib.org
Or online www.eib.org/infocentre/complaints-form.html.
The Complaints Mechanism will investigate if your complaint is well-founded and will attempt to facilitate the resolution of the dispute. If it concludes that there was maladministration by the EIB, it might propose corrective or mitigation actions and recommendations or determine that the problem was solved during the complaints handling process and that no further action is required.
If you are not satisfied, you can file an appeal with the EIB Complaints Mechanism or with the European Ombudsman.
Where you have suffered harm because a project supported by the EBRD did not respect the bank’s commitments to environmental and social responsibility.
Individuals and civil society organisations who believe they are directly and personally affected by an EBRD Project.
You should send it to IPAM's secure, encrypted online Request Form, available on the IPAM website. In certain circumstances, IPAM can also consider complaints submitted by civil society organisations that are not directly or personally affected. These will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
EBRD Independent Project Accountability Mechanism
Attn: Victoria Marquez-Mees, Chief Accountability Officer
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
United Kingdom
Or by email to ipam@ebrd.com
The IPAM will first attempt to achieve an agreement between you and the company that takes part in the project. It might also issue recommendations for the project and monitor its implementation. In addition, the IPAM also assesses the Bank’s compliance with its own policies, if the EBRD is found to be non-compliant, IPAM will propose changes to the project and the Bank’s procedures to address the non-compliance.
Any group of two or more people or a local representative of affected people, who are directly, materially, and adversely affected by a project supported by the ADB, including regarding the environment, involuntary resettlement, and indigenous peoples.
A sample complaint form is available at www.adb.org.
You should send your complaint by post to:
Complaints Receiving Officer
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
6 ADB Avenue Mandaluyong City
1550 Philippines
or by email to amcro@adb.org
The respective department will conduct an assessment and attempt to bring together the disputing parties. If an agreement is reached, the Mechanism will monitor its implementation. The Mechanism might also provide the ADB’s management with recommendations for remedial actions.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has established a complaints mechanism, called Project-Affected People’s Mechanism (PPM).
A complaint can be filed by people affected by an AIIB-funded project and who believe they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by AIIB’s failure to implement and comply with its Environmental and Social Policy (ESP) during the due diligence stage of the project, project preparation or during AIIB’s oversight of the project. This mechanism should be used when concerns cannot be addressed satisfactorily through any project-level grievance redress mechanisms or AIIB Management’s processes.
Two or more Project-affected people (Requestors) may file a submission. Requestors may also authorise an in-country representative (Authorized Representative) to file a submission on their behalf. This representative may be a relative, trusted individual or organisation. Note that you can request that the process is carried out confidentially!
You can file a complaint online here How We Assist You - Project-Affected People’s Mechanism (aiib.org) You can find a form here Attachment-Two.Sample-Submission-Form.pdf (aiib.org)
The PPM might mediate a dispute by engaging the parties in dialogue, information sharing and joint fact finding. It might also recommend to the Bank’s management adequate measures in relation to environmental and social issues arising out of its funded projects.
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) share a complaints process called “Objection Procedures based on Environmental Guidelines”. The process is handled by the Office of the Examiner for Environmental Guidelines.
When a project funded by JBIC or JICA is causing or is likely to cause substantial damage due to non-compliance with the Environmental Guidelines.
A complaint/request can be filed by two or more residents of the host country who have suffered actual and direct damage, or who are highly likely to suffer damage in the future by the project in question. The request can also be filed by an authorized representative.
Contact Information
Examiners for the Guidelines
Secretariat of The Examiner for the Guidelines
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Nibancho Center Building
5-25, Niban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8012, Japan
FAX: +81-03-5226-6973
E-mail: jicama-jigi@jica.go.jp
You can find more information as well as a sample request here.
The examiner will investigate the case and will attempt to encourage dialogue between the parties. He might also recommend possible measures to cure non-compliance issues to the Executive Committee of JBIC.
Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) are institutions established by different states to provide financial support to companies operating abroad. By way of illustration, the UK has the Export Credits Guarantee Department, France has the French Development Agency, the Netherlands has the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), and so on. Some of those agencies have established grievance mechanisms, which you could resort to if a business funded by them, is abusing your human rights. The main function of those mechanisms is to restore dialogue between disputing parties about environmental and social concerns stemming from the projects they fund.
The AFD has established an accountability mechanism called the Environmental and Social Complaint Mechanism.
The Complaint is to be sent by email using this form and to: reclamation@afd.fr.
Or by post to:
Agence Française de Développement
Secrétariat du Dispositif de Gestion des Réclamations Environnementales et Sociales
5, Rue Roland Barthes
75598 Paris Cedex 12
France
Or be delivered by hand at the headquarters of the agency.
The FMO has established the Independent Complaints Mechanism, which ensures the right to be heard for Complainants who feel affected by an FMO-Financed Operation, to enable the resolution of disputes and assist the FMO in drawing lessons learned for current and future operations.
You may submit the complaint via e-mail: complaintsoffice@fmo.nl.
Or by mail/post to:
Complaints Office
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden
N.V. P.O. Box 93060
2509 AB, The Hague
The Netherlands
Or through the website: online form.
The DEG has developed an Independent Complaints Mechanism, open to individuals, groups, communities, or other parties to make a complaint if they believe they are, or may be, negatively affected by a project financed or planned by DEG. If requested, DEG will not reveal the identity of the complainants to the project sponsor and will jointly agree with the complainants on the process for handling the complaint.
You may submit the complaint via the online form.
Or by mail/post to:
Complaints Office
DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH
PO Box 10 09 61
50449 Cologne
Germany
Or by email to complaintsoffice@deginvest.de. You can find more information here: How to file a complaint.
The Canadian Export Development Agency has put in place a Compliance Officer to address complaints alleging violations of the funded company’s declaration on social responsibilities, which includes business ethics, environmental issues, transparency, employee engagement and community investment. Any individual or group may submit a complaint to EDC’s Compliance Officer when they have been or are likely to be, affected by EDC’s policies on public disclosure of information, environmental reviews, human rights, and business ethics.
You can send your complaint by post to:
Compliance Officer
Export Development Canada
151 O’Connor Street
Ottawa ON K1A 1K3
Canada
Or by email to complianceofficer@edc.ca.
The DFC is a U.S. government agency that supports the private sector in development projects around the world. It has established the Office of Accountability to address environmental or social concerns and conflicts that emerge around DFC-supported projects, including environmental impacts, human rights, indigenous rights, and labour rights issues. The Office of Accountability provides an avenue for affected stakeholders (e.g., nearby communities and project workers) to raise such concerns and seek to have them addressed.
You can send your request by email to accountability@dfc.gov. You may fill out this form (Request Form for Affected Parties or Their Representatives) and send it as an attachment to an email to accountability@dfc.gov.
You can also post your complaint to:
Director, Office of Accountability
U.S. Development Finance Corporation
1100 New York Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20527
USA
The EFIC provides financial solutions and advice to Australian businesses and their overseas buyers. It has established the “Complaints Mechanism” to solve potential disputes out of the projects that it finances.
You can make a complaint online by using the respective online complaints form, or by emailing your complaint to complaint@exportfinance.gov.au.
Or by post to:
Attention: Chief Risk Officer & General Counsel
Export Finance Australia
Level 10, 22 Pitt St.
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia
The NEXI is the official export credit agency of Japan. It has developed the Office of the Examiner for the Guidelines on Environmental and Social Considerations in Trade Insurance, to hear complaints regarding violations of the Guidelines through an Objection Procedure.
You can file your request to the Examiner by post to:
Chiyoda First Building
5th Floor 3-8-1,
Nishikanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-8359
Japan Nippon Export and Investment Insurance
Or by email to: kankyosinsayaku@nexi.go.jp.
The abuse that you suffered may be committed by a business that is linked to another country. This might take place when the abuse you suffered was committed by a business which is not headquartered in Indonesia or an Indonesian business which is the local Indonesian subsidiary of a foreign corporation.
In those cases, you should consider whether it would be feasible to seek redress from the courts of the respective foreign state, OECD National Contact Points or the United Nations Development Program.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has 38 member states.
The member states of the OECD have adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which regulate the activities of corporations headquartered in the member states both within the state, but also abroad, in cases where those corporations conduct activities in other countries. They include guidelines on human rights, labour rights, and the environment.
Member governments and non-members that adhere to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises (of which the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are a component) are required to establish a national contact point (NCP).
NCP functions include promoting the guidelines, handling enquiries, and facilitating the resolution of problems arising from the non-observance of the guidelines. In this last function, the NCP receives “specific instance” complaints and provides a mediation process for the complainants, often civil society organisations or trade unions, to reach a settlement with the multinational enterprise.
Therefore, if you have suffered harm by the activities of a foreign corporation and this corporation is headquartered or operating from a country that has an active NCP, you can file a complaint (‘specific instance’) before that NCP.
You can find out which countries have NCPs, here: contact-details-of-the-national-contact-points-for-responsible-business-conduct.pdf (oecd.org).
Any individual or organisation with a legitimate interest in the matter can submit a case to an NCP regarding a company, operating in or from the country of the NCP, which has not observed the Guidelines.
The Guidelines are addressed by adherent countries to ‘enterprises operating in or from their territories’ which enables NCPs to handle cases involving companies headquartered in other countries.
Filing a case with an NCP is very easy. Many NCPs provide a form to do so on their website. NCPs may however have different requirements for the initial submission. To find out more about the specific requirements of an NCP, make sure to visit the NCP’s website where you will find all the information needed.
It is not necessary to be represented by a lawyer when filing a case to an NCP or when engaging in the specific instance process as a company. You can however seek legal representation and submit claims assisted by lawyers, NGOs, or trade unions.
Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) and OECD Watch are platforms of representative organisations that represent business, trade unions and civil society at the OECD, and may provide guidance or assistance in relation to specific instances.
No. As the NCP process is meant to be as accessible as possible, NCPs do not charge you when filing a case.
NCPs are not courts. Participation in the process is voluntary and the NCP does not have the authority to order any remedial measure.
What NCPs will do is offer their “good offices” to the parties and seek to facilitate an agreement between the submitter and the company through non-adversarial methods such as mediation or conciliation. Regardless of whether an agreement is reached, NCPs can make recommendations to the company with respect to the Guidelines. Some NCPs also make explicit determinations as to whether a company has observed the Guidelines or not in the case at hand.
Most NCPs also follow up after the conclusion of the case to verify that any agreement and/or recommendations have been implemented.
In practice, NCPs have been able to facilitate such remedies as monetary compensation, in-kind reparation, changes in company policy, etc.
Submitters of an NCP case should not be subject to undue pressures or adverse consequences. This was restated by the OECD Working Party on RBC in March 2020. If you fear retaliation, the NCPs can take measures to protect your identity in the process. Make sure to inform the NCP of your situation in such a case.
The abuse that you suffered may be committed by a business that is linked to another country. This might take place when the abuse you suffered was committed by a business which is not headquartered in Indonesia or an Indonesian business which is the local Indonesian subsidiary of a foreign corporation.
In those cases, you should consider whether it would be feasible to seek redress from the courts of the respective foreign state.
This might be beneficial for your case because:
However, you should be aware that resorting to a foreign jurisdiction will be a long process. It will necessitate resources, including financial resources and human resources such as experienced domestic lawyers who can collaborate with foreign lawyers from the jurisdiction in question. NGOs are another key player to contact, as they can potentially recommend pro bono lawyers and institutions willing to fund a case.
Most cases never proceed to trial and are instead settled out of court.
You may face legal and evidentiary hurdles along the way. However, you should always keep in mind that victims can resort to a foreign jurisdiction to seek redress, despite the handicaps. Even if not remedied through the court process, this strategy often provides international coverage on the issues and has at times resulted in an out-of-court settlement in favour of the victims.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) develops programs in different parts of the world with the aim of eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities and exclusion. It has established two mechanisms to receive complaints related to its projects:
Achieving justice and remedy for the abuses that you suffered as a human rights defender working on business-related human rights abuses can be a lengthy and difficult process. It may require a combination of patience and strategy, and you may have to call on different resources to achieve your goal. A comprehensive approach may include using legal remedies together with other kinds of complementary strategies such as strategic campaigning, shareholder accountability strategies, grassroots mobilisation, coalition building or gaining media attention.
It can be overwhelming to think about these considerations right after an abuse has taken place. Before thinking about the strategies, you want to use, try to make sure you are both physically and mentally safe and strong.
Remember that you are not alone in this situation and that there are a range of organisations that can help you and provide you with immediate support in case of an emergency or financial, legal and psychological difficulties. See Resource Hub.
The first thing you may want to consider is building a strategic campaign. A strategic campaign aims to exert pressure on the different strategic relationships of a business or state actor. To develop a strategic campaign, you should carefully analyse your situation and decide which actions will have the most positive impact for your case.
For example, you will have to decide whether you want to deal with your case publicly or privately, loudly or quietly, in a manner that takes into account the political and other sensitivities that exist in your country. The purpose of the strategic campaign is for you to get a clear picture of the situation, the direction you want to take your case and the concrete actions you can attempt to take to achieve this result.
This whole process will be demanding on your resources and your mental and physical health so do not hesitate to reach out and ask for help from organisations that are used to dealing with similar cases! There is no shame in doing so and they can provide you with valuable expertise. See Resource Hub.
To build a strategic campaign you and your collaborators can follow these five steps:
1- Identify your objectives and overall goal: You can do this by asking yourself questions such as What do I want to happen? What do I hope to achieve?
Your overall goal will be the long term and general outcome that you want to achieve. To reach this goal you will need to identify smaller steps and specific milestones that need to take place, these will be your objectives.
! When deciding on your objectives, make sure that they are SMART:
2- Take the time to do a policy analysis and identify your audience: You can identify the policies and regulations that need to change, the key actions and stakeholders who can influence decisions and understand the overall political context that will influence your overall goal. You will further need to identify the stakeholders that can help you achieve your objectives. For example, who are the decision makers involved in the issue? What are the power dynamics at play? You should understand why and how each audience you approach can play a role in reaching your goal or can hinder it. Do not forget, when considering actors that could hinder your goal, to be as specific as possible and write down all details you can find on them including their names and functions.
! Note that if some corporate actors can hinder your goal, other business representatives might help you achieve it! Businesses do not all have the same policies and attitudes when it comes to the respect of human rights and the environment. By interacting with business representatives and industry groups you might find valuable allies that can provide you with support in a variety of ways including testifying on your behalf, paying for bail and fines, or speaking up on your behalf.
3- Identify your strengths, weaknesses and your message: It will be helpful for you to reflect on your internal strengths - skills, knowledge, resources, past experience - and weaknesses - missing networks, capacity for lobbying, contacts in the media or funding. Once you have identified these, you can search for opportunities that exist around you and will enable you to tackle your weaknesses and achieve your objectives. You should further consider the threats that could prevent you from achieving your objectives by asking yourself who are your opponents? Is there a negative political climate around your objective? Identifying them early will enable you to minimise the damage and safety risks they can present.
Once you have reflected on your strengths and weaknesses, you will need to identify what your audience needs to hear and present your message in a persuasive and appealing way. At their core, your messages should be the same, however, depending on the audience you will target, you will need to adapt the way they are framed. Most of the time, advocacy messages have two major components: (1) a calling for what is right and (2) a calling for the audience’s self-interest. You can find different methods to develop advocacy messages by using the key words “advocacy message” and “effective” on google.
4- Identify your tactics and activities: Depending on your situation and objectives, you will have to use different strategies and tactics to reach your goal. To choose the appropriate tactics for you to use, you can develop a ‘results chain’. The chain will start with your overall goal and outline the small steps you will need to take to get there. In your chain you can describe the assumptions you are making about the impact of the activities you plan on doing. This will help you reflect on your logic and might show you missing activities. It will further help you understand the kind of resources, be it financial or volunteers, that you will need to put your campaign into action. There are various organisations that you can reach out to for financial support. See Resource Hub.
A few examples of activities include one-to-one meetings with high level representatives, the organisation of workshops and conferences, the drafting of a letter to international civil servants, a mass participation event engaging members of the community, social media posts or petitions.
5- Monitor and Evaluate: Finally, you want to make sure that you are keeping track of the efforts you are putting into your campaign to ensure that they are working. You will also want to organise meetings to monitor the campaign and make sure it is going in the direction you want.
Grassroots mobilisation is about bringing together individuals - in your district, region, or community - to influence a specific outcome. It is one of the key elements in successful campaign strategies. Grassroots mobilisation can be highly effective, as we have seen with the #SaveAru movement, because it uses collective action at a local level to influence outcomes at the national level. When every member of the community is participating in ways that they can, and are equally responsible and invested in the cause, the movement is truly powered by collective leadership. The costs of the movement are further distributed between all members of the community and thereby become more affordable.
To build grassroots mobilisation, you and your collaborators can follow five simple steps:
1- Identify the cause you want to address and make a plan of action;
2- Find supporters and volunteers to join your campaign;
3- Reach out and partner with local organisations and community leaders;
4- Implement your plan of action; and
5- Regularly evaluate your progress.
! Do not forget that, when it comes to mobilising members of a community, listening and understanding is more important than influencing and persuading. Having several short conversations will be more efficient than a one-off long speech to a general audience!
To get started, you should identify the cause you want to address
(1). The problem that you want to tackle most probably has a root cause. For example, it can be the lack of respect for human rights and the environment by a company which operates in proximity to your village and has threatened you; the absence of legislation by the government to protect people defending the environment; or the inefficiency of local government officials to implement a law, among other potential root causes. You need to identify the root cause you want to tackle so that you can clearly define the actions and steps you want to take to resolve the issue. Defining the outcome, you are looking to achieve will also be crucial to give your movement a clear direction.
Once you have identified the cause you want to address, you can start creating awareness about your campaign and get interest from individuals in the community
(2). Communication will play a key role here and you can use different approaches such as door-to-door canvassing, face-to-face conversations, emails, phone calls or social media to reach as many community members as possible. Having a campaign website or a Facebook page can be a useful tool to speed up this process and will make you gain important visibility online! It will further constitute a good opportunity to start building the next step by building a list of potential partner organisations.
Using your website and the networks of members from the community you can approach like-minded local organisations and community leaders. See Resource Hub.
(3). To reach out to them you could offer to give a short presentation about your campaign during their events or simply provide your help during their rallies to get to know like-minded people and talk about your campaign. Usually, civil society organisations have dealt with or assisted defenders in similar contexts in the past. They can share their valuable experience with you, guide you on what to do, explain the law and your rights, guide you on where to find support and identify pro bono lawyers that can help you plead your case or provide support in building an advocacy campaign.
! You should not ignore community leaders! Community leaders can be valuable allies that you can collaborate with to convey important messages of your campaign. If a community leader endorses the changes and propositions you raise, they will be more likely to be accepted and followed by the community and your movement will gain traction. Examples of community leaders that can help you are religious leaders, local political office holders or village figureheads.
Once you have built a solid basis of supporters you can start implementing your plan of action
(4). You can take a variety of actions as part of your plan including rallies, outdoor events, in-house groups, training sessions, organising for a group of volunteers to exchange with the local representative or staging a demonstration. No matter the activity that you choose to conduct, the key to success will be having successful communication. You can keep your supporters up to date on actions conducted through SMS, WhatsApp, and encrypted apps such as Telegram and/or post your announcements for events on your campaign website and Facebook page. Do not forget to communicate with your organisers and volunteer team to make sure everyone has the same information including the date, time, and place of the events.
During your campaign, you can organise regular meetings with your supporters to evaluate the success of your actions
(5). This will enable you to reflect on what went well and what did not and give you avenues for improving your upcoming events. At the end of the campaign, it will also enable you to see if you have reached your objectives.
Reaching out to other organisations and talking about your case will give you the opportunity to build coalitions. A coalition is a temporary alliance of individuals, groups or organisations that want to achieve a common goal. Forming a coalition with other organisations that have similar values, interests, and goals as your own will allow you to combine your resources and thereby have more impact than if you acted alone. It can be of great help to shift the balance of power and increase the impact of each of your organisation's efforts. Actions taken by the coalition can be focused towards bringing attention to your and other human rights defender cases in the media, requesting for a motion filed by lawyers to be considered or request the international community to act.
To successfully build a coalition you need to take a series of steps.
Another complementary strategy for your case may be to gain visibility and attention by getting media coverage. Before deciding if you want to use this strategy, you should ask yourself whether you want your case to be publicly known and talked about or if you would rather go about, it quietly. Gaining media coverage can play a pivotal role in presenting your case, promoting it in public debate and positively shaping public opinion in your favour. However, this may expose you to further retaliation, as companies may use strategic lawsuits against public participation to try to silence you. For example, the company could bring a defamation suit against you, the journalist who interviewed you and/or the organisation that published the article. Importantly, you must be careful that the journalist does not reveal your current location so as not to compromise your safety.
To attract media coverage, your story should be prepared in such a way as to catch the attention of readers. You can do this by highlighting why your organisation exists, how important your work is to society and by providing details about the abuse that you have suffered. If you can, try to link your story to an issue that is currently talked about in the public space as this will be more likely to interest the media. Finally, if you can show how your story affects other people and has an impact on wider society, this will increase the interest of newspapers.
Once your story is ready, you can use social media to promote it by publishing blog posts, Instagram stories, Facebook posts and/or tweets. This will enable you to gain public attention and establish your cause before getting traditional media interested in what you have to say.
If you want the attention of mainstream media, you can collaborate with other national and international organisations to contact reporters. You can reach journalists by email, through their social networks (such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter) or through partner organisations. You will have a better chance of getting your interview request accepted if you choose journalists who are used to covering the same kind of story as yours.
! Be aware that journalists can receive a lot of requests so keep your emails short and to the point!
If you don't get a response to your first contact request, you can follow up by tweeting the reporter or trying to contact them by phone. Don't get discouraged as getting media attention can be a long process during which you may end up sending your story to twenty journalists before one responds.
When a journalist becomes interested in your story, they will most likely want to talk to you in person. To make sure you are well prepared for the interview, keep in mind three key points you want to make and practice answering questions with a colleague.
Once the interview is over, do not forget to thank the journalist for his or her time. Following the publication of the article, you can forward it to regional or national newspapers thereby gaining exposure and/or circulate it among your partner organisations.
Although business-related human rights abuses find corporate actors at the heart of the human rights abuses, you should not forget that businesses and industry groups do not all have the same policies, attitudes, and views when it comes to the respect for human rights and the environment.
You might want to look for allies in the private sector by reaching out to business representatives and industry groups and explain the issues you are facing. Private actors might become valuable allies who can provide you with support in a variety of ways including by testifying on your behalf, paying for bail and fines, or speaking up on your behalf.
Equally important is to make your case known at international level.
National and international non-governmental organisations are allies in your strategic campaign and have a fundamental role to play in channelling information to relevant institutions abroad. One of their main tasks is to submit the so-called shadow reports to international bodies or during the Universal Periodic Review Process. Those reports analyse how and if the government is realising human rights at the national level and provide the necessary background information to international organisations. In turn, if the shadow reports reveal information on serious and systematic violations of the rights protected by the conventions in the country concerned, international institutions can initiate inquiries or visits to the territory of a State Party. By making your case known to NGOs and INGOs, it can be included in their shadow report. Although this will not give you a tangible remedy, you will have added your brick to the wall of human rights in your country.
You can also bring international attention to your case through the various organisations worldwide that work to protect human rights defenders - including Frontline Defenders, Protect Defenders and Peace Brigades International. You can register your case with one of them, and they will identify the best ways to support you internationally. Be aware that they may publish something on their website or link you with other victims or experts worldwide. If your case is widely known, the offenders might hesitate to retaliate against you in the future. There are also many organisations that work on business and human rights issues that can share legal resources with you, both domestically and internationally. Most importantly, both kinds of organisations can direct you on where to find funding and donors to continue your legal case and to propose other resources necessary for your work as a human rights defender.
You can also contact political figures to draw attention to your case. For example, you can ask a foreign diplomat - by contacting the foreign ministry of the country in question or the embassy - to listen to your story, to come to your trial or simply to have a photo taken with you. This will show your abuser that your case is being taken seriously at the international level and may make them think carefully about retaliatory actions in the future.
If you are uncomfortable with contacting diplomats of foreign countries, you can contact international civil servants instead. International civil servants are not linked to a specific country but rather to an organisation. To contact them, you can look up the offices of OHCHR, UNDP or the ILO in your country. These organisations often organise informal events such as consultations and webinars during which you can have the opportunity to raise your concerns and build a support network.
Warning: Before taking any of the steps listed below, you can strategically assess the risks involved with taking certain actions and make sure that you prioritise your physical and psychological safety and security.
Businesses often establish self-regulatory initiatives in the sector that they operate, sometimes establishing industry level grievance mechanisms. Those mechanisms aim to promote relevant human rights standards within a particular industry, as well as to provide a grievance mechanism for the victims.
In addition, businesses may participate in multi-stakeholder grievance initiatives along with governments, civil society, and other stakeholders. Those initiatives seek to facilitate dialogue among different stakeholder groups and address complaints in relation to the activities of participating businesses.
If your rights have been violated by a business, you can consider reporting the issue to any relevant industry or multi-stakeholder initiative, such as the ones below. The list is not exhaustive but indicates some of the main initiatives that contain a complaints avenue.
The UN Global Compact is a UN voluntary initiative which supports companies to “do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations everywhere with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.” Various businesses participate in the Global Compact and commit to respecting its standards. You can bring an allegation of a human rights abuse against a business that participates in it, by sending a letter to Global Compact Office at info@unglobalcompact.org.
The UN Global Compact is more useful as a dialogue facilitation rather than as a complaint resolution mechanism.
More information is available here: Homepage | UN Global Compact
The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (‘EITI’) is a coalition of governments, companies, civil society groups, investors and international organisations which supports improved governance in resource-rich countries.
EITI Compliant countries are required to promote the minimum requirements set by EITI, and EITI Supporting companies are required to disclose information on their engagements with governments.
Grievances concerning abuses by states or businesses can be submitted in writing to the Chair requesting that the Members' Meeting considers a matter.
More information is available here Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative | EITI.
The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights is a multi-stakeholder initiative, comprised of governments, non-governmental organizations and extractive companies that promote the implementation of a set of principles that guide companies on providing security for their operations while respecting human rights. Participants commit to conducting risk assessments and to ensuring that security provisions in extractive undertakings are consistent with human rights principles.
Consequently, if any of your rights have been violated by a business that participates in the scheme, you can raise the issue with a participating NGO, such as The Fund for Peace, Human Rights Watch, International Alert, LITE-Africa, New Nigeria Foundation, Pact, Partners for Democratic Change International, Partnership Africa Canada, Pax, Search for Common Ground. The NGO can then raise the issue with the members of the Voluntary Principles. However, a tangible remedy for your individual case should not be expected.
More information is available here Why implement the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights: Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
The International Council on Mining and Metals is an industry body, consisting of various metal and mining companies. Corporate members commit to implementing several principles and performance expectations, including to respect human rights and the interests, cultures, customs and values of workers and communities affected by their activities.
If a mining or metal company, that participates to the ICMM, has acted in contravention of your human rights and this has harmed you, then you can consider filing a complaint with the Council.
The Council will monitor the responses by the company concerned and, in some circumstances, will launch their own investigation.
More information is available here ICMM – ICMM.
The Ethical Trading Initiative is an alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs promoting respect for workers’ rights. All corporate members of ETI agree to adopt the ETI Base Code of labour practice, which guarantees freely chosen working environments, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, safe and hygienic working conditions, prohibition of child labour, payment of living wages, non-excessive working hours, non-discrimination, regular employment, and prohibition of harsh and inhumane treatment.
ETI has developed a complaints procedure for alleged abuses of codes of labour practice in workplaces supplying ETI corporate members.
Reporting an abuse to the ETI is carried out through an ETI member and usually through a relevant trade union or a voluntary organization. Therefore, you can approach a relevant organization, report your situation, and ask them to act on it by sending a complaint to the concerned ETI corporate member, putting the ETI secretariat in copy (eti@eti.org.uk).
More information is available here ETI disciplinary procedure | Ethical Trading Initiative (ethicaltrade.org).
The Fair Labour Association (FLA) is a multi-stakeholder initiative, which includes companies, universities, and civil society organizations, committed to protecting workers’ rights through adherence to international labour standards.
It has established a ‘Third Party Complaint’ procedure which allows any person, group, or organization to report serious abuses of workers’ rights in facilities used by any company committed to FLA labour standards. Outcomes include reinstatement of unfairly dismissed workers with back pay and recognition of trade unions. Other examples are the establishment of training and education programs for management and workers and improved relations between workers and management at factories.
More information on how to submit a complaint here https://www.fairlabor.org/accountability/safeguards/tpc/file-complaint/.
The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) is an industry coalition dedicated to corporate social responsibility in global supply chains. The RBA has also set up the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) and the Responsible Labour Initiative (RLI).
Member companies are required to adhere to the RBA Code of Conduct, the RBA has a range of tools to promote accountability including requesting documentation proving compliance, requiring an internal audit, or removing the member from the RBA. If the company which has abused your rights is a member of the RBA, you can send a complaint about the abuse via the “worker voice platform” which features a worker survey tool, audit support, a mobile learning app, and a grievance reporting mechanism. Complaints can also be reported by members of the public via this form: https://www.responsiblebusiness.org/grievance/.
The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is a multi-stakeholder initiative of apparel brands, factories, workers, trade unions, NGOs and other industry influencers. Its aim is to improve labour standards throughout the operations of the garment industry.
If you are a garment worker and you feel that your labour rights have been abused, you should first verify whether your facility/factory is supplying garments to any of the companies that participate in the FWF. If it is, then you can file a complaint to the Foundation. The list of brands working with FWF can be accessed here https://www.fairwear.org/brands
If your complaint is found to be substantiated, you might be considered for full remediation.
You can send your complaint to via email to: complaints@fairwear.org
For more information about this process, please see Fair Wear’s Complaints Procedure.