CSR AND RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE : DISTORTED REALITIES

Introduction :
In a world where every aspect of life is currently ridden with need to protect the rights of the
people against greater powers, Human Rights and their protection in the Business Sector have recently
received great attention. Law has a great role to play when it comes to ensuring that the oppressed,
in every case, have a voice and a tool to put forth their rights. Wherever and however business
operates it has either positive or negative impacts on the communities. However, greater attention is
on the negative impacts of companies’ operations on communities, including those that can lead to
displacement, pollution from factories and mining projects. Even where a company is not causing
damage to the environment, its mere presence can alter the social composition of the local community
or create tensions among different groups and lead to displacement of individuals, families or whole
communities.1In the wake of major abuses in recent decades, general public has increasingly called for
companies to be held to human rights standards. Many corporate executives are coming to realize that
ignoring human rights and environmental concerns can have a detrimental effect on their company’s
bottom line while causing not only ecological destruction, but also the destruction of human health
and lives.
Thus, in June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) approved by consensus
the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights prepared by John Ruggie. The guidelines
foresee that companies should respect human rights and must address the negative impacts on human
rights in which they have some involvement. The report also predicted that the responsibility to respect
human rights requires that companies confront these consequences when they do occur. Businesses
were provided with operational guidance on the implementation of their responsibility to protect
human rights through the principle of corporate respect for human rights2 based on three pillars.