Protecting & Realising the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples & Local Communities in the Context of Business & Human Rights
A 2025 Position Paper with recommendations to the UK government by a cross-regional group of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, local community and local civil society representatives and leaders
Human rights defenders, Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant peoples and local communities are paying the price for UK profits.
A new Position Paper has been developed by a cross-regional group of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, local community and local civil society representatives and leaders with firsthand experience of human rights and environmental harms connected to the production, extraction and demand for goods – goods that end up in the UK. The collective positions contained in the Position Paper were developed and agreed by the co-authors during in-person consultations held in November 2024 with Peace Brigades International and Forest Peoples Programme.
Aimed at the UK government and policymakers, the Position Paper hopes to inspire an ongoing dialogue about what the UK should do to protect the collective and individual human rights of such groups centered on the experiences of those who are harmed by current approaches. The paper, available in English, Spanish and Indonesian, is composed of four parts: the shared experiences of the authors of the position paper; the UK’s international human rights law obligations and why a UK corporate accountability law is needed; the need for increased direct funding as an essential form of support, and; recommendations for the UK government aimed at ensuring a holistic, human rights-based approach across UK diplomacy, laws, strategies and Official Development Assistance (ODA).
Notably, the authors recommend that the UK government:
Develops and adopts a new UK corporate accountability law, based on the key principles set out in the position paper;
Formally recognises collective human rights;
Increases support for the self-determined aims of Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant peoples and local communities, including through direct funding that supports tenure security and their efforts to protect their cultures and nature.
PBI UK is one of multiple NGOs calling for the UK government to pass a law making it mandatory for businesses to do human rights and environmental due diligence on their operations, investments and supply chains.
When discussing the key principles that a UK corporate accountability law should include, the cross-regional group’s primary considerations were: a) the inclusion of measures they think will enable them and their communities to shift the current power dynamics, including by ensuring they are recognised as land owners with decision-making powers; and (b) the inclusion of measures that enable them to seek justice and access remedy where business is conducted in a manner that does not respect their rights. Below are some of the key principles set out in the Position Paper [1] for an effective UK corporate accountability law:
The law should require business enterprises to respect all internationally-recognised human rights. This should explicitly include collective rights (including self-determination, land and territorial rights and the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent) as well as customary law.
The law should cover business activities across the whole value chain and across all sectors, including financial institutions.
The law should explicitly require a gender-based approach to assessing impact, and require respect for women’s rights.
The law must address historical violations, by requiring corporate actors to address and remediate historical damage caused, as a prerequisite for allowing the companies to market their products in the UK today.
The law should mandate protection of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers.
The law should impose special considerations in conflict zones and other areas of high risk for human rights defenders (including environmental and Indigenous defenders).
The law should include requirements to avoid harm to nature and climate, and the environment more broadly, including protection of sensitive and endangered ecosystems and species, requiring businesses to ensure compliance with international environmental protection standards at all points in the value chain, both nationally and internationally for products and services.
The law should include an independent monitoring mechanism and/or community alert system and be accessible to affected peoples, so that UK authorities can be made aware in a timely manner of claims of human rights abuses associated with the operations of companies selling products in the UK.
The law must require UK companies to disclose/provide information to affected or potentially affected peoples and communities, without the need for litigation, about business activities they are linked to that are having or may have an impact on human rights or the environment.
The law should ensure exit or divestment (i.e. ending business relationships) should be a last resort, and engagement for improving human rights should be the first step.
“The UK’s colonial history, extractivist economy, high rate of resource consumption, positioning on the world stage and its international human rights law obligations should compel the UK to take seriously its role as a defender of human rights through all means available.”
The Position Paper comes after the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre documented 289 attacks on human rights defenders connected to UK companies between 2015 and 2024. Over 150 UK businesses, Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum, and a coalition of civil society organisations are behind the call for the UK government to pass a mandatory due diligence law. YouGov polling shows 4 in 5 adults in the UK support this call.
The authors of the 2025 Position Paper include (two further authors cannot be named for security reasons):
Tsanim Evaristo Wajai Asamat, Wampís Nation, Peru | Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís (GTANW)
Mina Beyan, Liberia | Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev)
Tigor Gemdita Hutapea, Indonesia | PUSAKA
Norman Jiwan, Indonesia | Lembaga Bentang Alam Hijau (LemBAH) and TuK INDONESIA
Pamuk Teófilo Kukush Pati, Wampís Nation, Peru | Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís (GTANW)
Héctor Jaime Vinasco, El Resguardo Indígena de Origen Colonial Cañamomo Lomaprieta, Colombia | Governing Council of the Cañamomo Lomaprieta
For more information about PBI UK’s policy advocacy, visit our resource hub here.
For any queries you may have regarding PBI UK’s policy advocacy, please reach out to advocacy@peacebrigades.org.uk.
