Corporate governance is a human rights issue. Poor corporate human rights governance can lead to serious and lasting negative impacts on local communities, workers, consumers and the environment. 

The Human Rights Law Centre along with 10 civil society organisations have made a submission to the consultation on the ASX Corporate Governance Council Principles and Recommendations – 5th edition (Principles) update.  

Our submission welcomes the proposed updates the proposed 5th Edition of the Principles that ask ASX listed entities to have regard to key stakeholder interests (e.g. employees and local communities). 

We also recommend a range of changes to the proposed 5th Edition of the Principles to encourage effective governance of human rights risk including that: 

1. the Principles generally, and the meaning of ‘acting responsibly’ should be informed by key established standards of responsible business conduct the:  

   • UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights  

   • OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. 

2. entities should have and disclose a policy commitment to human rights 

3. entities should disclose whether their Boards have human rights skills  

4. executive remuneration should be linked to human rights performance. 

Read our submission and additional recommendations here