HUMAN RIGHTS WORKING GROUP
2024 MEETINGS
Via Zoom Meeting
Thursday 29 February
12pm – 1:30pm AEDT
2:00pm – 3:30pm NZDT
Thursday 30 May
12pm – 1:30pm AEST
2:00pm – 3:30pm NZST
Thursday 22 August
12pm – 1:30pm AEST
2:00pm – 3:30pm NZST
Thursday 14 November
12pm – 1:30pm AEDT
2:00pm – 3:30pm NZDT
WORKING GROUP DETAILS
Description
The Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) has been established with the following objectives:
– Build members’ understanding and capabilities for assessing and respecting human rights and mitigating human risks in investment;
– Facilitate the sharing of leading practice knowledge and resources pertaining to human rights and investment decision-making and engagement; and
– Design and deliver significant human rights research, implementation and advocacy opportunities as relevant, through collaborating with other RIAA working groups and industry forums.
HRWG Chair
Måns Carlsson
mans.carlsson@ausbil.com.au
Manager of Working Groups
Jess Rowe, RIAA
Project Officer
Noa Godsell, RIAA
2024 Meetings and Special Presentations
4 – Thursday 14 November 2024
TBC
– Pre-meeting papers including agenda and action items
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides and additional attachments
3 – Thursday 22 August 2024
TBC
– Pre-meeting papers including agenda and action items
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides and additional attachments
2 – Thursday 30 May 2024
This meeting will start with a discussion on mandating due diligence in the EU, key takeaways on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and insights on mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (mHREDD). To help us explore this topic, we are excited to welcome Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt, Associate Director of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights who focuses on connecting institutional investors and their allies with the tools and strategies to promote human rights and responsible business conduct.
This will then be followed by a series of industry updates and insights from the group’s subgroups including an update on the AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Human Rights Investor Toolkit and the Conflict subgroup. This will also provide the opportunity for discussion and input on what the working group should be focusing on for the next workplan. We will also hear a brief update about RIAA’s Policy work.
– Pre-meeting papers including agenda and action items
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides and additional attachments
1 – Thursday 29 February 2024 – Regulatory changes in relation to labour rights and the workplace
Building on the last working group meeting of 2023, working group members had the opportunity to hear from speakers to understand more about regulatory changes in relation to labour rights and the workplace. In December 2022, a new positive duty to eradicate instances of sex discrimination and harassment within the workplace was introduced through the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 (Cth) (the Act), an amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. What steps can investors take to respond to these changes?
The group was lucky enough to hear from the Australian Human Rights Commission, Samantha Ramsay (Senior Lawyer, Positive Duty, Compliance & Enforcement Team) and Dr Meredith Nash (Director – Sexual Harassment & Gendered Violence and is KPMG’s national lead for Respect@Work) about these changes.
Please note this session was not recorded as mentioned in pre-event communications.
2023 Meetings and Special Presentations
4 – Thursday 16 November 2023 – Australian Workplace Reforms & B Corp Framework
Our fourth meeting for 2023 included a special presentation by Heidi Roberts, Partner, Responsible Business and ESG Practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Sarah Clarke, Partner, Employment and Labour at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Heidi and Sarah discussed the key proposed changes under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in September 2023. The meeting also included a presentation from Kirsty Simmonds, ESG Practice Principal and Practice Co-Founder at The Growth Activists. Kirsty discussed the B Corp framework, the growth of certification and what it means for investors.
3 – Thursday 24 August 2023 – The Rights of a Child in 2023
Our third meeting for 2023 included a special presentation by Nicole Breeze, Chief Advocate for Children and Director of Programs and Advocacy in Australia at UNICEF, and Robyn Parkin, Head of Sustainability at Ethical Partners Funds Management, who presented their research into the rights of a child, which focuses on the safeguarding of children within Australian listed companies. Integrating Child Rights across the ASX provides best practice guidance on how companies can better consider children’s rights, and seeks to deepen the conversation between investors and listed companies about their impact on children and their rights, and how they can be better understood, assessed, disclosed and protected.
2 – Thursday 1 June 2023 – The Global Slavery Index & Evolution of Human Rights Due Diligence in Business
Our second meeting for 2023 included a special presentation by Matthew Coghlan, Financial Sector Engagement Manager at Walk Free, who discussed the recently published Global Slavery Index 2023.
Chris Caskey, Manager, Human Rights at UN Global Compact Network Australia, also shared the latest business insights on Human Rights Due Diligence.
1 – Thursday 23 February 2023 – Task Force on Inequality-related Financial Disclosures (TIFD)
Our first meeting for 2023 included a special presentation by Joanne Bauer, Co-founder of Rights CoLab and Interim Secretariat of the TIFD, and Paul Rissman, Co-founder of Rights CoLab, who presented on the Task Force on Inequality-related Financial Disclosures (TIFD), which seeks to empower companies and investors to measure and manage their impacts on inequality, as well as inequality’s impacts on company and investor performance. We will also hear findings from Rights CoLab’s research, What is DEI? Market Signals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
2022 Meetings and Special Presentations
4 – Wednesday 9 November 2022 – Big Tech & Human Rights, Modern Slavery Review Submission
Our fourth meeting for 2022, was a discussion with Daniel Child (not recorded), Industry Affairs and Engagement Manager from the Australian eSafety Commissioner. Followed by the fourth and final Human Rights Working Group Meeting of 2022 which included updates on the most important human rights risks for investors, including conflict-affected and prone areas and issues related to big tech.
– Pre-meeting papers including agenda and action items
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides, additional attachments
3 – Thursday 1 September 2022 – Review of the Modern Slavery Act and climate change
In our third meeting for 2022, Professor John McMillan OA, lead of the review of the Modern Slavery Act in Australia, shared a comprehensive overview of the review and valuable context. Andy Symington, KPMG, shared the key findings and recommendations of the Climate Change and Human Rights: A guide for institutional investors, which was produced in collaboration with RIAA’s Human Rights Working Group.
– Pre-meeting papers including agenda and action items
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides, additional attachments
2 – Wednesday 1 June 2022 – International Humanitarian Law
Our second meeting for 2022 included a special presentation by Fauve Kurnadi, Legal Adviser at the Australian Red Cross, and Jonathan Kolieb, Senior Lecturer in Law at RMIT University, who presented their research on how the financial sector can incorporate International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in their due diligence process.
– Pre-meeting papers including agenda and action items
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides, additional attachments
1 – Thursday 3 March 2022 – Disability Inclusion
Our first meeting for 2022 included a special presentation by Jill Houghton, President and CEO, and Brian Horn, COO of Disability: IN who presented the financial benefits of disability inclusion and their research with Accenture ‘Getting to Equal: the disability inclusion advantage. In this meeting we also had a presentation by Freya Dinshaw, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre who presented their research report ‘Paper Promise? Evaluating the early impact of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act’.
– Pre-meeting papers including agenda and action items
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides, additional attachments
2021 Meetings and Special Presentations
4 – Thursday 25 November 2021 – Remediation
Our final meeting for 2021 included a special presentation by Carsten Primdal, a modern slavery expert currently working at the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network (ACAN) who presented about their new service Domus 8.7 which provides businesses with a path towards remediation. Carsten also provided members with a deeper understanding into the extensive support network required to conduct proper impactful remediation.
During this meeting we also launched the 2nd edition of the Investor Toolkit – Human Rights with focus on Supply Chains by Måns Carlsson (Ausbil) and Tim Stamp (Mercer).
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides, additional attachments
3 – Tuesday 14 September 2021 – Modern slavery within the solar power industry
Our September meeting included presentations by Kim Randle, Executive Director and Principal Lawyer at Fair Supply and Lisa Caripis, Research and Policy Manager at Transparency International Australia (TIA).
Kim’s presentation focused on modern slavery concerns throughout the global solar energy supply chain, particularly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Lisa’s presentation explored how corruption affects ESG outcomes in the mining sector. This presentation provides investors with questions to help guide an anti-corruption assessment.
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides, additional attachments
2 – Wednesday 23 June 2021 – Supply Chain Insights: Human Rights, traceability and due diligence expectations
Our second Human Rights Working Group meeting for 2021 included a special presentation on forced labour by Dr. Kevin Franklin, Chief Operating Officer, Advisory and Chief Product Officer at Elevate Limited. Dr. Franklin is a responsible sourcing expert based in Hong Kong. This presentation explores how technology and regulations are driving an accelerated paradigm shift. Investors interested in learning five due diligence activities will find this presentation useful.
We are working on an updated version of our widely used Investor Toolkit: Human rights with a focus on supply chains.
– Minutes including action register, presentation slides, additional attachments
1 – Thursday 25 March 2021 – Juukan GorgeSenate Inquiry Interim Report
The first meeting of 2021 included a special presentation by James Fitzgerald, Strategy Lead, Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) who spoke to the working group about the Juukan Gorge Senate Inquiry interim report recommendations which were published in December 2020. Investors and members are encouraged to read through the recommendations to gain insight into what measures they can push advocate for.
– Minutes
– Juukan Caves Inquiry Interim Report – ACCR
– StockWatch – ISS ESG
2020 Meetings and Special Presentations
4 – 26 November 2020 – Subgroup Updates
Report backs from subgroups.
3 – 14 September 2020 – Sustainable Digitalisation
Presentation by Simon Carter and Ruben Langbroek, Sustainable Digitalisation Project (SDP), including Investment Indicators initiative.
2 – 22 June 2020 – Anti-Slavery Network
Presentation by Jennifer Burn, Professor of Law at the University of Technology Sydney and NSW Interim Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and Dr. Yvette Selim, Interim Deputy Director at Anti-Slavery Australia.
1 – 25 March 2020 – Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
Presentation by Rob Jolly, Financial Sector Commission, on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
Resources
- *New* RIAA’s Investor Toolkit – Human Rights with focus on supply chains (2nd Edition)
- *New* RIAA’s Investor Toolkit – Human rights focus on Indigenous peoples’ rights and cultural heritage protection
- RIAA and ACSI: Modern slavery reporting – Guide for Investors
- The Australian Border Force’s modern slavery online register
- Fair Supply has published 6 Critical trends in modern slavery statements
Altiorem – Altiorem is a not-for-profit library and resource centre that aims to reduce the barriers to making finance a force for good by making quality resources accessible. An Altiorem membership is free. For more information on Altiorem, to suggest resources or to become a mentor please visit their website.
RIAA has partnered with Altiorem to provide members with a special tag that collates reports, research papers and other resources relevant to the Human Rights Working Group. Members can access these resources here.