Human Rights Due Diligence Initiatives in Thailand and Their Impact on Japanese Companies

This report provides detailed analysis of human rights due diligence (DD) initiatives in Thailand and their impact on Japanese companies. Amid growing global emphasis on corporate social responsibility (CSR) due to human rights consideration pressure centered in Europe and America, Thailand is also advancing human rights respect movements.

Thai Government Initiatives:

• Established Asia's first "National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights" in 2019
• Published revised version (2023-2027) in 2023
• Leadership demonstrated by Weeralak from the Ministry of Justice
• Promotes international standard compliance through EU-FTA negotiations and OECD membership intentions
• Policy for human rights DD legislation by 2026

Corporate Initiative Cases: Global companies including Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group and Thai Union Group lead initiatives. Thai Union particularly promotes sustainability through the "Sea Change" strategy following human rights issues in the fisheries industry, achieving 99% MSC certification.

Major Human Rights Risks:

1. Foreign workers (3.1 million regular, 1.8 million irregular): High job placement fees, unpaid wages
2. Freedom of association restrictions: Foreign workers cannot establish labor unions
3. Land development and resident relocation: Forced evictions, access barriers to livelihood foundations
4. Retaliation against human rights defenders and SLAPP lawsuits
5. Occupational safety and health: Basic safety measure deficiencies

Recommendations for Japanese Companies:

• Human rights DD implementation increasing in Southeast Asia due to European regulation compliance
• Advanced examples including RBA certification acquisition by Oki Electric Industry and Seiko Epson
• Importance of treating local people's risks as "personal matters" rather than "no risk"
• Human rights respect effective for corporate value enhancement and talent acquisition

Japanese companies often find that initiatives they have conducted "naturally" contribute to international standard human rights DD, requiring enhanced organizational response.