{
  "id": 12538081,
  "title": "Azalina: Businesses must make human rights part of doing business",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/azalina-businesses-must-make-human-rights-part-of-doing-business",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-07T03:21:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/1549534/azalina-businesses-must-make-human-rights-part-doing-business"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR - Businesses, encompassing small and medium-sized enterprises, are urged to integrate human rights considerations into their daily operations and strategic decisions, according to Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform). The newly introduced Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) Guide aims to aid businesses in identifying and mitigating human rights risks relevant to their management and decision-making processes. Minister Azalina emphasized that the guide should not be perceived as merely a compliance document, but rather a critical tool for building responsible and ethical businesses. Speaking during the National Conference on Business and Human Rights 2026, she stressed that respecting human rights should be an integral part of businesses' operations, reflected in their policies, supply chains, relationships, and decision-making. The guide was developed through extensive engagement with regulators, industry representatives, and businesses to understand existing practices, challenges, and readiness. The guide is a key component of Malaysia's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2025-2030, which translates the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into a Malaysian context. The action plan focuses on governance, labor, and environmental issues and consists of 135 strategic actions involving the government, businesses, and other stakeholders. Minister Azalina stressed that the NAPBHR is not a static policy document, but rather requires ongoing efforts from all parties to learn, measure, improve, and adapt until 2030. She highlighted that true success will be measured by the positive impact on workers, communities, businesses, and society as a whole. Minister Azalina praised the Legal Affairs Division and the Business Human Rights Unit (BHEUU) for their leadership in coordinating the NAPBHR implementation and HRDD Guide development.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Businesses, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), should use the newly launched Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) Guide to identify and address human rights risks in their management and decision-making.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Human rights shouldn’t be a box-ticking exercise, Azalina tells businesses",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/human-rights-shouldnt-be-a-box-ticking-exercise-azalina-tells",
        "published": "2026-10-07T03:14:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}