STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK ON A NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS FOR MALAYSIA IV. MALAYSIA’S CURRENT INTEGRATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BUSINESS 25. The integration of human rights in economic and business activities in Malaysia has certainly begun. Over fifty Malaysian companies, including small and medium enterprises, are participants of the UN Global Compact, and thereby commit to adhere to the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles, which include human rights.21 Over a hundred and twenty Malaysian companies are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and thereby commit to follow the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights.22 Fourteen of these Malaysian RSPO members are certified against the RSPO principles and criteria, which require them to respect human rights and have a human rights policy statement.23 26. The Commission welcomes the steps taken by the Government to foster the integration of human rights in business activities by supporting good corporate governance. These steps include the following: (a) Bursa Malaysia has in December 2014 launched the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index, which requires companies to achieve a specified FTSE4Good ESG Rating in order to be included in the index.24 The FTSE4Good ESG Rating includes human rights criteria.25 To date, twenty-four Malaysian firms have been selected for inclusion in the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index.26 (b) The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has, through its best practice circular on corporate responsibility disclosure and reporting, highlighted international corporate governance standards and tools that have human rights principles and performance indicators, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Framework, the ISO 26000, the UN Global Compact and UNICEF’s Children’s Rights and Business Principles.27 (c) Bursa Malaysia’s sustainability guide for directors recommends the integration of human rights in businesses’ sustainability strategies for their operations.28 (d) Bursa Malaysia’s corporate governance guide for listed companies recommends that businesses require employees to report human rights abuses in their internal whistle-blowing policies, and draws attention to how environmental, social and governance reports are increasingly focused on, among other things, human rights.29 27. The Commission also welcomes the steps taken by the Government to integrate human rights into its international economic activities. During negotiations on the TPP Agreement, and prompted by NGO advocacy, MITI consulted the Commission on human rights issues arising from the proposed agreement. 28. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have also played an important role. Civil society activism and public pressure have shone the spotlight on the human rights impacts of business activities. The Commission has received complaints regarding human rights abuses that implicate companies. Complaints have also been made regarding the operations in Malaysia of foreign transnational corporations or their Malaysian subsidiaries to the OECD National Contact Points (NCPs) of their home countries.30 These NCPs apply the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines), which include a chapter on human rights standards.31 9