Introduction

GRI 411: Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2016 contains disclosures for organizations to report information about their impacts related to the rights of indigenous peoples, and how they manage these impacts.

The Standard is structured as follows:

Section 1 contains a requirement, which provides information about how the organization manages its impacts related to the rights of indigenous peoples.
Section 2 contains one disclosure, which provides information about the organization’s impacts related to the rights of indigenous peoples.
The Glossary contains defined terms with a specific meaning when used in the GRI Standards. The terms are underlined in the text of the GRI Standards and linked to the definitions.
The Bibliography lists authoritative intergovernmental instruments and additional references used in developing this Standard.

The rest of the Introduction section provides a background on the topic, an overview of the system of GRI Standards and further information on using this Standard.

Background on the topic
This Standard addresses the rights of indigenous peoples. While there is no universal definition of indigenous peoples, they are generally identified as:¹

tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations;
peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions.

Many indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices and therefore are considered a vulnerable group. Such a group could experience negative impacts as a result of the organization’s activities more severely than the general population.²

In addition to their collective rights, each person belonging to indigenous peoples shares universal human rights.

These concepts are covered in key instruments of the International Labour Organization and the United Nations: see the Bibliography.

System of GRI Standards
This Standard is part of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards). The GRI Standards enable an organization to report information about its most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights, and how it manages these impacts.

The GRI Standards are structured as a system of interrelated standards that are organized into three series: GRI Universal Standards, GRI Sector Standards, and GRI Topic Standards (see Figure 1 in this Standard).

Universal Standards: GRI 1, GRI 2 and GRI 3
GRI 1: Foundation 2021 specifies the requirements that the organization must comply with to report in accordance with the GRI Standards. The organization begins using the GRI Standards by consulting GRI 1.

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 contains disclosures that the organization uses to provide information about its reporting practices and other organizational details, such as its activities, governance, and policies.

GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 provides guidance on how to determine material topics. It also contains disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its process of determining material topics, its list of material topics, and how it manages each topic.

Sector Standards
The Sector Standards provide information for organizations about their likely material topics. The organization uses the Sector Standards that apply to its sectors when determining its material topics and when determining what to report for each material topic.

Topic Standards
The Topic Standards contain disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its impacts in relation to particular topics. The organization uses the Topic Standards according to the list of material topics it has determined using GRI 3.

Figure 1. GRI Standards: Universal, Sector and Topic Standards

Using this Standard
This Standard can be used by any organization – regardless of size, type, sector, geographic location, or reporting experience – to report information about its impacts related to the rights of indigenous peoples.

An organization reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report the following disclosures if it has determined the rights of indigenous peoples to be a material topic:

Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 (see clause 1.1 in this Standard);
Any disclosure from this Topic Standard that is relevant to the organization’s impacts related to the rights of indigenous peoples (Disclosure 411-1).

See Requirements 4 and 5 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021.

Reasons for omission are permitted for these disclosures.

If the organization cannot comply with a disclosure or with a requirement in a disclosure (e.g., because the required information is confidential or subject to legal prohibitions), the organization is required to specify the disclosure or the requirement it cannot comply with, and provide a reason for omission together with an explanation in the GRI content index. See Requirement 6 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021 for more information on reasons for omission.

If the organization cannot report the required information about an item specified in a disclosure because the item (e.g., committee, policy, practice, process) does not exist, it can comply with the requirement by reporting this to be the case. The organization can explain the reasons for not having this item, or describe any plans to develop it. The disclosure does not require the organization to implement the item (e.g., developing a policy), but to report that the item does not exist.

If the organization intends to publish a standalone sustainability report, it does not need to repeat information that it has already reported publicly elsewhere, such as on web pages or in its annual report. In such a case, the organization can report a required disclosure by providing a reference in the GRI content index as to where this information can be found (e.g., by providing a link to the web page or citing the page in the annual report where the information has been published).

Requirements, guidance and defined terms
The following apply throughout this Standard:

Requirements are presented in bold font and indicated by the word 'shall'. An organization must comply with requirements to report in accordance with the GRI Standards.

Requirements may be accompanied by guidance.

Guidance includes background information, explanations, and examples to help the organization better understand the requirements. The organization is not required to comply with guidance.

The Standards may also include recommendations. These are cases where a particular course of action is encouraged but not required.

The word ‘should’ indicates a recommendation, and the word ‘can’ indicates a possibility or option.

Defined terms are underlined in the text of the GRI Standards and linked to their definitions in the Glossary. The organization is required to apply the definitions in the Glossary.

1. Topic management disclosures

An organization reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report how it manages each of its material topics.

An organization that has determined the rights of indigenous peoples to be a material topic is required to report how it manages the topic using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 (see clause 1.1 in this section).

This section is therefore designed to supplement – and not replace – Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3.

Requirements

1.1 The reporting organization shall report how it manages the rights of indigenous peoples using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.

Guidance

The United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the International Labour Organization Convention 169 ‘Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ address the rights of indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples have both collective and individual rights, as set out in these instruments.

The collective rights of indigenous peoples include, for example, the right to retain their own customs and institutions, and the right to self-determination. According to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the right to self-determination enables indigenous peoples to ‘freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development’ and have the right to ‘autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.’

Indigenous peoples also have the right to occupy and use their lands or territories, including those who hold or use land pursuant to informal or customary rights. Indigenous peoples cannot be relocated without free, prior, and informed consent. They also have the right to redress in cases where their lands or resources have been occupied or damaged without their free, prior, and informed consent.

Due diligence is expected of an organization in order to avoid infringing on the rights of indigenous peoples through its activities. An organization is also expected to respect the rights of indigenous peoples to free, prior, and informed consent in certain matters affecting them. This is the case when, for example, an organization intends to start operations on land that is inhabited or owned by indigenous peoples.

2. Topic disclosures

Disclosure 411-1 Incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous peoples

Requirements

The reporting organization shall report the following information:

Total number of identified incidents of violations involving the rights of indigenous peoples during the reporting period.
Status of the incidents and actions taken with reference to the following:
1. Incident reviewed by the organization;
2. Remediation plans being implemented;
3. Remediation plans that have been implemented, with results reviewed through routine internal management review processes;
4. Incident no longer subject to action.

Recommendations

2.1 When compiling the information specified in Disclosure 411-1, the reporting organization should include incidents involving the rights of indigenous peoples among:

2.1.1 workers performing the organization’s activities;

2.1.2 communities likely to be affected by existing or planned activities of the organization.

Guidance

Guidance for Disclosure 411-1
In the context of this disclosure, an ‘incident’ refers to a legal action or complaint registered with the reporting organization or competent authorities through a formal process, or an instance of non-compliance identified by the organization through established procedures. Established procedures to identify instances of non-compliance can include management system audits, formal monitoring programs, or grievance mechanisms.

Background
The number of recorded incidents involving the rights of indigenous peoples provides information about the implementation of an organization’s policies relating to indigenous peoples. This information helps to indicate the state of relations with stakeholder communities. This is particularly important in regions where indigenous peoples reside, or have interests near operations of the organization.

para

Glossary

This glossary provides definitions for terms used in this Standard. The organization is required to apply these definitions when using the GRI Standards.

The definitions included in this glossary may contain terms that are further defined in the complete GRI Standards Glossary. All defined terms are underlined. If a term is not defined in this glossary or in the complete GRI Standards Glossary, definitions that are commonly used and understood apply.

business partner

entity with which the organization has some form of direct and formal engagement for the purpose of meeting its business objectives

Source:

Shift and Mazars LLP, UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, 2015; modified

Examples:

affiliates, business-to-business customers, clients, first-tier suppliers, franchisees, joint venture partners, investee companies in which the organization has a shareholding position

Note:

Business partners do not include subsidiaries and affiliates that the organization controls.

business relationships

relationships that the organization has with business partners, with entities in its value chain including those beyond the first tier, and with any other entities directly linked to its operations, products, or services

Source:

United Nations (UN), Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011; modified

Note:

Examples of other entities directly linked to the organization’s operations, products, or services are a non-governmental organization with which the organization delivers support to a local community or state security forces that protect the organization’s facilities.

due diligence

process to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how the organization addresses its actual and potential negative impacts

Source:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 2011; modified

United Nations (UN), Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011; modified

Note:

See section 2.3 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021 for more information on ‘due diligence’.

employee

individual who is in an employment relationship with the organization according to national law or practice

grievance

perceived injustice evoking an individual’s or a group’s sense of entitlement, which may be based on law, contract, explicit or implicit promises, customary practice, or general notions of fairness of aggrieved communities

Source:

United Nations (UN), Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011

grievance mechanism

routinized process through which grievances can be raised and remedy can be sought

Source:

United Nations (UN), Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011; modified

Note:

See Guidance to Disclosure 2-25 in GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 for more information on ‘grievance mechanism’.

human rights

rights inherent to all human beings, which include, at a minimum, the rights set out in the United Nations (UN) International Bill of Human Rights and the principles concerning fundamental rights set out in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

Source:

United Nations (UN), Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011; modified

Note:

See Guidance to 2-23-b-i in GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 for more information on ‘human rights’.

impact

effect the organization has or could have on the economy, environment, and people, including on their human rights, which in turn can indicate its contribution (negative or positive) to sustainable development

Note 1:

Impacts can be actual or potential, negative or positive, short-term or long-term, intended or unintended, and reversible or irreversible.

Note 2:

See section 2.1 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021 for more information on ‘impact’.

indigenous peoples

Indigenous Peoples are generally identified as:

tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations;
peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions.

Source:

International Labour Organization (ILO), Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169)

material topics

topics that represent the organization’s most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights

Note:

See section 2.2 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021 and section 1 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 for more information on ‘material topics’.

mitigation

action(s) taken to reduce the extent of a negative impact

Source:

United Nations (UN), The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide, 2012; modified

Note:

The mitigation of an actual negative impact refers to actions taken to reduce the severity of the negative impact that has occurred, with any residual impact needing remediation. The mitigation of a potential negative impact refers to actions taken to reduce the likelihood of the negative impact occurring.

remedy / remediation

means to counteract or make good a negative impact or provision of remedy

Source:

United Nations (UN), The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide, 2012; modified

Examples:

apologies, financial or non-financial compensation, prevention of harm through injunctions or guarantees of non-repetition, punitive sanctions (whether criminal or administrative, such as fines), restitution, restoration, rehabilitation

severity (of an impact)

The severity of an actual or potential negative impact is determined by its scale (i.e., how grave the impact is), scope (i.e., how widespread the impact is), and irremediable character (how hard it is to counteract or make good the resulting harm).

Source:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, 2018; modified
United Nations (UN), The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide, 2012; modified

Note:

See section 1 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 for more information on ‘severity’.

supplier

entity upstream from the organization (i.e., in the organization’s supply chain), which provides a product or service that is used in the development of the organization’s own products or services

Examples:

brokers, consultants, contractors, distributors, franchisees, home workers, independent contractors, licensees, manufacturers, primary producers, sub-contractors, wholesalers

Note:

A supplier can have a direct business relationship with the organization (often referred to as a first-tier supplier) or an indirect business relationship.

supply chain

range of activities carried out by entities upstream from the organization, which provide products or services that are used in the development of the organization’s own products or services

sustainable development / sustainability

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Source:

World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, 1987

Note:

The terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ are used interchangeably in the GRI Standards.

value chain

range of activities carried out by the organization, and by entities upstream and downstream from the organization, to bring the organization’s products or services from their conception to their end use

Note 1:

Entities upstream from the organization (e.g., suppliers) provide products or services that are used in the development of the organization’s own products or services. Entities downstream from the organization (e.g., distributors, customers) receive products or services from the organization.

Note 2:

The value chain includes the supply chain.

worker

person that performs work for the organization

Examples:

employees, agency workers, apprentices, contractors, home workers, interns, self-employed persons, sub-contractors, volunteers, and persons working for organizations other than the reporting organization, such as for suppliers

Note:

In the GRI Standards, in some cases, it is specified whether a particular subset of workers is required to be used.