Business and Human Rights in The Nickel Industrial Estate:A Socio-Legal Study of People's Rights in Weda Bay

The development of the Weda Bay nickel industrial estate as a National Strategic Project, which, on the one hand, encourages economic ‎growth but, on the other, has a profound impact on the human rights of the people around the mine. This research aims to analyze the implementation of Business and Human Rights principles in PT's operations. IWIP with a focus on fulfilling the community's rights in Lelilef ‎Sawai, Lelilef Woebulan, and Gemaf Villages. The research method uses a socio-legal approach, with data collected through interviews, ‎field observations, and document analysis. The results of the study show that although companies have formally opened participation spaces, ‎there are substantive restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, characterized by the criminalization of citizens, meaningless participation, and a weak legal complaint mechanism. These findings show a gap between the normative framework of Business and Human ‎Rights and practices in the field, as well as reflecting on corporations' failure to carry out human rights due diligence‎.