The US-Israeli war in the Middle East has given rise to a complex and multifaceted array of challenges for governments and businesses around the world.

The conflict has spread across the region, with Iran launching retaliatory strikes against Israeli and US military bases and US-allied Gulf States, and Israel launching a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Thousands of people in Iran alone have been killed, including 180 people (most of them children) in a strike on a girls’ school in Minab. More than 1 million people have been displaced inside Lebanon. Further, global health and humanitarian infrastructure across the region has been disrupted by attacks on healthcare sites and strikes on desalination plants and oil refineries. The conflict has also worsened the ongoing crisis in Gaza, with Israel suspending UN humanitarian movements and increasing its military operations.

Expanding the global implications of this conflict, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered arguably the most severe disruption in global energy in recent decades, with a 40% rise in global oil prices, and impacted shipping and logistics routes with flow-on impacts across supply chains.

In a speech on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese observed that stability and predictability in international affairs had gone.

“It’s a different world now … We need to acknowledge that, and we need to respond to that.”

The escalation of this conflict creates immediate and material risks for Australian businesses across supply chains, energy markets, workforce safety and global stability, and demands swift decision-making in a rapidly evolving and uncertain context.

Businesses can seek to ensure that their response to this crisis minimises – and ideally avoids – adversely impacting people here in Australia and those at-risk overseas by integrating human rights considerations into their decision-making.

Key human rights considerations for Australian businesses

This conflict presents a broad range of human rights considerations for Australian businesses and financial institutions:

• Safety and security of personnel in-region: Front of mind for Australian businesses with operations or business relationships in Iran and other affected countries in the region (including shipping and logistics partners) will be the safety and security of personnel and families in the region. In addition to physical safety and travel disruption, those in-region may face human rights risks flowing from difficulties accessing food, clean water and other essential goods, the reliability of energy supplies, access to healthcare and educational services, and access to information.
• Involvement in unlawful military activities, war crimes and cultural heritage destruction: Business activity in the military, defence and technology sectors raises many difficult questions in times of conflict. Australian companies operating in the defence sector (including the supply of military equipment or components) as well as technology companies with cloud infrastructure, data or research and development relationships with the US, Israel or Iran, should take care to ensure their activities are consistent with their human rights responsibilities. That means taking appropriate action to identify and address any adverse impacts that they may be causing or contributing to – or that may be directly linked to their operations, products or services.
• Workers in global supply chains: Disruptions relating to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and rapid rise in global oil prices mean suppliers across the manufacturing, agricultural, retail, resources, transport and logistics sectors are navigating more acute stressors. These heighten the risk of vulnerability to human rights impacts of workers in these supply chains – including in relation to physical and mental health and safety, forced labour and other forms of exploitation. Seafarers currently stranded in the Gulf region face risks to their physical safety (for example, from missile strikes) as well as heightened vulnerability to exploitation and abandonment. Supply chain workers’ vulnerability to exploitation may also be exacerbated by internal and cross-border displacement connected to this conflict, with an estimated three million people already displaced internally within Iran.
• Food security for populations in the Middle East: Australia is a major exporter of wheat, barley and other agricultural commodities to markets in the Middle East. This conflict threatens those trade relationships and the food security of the populations that Australian companies supply.
• Cost-of-living stresses for communities in Australia: The sharp rise in global oil prices has already impacted cost-of-living pressures for communities across Australia. Most immediately, there have been increases in fuel prices and petrol station closures in some regional communities. If shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted longer-term, we would expect to see higher prices for food and other essential goods. Mortgage holders (and their families) also face increased pressure as a result of interest rate decisions by the RBA, in response to inflation exacerbated by the war in the Middle East. These pressures have the potential to drive a growing number of Australians into poverty, and lead to additional impacts on children’s rights, access to food, heating and education, as well as physical and mental health.

Action to prevent, mitigate and address these risks should be guided by an assessment of which are most salient for your business – that is, which of the potential human rights harms are most severe, most widespread and most difficult to remedy? For superannuation funds and other financial institutions, consideration of these risks in connection with portfolio exposure will be key.

Three steps businesses should consider taking now

The situation in the Middle East is developing rapidly, with contested information, restricted opportunities for independent verification and significant uncertainty as to the likely trajectory and timeframe for resolution of the situation.

Businesses in Australia and around the world are facing pressure to respond quickly to this situation. There may be little time to undertake robust human rights due diligence, engage meaningfully with stakeholders and ensure internal governance and decision-making processes are fit-for-purpose.

The following three actions may support your business in integrating respect for human rights into its response:

• Ensure the crisis management team includes human rights expertise: A human rights subject matter expert (SME) or executive with human rights expertise can bring significant value to rapid and responsive decision-making. They can help identify, at an early stage, the individuals or groups that may be at particular risk of harm. They also understand stakeholders’ expectations of the company and bring familiarity with relevant legal frameworks and standards. Including this expertise in the crisis management team ensures these considerations can be integrated into decision-making early and as the situation unfolds.
• Consider the potential human rights implications of the business’s response to the situation: Map how the current conflict in the Middle East may impact your business – and the key changes to its operations, supply chains and business relationships that may result. Consider how people – the business’s own personnel and contractors, workers across the value chain, consumers and communities on the ground – may be affected. This higher-level mapping will support you to identify where deeper due diligence and more information are needed – and to consider immediate steps the business could take to mitigate potential adverse impacts.
• Be attentive to internal influence and clear communication: Ideally, a human rights SME will be ‘at the table’ as the business navigates this conflict. However, in practice, this can be rare. Efforts to influence decision-making can be strengthened by knowing who has the authority to make key decisions, what considerations drive their decision-making and how you can influence these. When the business is navigating a rapidly unfolding and uncertain situation, sharp internal communication is critical to ensuring key messages are heard.

Resources are available to support businesses in navigating situations like this with respect for human rights. For example, the UN Global Compact has published What businesses can do in times of conflict and 15 Actions for Businesses Operating in Conflict Zones. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has produced Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence for Business in Conflict-Affected Contexts: A Guide, which offers guidance to businesses on how to meet human rights responsibilities and carry out heightened human rights due diligence in conflict-affected areas. Further, the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights (GBI)’s Crisis Management resource offers insights from business practice on managing risks to people during a crisis.

The role of business in ‘a different world’

Anthony Albanese, quoted above, stated that we’re in ‘a different world’ now.

It’s worth reflecting on the role of business in this new world.

The international legal order that has provided the stability and predictability on which businesses depend appears to be rapidly eroding, and the disregard of fundamental principles, including the rule of law, is arguably becoming concerningly normalised. Under the UN Charter, force can only lawfully be used against another state in self-defence against an imminent attack or with Security Council approval. Neither condition appears satisfied in respect of the recent attacks on Iran or the broader Middle East region, yet the response from many allies and others has generally appeared cautious.

The UN and the international legal system have never been perfect and need reform. But we do not need – and cannot afford – to abandon this system.

It enables not only international cooperation and collaboration, but also the stability and predictability on which business depends. We need institutions and frameworks, like those that have been provided by the UN since 1945.

Stakeholders increasingly expect businesses to consider when and how to use their voice in support of these fundamental principles. In navigating these expectations and bringing leadership in uncertain and turbulent times, we see some businesses choosing to act collectively (for example, through the UN Global Compact and other credible industry bodies). Others may act more independently, for example, by drawing ‘a line in the sand’ about what they will and will not do.

But, it is key that businesses engage with these developments appropriately.

Business voices are most credible when they are consistent and principled, rather than partisan or focused on self-interest – and when there is congruence between what the business advocates for and its own internal conduct. Businesses that work to adopt responsible business practices, including the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles, with seriousness, commitment and humility should be better placed to contribute to building a future in which business – alongside people and planet – can thrive.

The UN Global Compact Network Australia will support participants by sharing relevant information and resources, and creating opportunities for participants to work together to address the sustainability challenges raised by this conflict through our peer learning offerings and other activities.

Additional insights

Last year, we co-organised a discussion between Helen Clark, Sharan Burrow and other speakers about the role of business in upholding human rights and international law in turbulent times. Listen to a recording of this discussion produced by ABC Radio National here.

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