National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) chairperson and Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) president Maryam bint Abdullah al-Attiyah has said that Arab countries are witnessing tremendous and unique opportunities as well as major challenges, with accelerating economic transformations accompanied by pressing concerns about the environmental, social and human rights impacts of business activities.
Migrant workers, women and other vulnerable groups, she said, often bear the brunt of irresponsible business practices, which requires consolidating collective efforts to protect their rights.
Addressing the opening session of the “Business and Human Rights Dialogue” on Monday, al-Attiyah said that this inaugural dialogue is an important step in ensuring that the Arab region does not fall behind the global trend of implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which provide a basic framework for such efforts.
These principles, she said, also emphasise the need for states to protect human rights, the need for companies to respect those rights, and enabling victims to access effective means of redress.
Al-Attiyah stated that by virtue of their unique and powerful mandate, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) are trailblazers in promoting and protecting human rights in the context of business activities, in addition to their role as bridges of communication between governments, companies, civil society and affected communities.
She said that this contributes to facilitating dialogue, promoting accountability and establishing the foundations of a human rights-based approach to business operations.
Al-Attiyah went on saying that NHRIs also play a key role in ensuring the effective implementation of the UN Guiding Principles and translating them into concrete facts, by providing guidance to states and companies; contributing to the development of laws, policies and practices that are consistent with international human rights standards; monitoring and tracking the impacts of business activities on human rights; investigating and reporting violations; and holding states and companies accountable for human rights violations.
Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI) secretary-general Sultan bin Hassan al-Jamali has meanwhile emphasised the importance of dialogue, noting that it puts everyone on the path to protecting human rights in business in the Arab region.
He said that the dialogue on business and human rights is aimed at charting a course for responsible business practices in the Arab region, based on the principle of the universality, interconnectedness, interdependence, and indivisibility of human rights. – QNA
