2019 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

Session organized by MENA/FOTCD, OHCHR and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Webcast of the session:
Meeting link
Meeting number: 840 368 810
Password: 7KAXPwtJ

Context
Business and human rights is an important emerging issue for countries in the Middle East. Countries in the Middle East experience different levels of economic growth and development, and this in turn affects the volume and type of business activities and their impact in different societies. Countries and business enterprises in the region face a variety of human rights challenges, such as those related to inequalities, discrimination, technological advancements, migration, gender and workforce, as well as other specific local or regional situations. At the same time, there are many opportunities for engagement, interaction and progress with States, businesses, civil society organisations and other stakeholders working together to advance human rights in the region. The session is therefore aimed at enabling a dialogue amongst a wide range of actors who could benefit from a platform to explore emerging issues around business and human rights in the Middle East.
Regional and sub-regional dialogues on business and human rights are already underway in several other world regions, including in Latin America, South Asia and East Asia. Although there have been some recent positive developments in promoting the business and human rights agenda in some countries in the Middle East region, much remains to be done. Development of national action plans on business and human rights, collaboration among national human rights institutions, and implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) could be critical measures in this regard. Building on existing experiences and good practices in facilitating regional dialogues on business and human rights, this session will promote a multi-stakeholder dialogue on a broad range of issues to advance the business and human rights agenda in the Middle East.

Objective
This session aims to facilitate an initial multi-stakeholder dialogue on business and human rights in the Middle East region, with a focus on (i) identifying unique regional challenges as well as similarities and differences with other world regions, and (ii) exploring opportunities for governments and businesses to implement the UNGPs in order to prevent, mitigate and remediate business-related adverse human rights impacts.

Format of the session
The session will be conducted as an interactive dialogue, supported by a panel of experts with active and direct audience participation.

Key themes
The session will look at the following themes:

• Unique characteristics of the Middle East region in relation to business and human rights, including highlighting similarities and differences with other regions;
• Key thematic business and human rights challenges in the region, including related to culture, workforce, migration and environment, as well as potential ways to overcome those challenges.
• Implementing the respective obligations and responsibilities of States and businesses enterprises under the UNGPs.