Rights, as a priority function of the NIHR, it organized an international forum on “Business and
Human Rights”, to promote and protect business management rights and exchange of experiences.
The Forum focused on human rights issues related to business management and operations,
particularly with regard to ways of harmonizing human rights and business rules by providing
businesses with positive models that are in the interest of protecting human rights from any
violation, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (2030). The Forum addressed
a number of topics; the most important are intellectual property on medicine, labor rights,
corporate and business responsibility, as well as the right to privacy in relation to information space
(cyberspace).
32. The first session of the Forum focused on “Businesses and Human Rights: Challenges and
Obstacles”. It highlighted the most important challenges and obstacles in business management
and human rights, especially after the great openness witnessed by the countries of the world
and the accompanying globalization and emergence of multinational companies and practices. The
weak health and safety standards in the workplace, pollution, the developments in the technology
and information sector, and the issue of intellectual property and copyright in creativity were
discussed.
33. The second session of the Forum focused on the theme “Reality and Prospects for Business and
Human Rights”, where the Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, which was
unanimously approved by the Human Rights Council in 2011, were reviewed, as well as the
international efforts in this area. The last session highlighted the status of businesses and human
rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as one of the advanced countries in this area. It was emphasized
that the Kingdom has taken a pioneering step in this regard, as it has established the institutions
that protect these rights, the most important of which are the Labor Market Regulatory Authority,
the National Health Regulatory Authority, which regulates health professions and services, and
the National Institution for Human Rights. All of these institutions play an important role in
strengthening and promoting a culture of respect for human rights in the various sectors in the
Kingdom.
34. On the sidelines of the Forum, the participants were divided into three working groups; each
group discussed a number of themes and prepared its recommendations on those themes.
The first group discussed the ambitions and challenges in the work environment, the relationship
between human rights and the work environment, the role of the employee in addressing the
problems on discrimination in the workplace, as well as the impact of the work environment on
business and human rights.
35. The second working group discussed the theme on cyberspace and the right to privacy. This group
defined the right to privacy and its relation to big data, the economic and social repercussions of
information space, the challenges of information security and solutions, as well as the threats to
national security through misusing such data, and the role of public and private sectors in raising
awareness of security therein.
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