Mariam Bhacker

Mariam is a Project Manager at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre in London, and her work focuses on corporate transparency and accountability of migrant workers’ rights in Qatar and the UAE. Mariam participated in two of DTP’s Regional Workshops on Labour Migration and Ethical Business in UAE in 2016. The workshops gave Mariam the opportunity to learn from leading experts on the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights and gain insight into how different stakeholders and countries approach the issues facing migrant workers.

“The 2016 training programs gave me the opportunity to delve into the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights in a way that you don’t often get to when busy on the job, and to learn from experts in the field. Participating alongside a multi-stakeholder group of representatives from international institutions, advocates, governments and the private sector helped me to understand the multiple perspectives and levels of understanding on the issues facing migrant workers and use that knowledge to inform BHRRC’s own work on the issues.”

After the first training, Mariam conducted a survey with 100 construction companies to gain an insight into their policies and practices to protect migrant workers from exploitation. The survey alerted companies to international expectations of their responsibilities, as set out by the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights and the UK’s Modern Slavery Act. The company responses were published on a tracking and comparison database on BHRRC’s website.

“The training provided opportunities for us to meet with companies and share examples of best practice to promote business and human rights.”

Mariam recently provided training on DTP’s Migrant Workers Program in Qatar. As a trainer, she sees the usefulness of the program for DTP participants and was excited to see new ideas and partnerships spark around the content.

“The latest training with advocates and human rights defenders has presented some interesting leads on the possibility of documenting the corporate impacts on migrant workers in and/or returning from the Gulf, which is currently an under developed part of our work due to the restrictions on civil society and migrant worker voices in the region.”