Kingdom of Bahrain

Manama, On the occasion of the International Day of Peace, all United Nations agencies in Bahrain organized an official function to mark the day on 20 September 2007 at the UN House, Manama.
During the event, H.E Mr. Mohamed Al Mutawa, Adviser for the Prime Minister on Cultural Affairs, made a statement on behalf of the Government of Bahrain. “Development, prosperity and welfare are vital steps on the road to peace,” he declared. “Peace enforced by might is doomed to failure”.
"The children of Bahrain who are participating today on this occasion are expressing with other children of the world their desire to shout a wake up call to nations, to achieve peace," said H.E. Mr. Al Mutawa. "Bahrain has always believed that goodness is the road to peace and has reflected this in its interior and foreign policies."
The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Sayed Aqa, delivered the message of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on the occasion. A special message was also delivered by Mr. Hussain Al Shabib, President of the Model United Nations (MUN) Society in Bahrain.
In parallel to this, dozens of students (girls & boys) of different nationalities were hosted at the UN House for a “Painting for Peace” session under the leadership and supervision of Mr. Abbas AlMusawi, a renowned Bahraini artist and founder of the “Peace 2000” initiative. The students, aged four to 14 were given cubes, each face measuring 40cmx40cm, to inspire them to create their artwork “peace by peace”. The paintings will be put on display next month.
In his capacity as a painter, H.E. Ghassan Muhsen Hussain, Ambassador of Iraq, also participated in the official function and the “Painting for Peace” session as a token to peace, an aspiration of the people of Iraq, the Middle East and the world at large.

A three day training workshop on Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment is due to take place at the Crowne Plaza on Monday 10 September. The workshop is being organized by UNDP, Bahrain with participants from all UN offices in Bahrain and national project directors, who represent different Ministries and government institutions. This workshop is a major exercise in boosting UN internal capacity to mainstream gender into UN’s programmes and service lines.

The General Organization of Youth and Sports, in cooperation with UNDP and local youth organizations organized a joint celebration of International Youth Day under the slogan: “Be Present, Be Heard: Youth are Partners in Development.”
The initiative aimed to include the participation of youth in studying their situations and proposing relevant solutions, as well as guiding them toward the best means for achieving their goals.
In his speech at the event, Mr. Sayed Aqa, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, indicated that the Arab world comprises the highest percentage of youth among its population. Mr. Aqa stressed the need for youth to express their priorities and be involved in developing strategies to meet the development needs of their country. Development can no longer proceed without the awareness of youth of economic, social and political issues within the Kingdom and this is critical to shaping and supporting sound decisions regarding their future. Following the opening event in which a number of societies and organizations were presented with certificates for their commendable efforts on youth issues, a workshop was held under the title of “The Role of Youth in achieving the MDG Targets.”

In a drive to promote the voice of youth in Bahrain, the “Be Heard” campaign was held by the Supreme Council for Women's youth committee at Seef Mall to mark International Youth Day. The UN RC/RR attended the launch event.
More than 120 youth filled in forms and placed them in the largest suggestion box in the country, measuring a meter by a meter and a half, organizers said yesterday.
"We have received a good number of people so far and we are expecting to get more," said youth committee member Eman Ayoub. Ms Ayoub said the turnout was good in the first two days, which indicated the campaign's success.
Youth aged 15 to 25 were invited to express their views and aspirations, share their problems or make suggestions. The campaign aimed to help in understanding issues facing youth and to plan for the future.
Twenty forms from each category will be chosen and discussed in a three-day workshop to be held from September 1.

The private sector of the Kingdom will embrace a new era of global business practices with the proposed launch of the Bahrain Network for Global Compact (BNGC) before the end of the year. A meeting jointly organized by the UN Country Team and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) urged the private sector to join the UN Global Compact and launch the BNGC before the end of 2007.
Since its official launch in 2000, The Global Compact challenged business leaders to join an international initiative that would bring companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society to support universal environmental and social principles. The initiative has now grown to over 3,800 participants, including over 2,900 businesses in 100 countries around the world working to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption .
Through collective action, the Global Compact aims to promote responsible corporate citizenship so that business can be part of the solution to the challenges of globalization to create a more sustainable and inclusive global economy. Sayed Aqa, UN Resident Coordinator, in his opening remarks, stated that business leaders attending the 2007 second Global Compact Leaders Summit, expressed the belief that “globalization, if rooted in universal principles, has the power to improve our world fundamentally – delivering economic and social benefits to people, communities and markets everywhere.”
The Global Compact seeks to mainstream ten principles in business activities around the world and to activate actions in support of international cooperation, peace, development and human rights protection. It relies on public accountability, transparency and the progressive self-interest of companies, labour and civil society to initiate and share substantive action.
The Kingdom, being one of the founding members of the World Trade Organization, will be the first GCC country to develop a national GC Network setting a new trend for the growth and development of the private sector. Sayed Aqa said that the BNGC would provide support to the companies by ensuring long-term sustainable development, market stability and growth of businesses.
This preliminary meeting, aimed at raising awareness among the business community in Bahrain about the objectives of the Global Compact, was also briefed by the CEO of the BCCI, Ahmed Abdullah Najem, Head of UNIC, Nejib Friji, and Head of UNIDO/ITPO, Dr. Hashim Hussein, Dr. Jaser Rabadi WMO Regional Representative and Mr. Abdulillah representing UNEP. Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, the UNDP Programme Analyst, has been appointed as country coordinator for the BNGC initiative. Najem said that BCCI will continue to assist the private sector, working closely as part of its strategy to assist businesses.

At the mid-point towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline, progress has been made in Western Asia towards achieving the targets for certain goals, according to a new report. Within the context of MDG targets, the Kingdom of Bahrain has made progress and is on track to achieving most. In 2006, a woman was elected to parliament in Bahrain for the first time in the nation’s history.
Bahrain does not suffer from extreme poverty (people living on less than one US dollar per day), it witnesses 100 percent enrollment in primary school, and is on track to meet the 2015 target of reducing child and maternal mortality. However, Bahrain, as a small island developing state does face particular environmental challenges in the coastal areas. Click here to view the MDG progress progress report.