Chapter
11
For its ninth consecutive year, Zain is continuing its alignment with the UNGP on Business and Human Rights. By reporting on the principles, the company provides the transparency and accountability needed to inform its stakeholders on how it addresses human rights risks.
The company’s 2023 Thought Leadership Report titled, “Building Inclusive Societies Through Connectivity” emphasizes the various phases of connectivity over the four decades of Zain’s operations while highlighting how such connectivity is a fundamental human right. The report also includes a section dedicated to Zain’s Human Rights Impact Assessment where it highlights the company’s salient issues related to the topic and how it addresses them.
Last year, Zain became a member of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact initiative, a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices. In 2023, the company finalized its Communication of Progress (CoP) report and publicly submitted it through the UNGC portal. The CoP report covers the following topics:
Zain demonstrates the importance of adhering to human rights through its Human Rights Policy Statement, Corporate Sustainability (CS) Policy, Code of Conduct, Supplier Code of Conduct, Climate Change Policy and Data Protection and Privacy Policy. The policies are in line with universal and local human rights rules and regulations and international standards. They also ensure that human rights requirements are applicable to all stakeholders across the company’s value chain.
All the company’s policies are publicly available on its website in English and Arabic.
Zain’s scope for human rights extends across operations (Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and South Sudan), as well as to subsidiaries such as ZainTECH, Zain Omantel International (ZOI), and companies under Zain’s management control. Based on its continuous engagement with stakeholders; assessment of Zain’s operating context; community challenges and deficits; industry landscape; benchmarking exercise; and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the following human rights topics have been identified:
This section provides the different components that were taken into account when identifying the salient human rights topics for Zain in addition to any evolutions that happened in 2023.
In addition, Zain ensures that its local and international suppliers also share its commitment to responsible business practices, which include human rights. Standards are expected to be upheld by Zain’s suppliers and partners through compulsory compliance with the company’s Supplier Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy Statement, and a screening process that takes place prior to onboarding.
In 2022, Zain expanded the number of international and local suppliers that adhere to its human rights policies and is currently going through a process to ensure existing suppliers are all signatories to the Human Rights Policy Statement that was launched in 2020.
Furthermore, in matters related to geographical expansion or entry into new revenue streams through acquisitions of licenses or existing businesses, Zain pays attention to human rights impact assessments, including gender equality, children’s rights, accessibility for people with disabilities, inclusivity, fair and equal opportunity, and labor practices such as child labor, compulsory labor, etc. This report covers all of Zain’s most pertinent human rights issues that took place during the year. During this period, there were no human rights abuses committed under Zain’s scope.
The following policies and values are publicly available on the company website:
Code of Conduct
Supplier Code of Conduct
Human Rights Policy statement
Life at Zain
The company also has its internal policy that is communicated and available to all employees:
All documents listed above are revised every three years, however the company may make changes more frequently in alignment to its stakeholders’ needs and expectations in addition to aligning to evolving best practices.
Zain maintains multiple channels for employees to report any alleged violations of their labor rights or mistreatment and ensures any updates on policies and procedures are communicated through Zain’s internal channels. The company also monitors any incidents related to discrimination and assesses the corrective action necessary to address any cases across its operations. The company also has open channels for its suppliers to provide or report on any incident through its whistleblowing channel at: whistleblowing@zain.com
Zain ensures that its activities, including the establishment of base stations, are in accordance with ESMP guidelines and are carried out in compliance with relevant regulatory authorities. In 2023, the company finalized the revision of its ESMP guidelines, approved by the Board of Directors.
Zain maintains the policies specified in the ESMP Guidelines that safeguard against exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF), radiation, and other potentially harmful exposures, ensuring that guidelines are aligned to Net-Zero ambitions and biodiversity requirements.
The protection of Zain customers’ personal data is communicated through the company’s annual Sustainability Report in the ‘Products and Customers’ section, and through the website. Zain continues to place great emphasis on data privacy and information security across all areas of the business. In 2023, the company published its updated Data Protection and Privacy Policy to guarantee the company meets the highest standard of data protection and privacy.
The company’s updated Data Protection and Privacy Policy covers a range of topics including how Zain collects, uses, and stores personal data and the rights of individuals to access and control their personal data.
If there are any questions or concerns about the policy please contact the below: ZainDataProtectionandPrivacy@zain.com.
The company ensures it tackles this topic internally and externally. Internally, it has a dedicated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) department with specified DEI pillars consisting of: WE gender diversity initiative; WE ABLE disability inclusive program; ZY youth development program; ZAINIAC internal innovation platform; BE WELL mental health program; and REACH mentoring initiative. Through these pillars, the company embeds digital skill development across the business. Externally, the company dedicated a specific pillar to its Corporate Sustainability strategy, which addresses the digital divide. Zain has specific initiatives that aim to close this gap for women, elderly, and people with disabilities.
Zain’s DEI progress is reported in the ‘People & Purpose’ section of this report and within quarterly updates on the Zain Group website. Progress on specific initiatives under the Corporate Sustainability strategy can be found on the ‘Sustainability Agenda’.
Zain’s Human Rights Policy Statement and Data Protection and Privacy Policy protects children’s rights and safety online including handling children’s information. The company dedicated one pillar of its Corporate Sustainability strategy to youth, focusing on Child Online Safety, Digital Literacy, and Youth Unemployment. In 2023, the company participated in the revitalized GSMA Mobile Alliance against Digital Child Sexual Exploitation initiative. The mobile alliance is comprised of international mobile operators within the GSMA committed to working together to take proactive steps to fight technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation. The mobile alliance adopts a multi-stakeholder approach by engaging with key international stakeholders to ensure a well-coordinated response and effort in countering digitally facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse.
More information on Zain’s progress in achieving the targets in this area are included in the ‘Sustainability Agenda’.