Directives to ease concerns hailed

Manama : A tribute was paid to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for issuing royal directives to heed the humanitarian plight of mixed Bahraini-Qatari families.

“The royal gesture reflects HM the King’s keenness on the family kinship relations binding GCC nationals”, said National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) Acting Secretary-General Dr. Khalifa bin Ali Al-Fadhel.

He said that the royal directives had been issued despite the boycott due to persistent Qatari hostile policies towards the Kingdom of Bahrain. In a statement yesterday, Dr. Al-Fadhel hailed Bahrain’s rights, political, economic, social and cultural strides, paying tribute to the wise leadership for heeding human dignity.

He said that the establishment of the national watchdog in 2009 stemmed from HM the King’s keenness on protecting citizens and residents’ the dignity, in line with the Sharia precepts and Bahrain’s deep-rooted humanitarian heritage.

Dr. Al-Fadhel affirmed NIHR resolve, as full-fledged member of the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions to ensure the rights of the citizens from both countries are not affected adversely.

He pointed out that no Bahraini or Qatari individual or family has to-date filed a complaint with NIHR, in the backdrop of the repercussions of the decision to sever diplomatic ties.