Bahrain Shura welcomes 2020 Human Rights and Democracy Report by the UK

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain has made important achievements and advanced efforts in various areas to safeguard human rights. The Shura Council’s Human Rights Committee, chaired by Ahmed Mahdi Al Haddad, noted that the international community appreciates the concrete steps taken by the Kingdom in this field.

This comes as the committee welcomed the 2020 Human Rights and Democracy Report issued recently by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The report praised Bahrain’s measures to investigate allegations of human rights violations, and indicated the credibility, transparency and impartiality of the oversight bodies in charge of investigations into allegations of ill-treatment. It also highlighted the progress made by the Bahrain government, represented by the Interior Ministry, to ensure care for detainees and convicts, as well as meet their needs and ensure their safety and rights within the reformation and rehabilitation institution.

The Shura committee asserted that the report’s confirmation of the significant reduction in the size of the prison population, both by 169 royal pardons, and by increased use of alternative sentencing legislation, leading to the release of 4,200 convicts, is best response to attempts to undermine the kingdom’s human rights protection achievements.

The panel also hailed the report’s highlighting of Bahrain’s initiative to draft an integrated National Human Rights Action Plan, which is the first of its kind at the level of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is expected to be discussed at the UN Human Rights Council at the end of 2023, stressing the Shura Council’s unwavering interest in developing legislation related to human rights, and keenness to contribute to the National Human Rights Action Plan.

The Shura committee said that the UK 2020 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Report included the British government’s support for Bahrain, as a friend, in its efforts in the field of combating trafficking in persons. It is supported by Bahrain’s success to maintain the Tier-1 status in the annual report of the US Department of State for combating people trafficking for the fourth straight year.

Regarding the Government of Bahrain’s efforts to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic without affecting the rights of society, the Shura committee expressed satisfaction for the UK report which highlighted the measures taken by Bahrain to protect the rights of vulnerable people and safeguard wider society during the pandemic.

In this regard, the committee praised the report’s highlighting of the kingdom’s interest in the inmates of the reformation and rehabilitation institutions, in addition to its economic and health measures for the benefit of the citizens and residents alike, particularly with the Bahraini government’s introduction of a visa amnesty from March to December 2020, resulting in the “normalisation of the status” for over 30,000 workers who might otherwise have lost their jobs.