Summary

Civic engagement and political activism have long played an important role in Bahrain, a Gulf nation 30 kilometers off the coast of Saudi Arabia that is home to some 1.2 million people.

Since independence from Britain in 1971, social, cultural, and sports clubs, as well as civil and professional organizations, have been pivotal in shaping political debate. With political groups of any sort prohibited until 2001, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have oftenserved as forums for discussing social, economic, and political issues.

However, government actions and legislation have often undermined the ability of such groups to function. Despite a limited flowering of civil society since 2001, civic, political, and labor organizations have functioned with difficulty, with authorities harassing, arresting, and prosecuting their leaders and members. This has intensified in the wake of widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout much of the country in February and March 2011. In particular, the Ministry of Social Development has far exceeded international standards in its restrictive scope and “routinely exploited its oversight role to stymie the activities of NGOs and other civil society organizations.”[1]

Today, freedom of association is under even greater threat due in part  to draft legislation that is even more restrictive than the current Law of Associations (No. 21/1989), which authorities use—in the words of one Bahraini activist—“to interfere, restrict, and attempt to control the activities of civic organizations.”

This report examines restrictions on civil societies, political groups, and trade unions in Bahrain through three main lenses: current laws, the draft laws (where relevant), and applicable international standards, using case studies as illustration where possible.

Current Laws

The present Law of Associations prohibits civil society organizations from “engaging in politics” and lets authorities dissolve organizations more or less at will. Amended in 2002, it also prohibits activities that could affect “the foundations of the Islamic faith or the unity of the people or stirs a discord or sectarianism.”

The report finds that authorities use the law to suppress civil society and restrict freedom of association in three main ways: by arbitrarily rejecting registration applications and intrusively supervising NGOs; taking over and dissolving—more or less at will—organizations whose leaders have criticized government officials or their policies; and severely limiting the ability of groups to fundraise and receive foreign funding. For example:

• In September 2004, authorities dissolved the Bahrain Center for Human Rights after its president criticized the prime minister;
• In September 2010, the Ministry of Social Development replaced the Bahrain Human Rights Society’s board after its secretary general criticized authorities for violating the due process rights of detained opposition activists;  
• In April 2011, the Ministry of Social Development dissolved the Bahrain Teachers’ Society after its leaders took part in February-March 2011 pro-democracy protests;
• In April 2011, authorities replaced Bahrain Medical Society’s board members with a pro-government board; 
• In November 2011, the ministry canceled the results of Bahrain Lawyers’ Society election after the group elected perceived government critics to the board.

In the case of political societies, the report shows how authorities have used the current Law for Political Societies (Law No. 26/2005), the Public Gathering Law of 1973, and the Press Law of 2002 to prohibit political parties and control their freedom of association, expression, and peaceful assembly. Authorities do not have to give a reason when they deny registration to a political society, which can be suspended if it “violates” legal or constitutional provisions. Political groups cannot contact political groups outside Bahrain without official approval and may not accept “donations” or “benefit” from a foreign person or entity. Recent restrictive measures highlighted in this report include:

• In May 2005, authorities shuttered the offices of the Islamic Action Society (Amal) for 45 days after it held an event to honor 73 individuals jailed for allegedly planning a coup in 1981;
• In March and April 2011, security forces arrested dozens of protest leaders, including Ibrahim Sharif, leader of the leftist National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad) and Shaikh Muhammad Ali al-Mahfoodh of the Islamic Action Society (Amal).
• In April 2011, the Bahrain Defense Force shut down Wa’ad and blocked its website for more than two months on charges of “defaming the armed forces and spreading false news.” 
•  In June 2011, a special military court convicted Sharif and 20 other protest leaders—seven in absentia—and sentenced them to prison terms of up to life imprisonment for offenses relating to the exercise of freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
• In July 2012, a court dissolved the Amal political society for failing to “convene a general conference for more than four years” and “taking its decisions from a religious authority who calls openly for violence and incites hatred.”

Under Bahrain’s Workers Trade Union Law (33/2002), workers can establish trade unions without prior official approval, although authorities do not let public sector workers create unions. This report shows how the law and other government regulations impose numerous restrictions on the right to strike and prohibit strikes in “vital and important facilities” such as “security, civil defense, airports, ports, hospitals, transportations, telecommunications, electricity and water facilities” and near “bakeries, all means of transporting people and goods, educational establishments and oil and gas installations.”

In 2011, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa amended the Trade Union Law to allow more than one trade union federation in Bahrain, a move many unionists consider to be retribution for the call by the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) for mass labor strikes during the February-March pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011. After the amendment came into force in March 2012, government loyalists established the Bahrain Free Labour Unions Federation (BFLUF). The new federation has accused the GFBTU of being a political tool of the opposition groups. The king’s amendment also granted the minister of labor the power to decide which trade union confederation will engage in collective bargaining at the national level and represent Bahrain in international meetings and events.

Draft Law of Associations

In February 2013, Human Rights Watch obtained a copy of the 2012 Draft Law on Civil Organizations and Institutions (Draft Law of Associations) that the government adopted in August 2012. It needs approval from both National Assembly houses—the elected Chamber of Deputies and appointed Shura Council—and King Hamad’s signature to become law. It was not clear at time of writing when the house would approve the law, or when the king would sign it into law.

The draft law, which the government sent to parliament in January 2013 without consulting or informing local organizations, follows years of failing to pass draft legislation that would liberalize the process of forming and running civil society organizations.

Several of its provisions are even more draconian than the current 1989 law. They include increasing the required number of founding members from 10 to 15. The current law does not require applicants to provide operation budgets, but the draft law requires an organization seeking to register to have a “two year operational budget” and to provide evidence that it has a physical office.  Similarly the current law does not prohibit applicants from seeking to register a dissolved NGO. The draft law prohibits any effort “to revive another NGO that was dissolved or merged into another organization.”

International and Bahraini Law

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Bahrain is party, clearly establishes the rights to freedom of association and participation in public affairs.

The ICCPR does allow for some narrow restrictions on the right to freedom of association that are necessary for the protection of “national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals” and these restrictions are subjected to a rigorous test. For example the term “national security” and “public safety” refer to a situation involving immediate and violent threat to the entire nation.

Bahraini laws and regulations do not adequately guarantee the right to freedom of association as set out in in the ICCPR. Bahraini authorities have decreed and drafted laws that significantly narrow the opportunities for establishing and operating political and civic associations and trade unions, and unduly restrict their capacity to function.

Necessary Steps

Human Rights Watch calls on the Bahraini government to amend existing laws and draft legislation that allow the government to control and suppress the legitimate activities of NGOs, labor unions, and political groups and to prosecute their leaders and members for exercising their right to freedom of association. These include:

Releasing all leaders and activists with opposition NGOs and political societies who have been jailed solely for the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and expunging their convictions.

• Amending the 2012 Draft Law of Associations to bring it into conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by lifting broad restrictions and prohibitions on the right to freedom of association except for legitimate reasons defined under article 22 (2) of the ICCPR.  
• Amending article 4 (4) of the Political Societies Law (No. 26/2005) to abolish the overly broad provision that prohibits establishing political societies on the basis of “class, sect, geography, profession, religion, language, race or sex.”
• Respecting and promoting the rights of workers by amending the Workers Trade Union Law (Law 33/2002) to allow public sector workers to create and join trade unions in accordance with Bahrain’s obligations under the ICCPR.

Human Rights Watch also urges the government to consult with civil society, including opposition groups and political societies, when amending current association-related laws and proposing new legislation. Only by ceasing unjustifiable interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of association can the government meet its obligations under international human rights law.