Bahrain Should Make Further Commitment to Human Rights if Elected to UN Rights Council

In a letter to UN member states, a coalition of international NGOs joins Bahraini NGOs in urging the Bahrain government to commit, if elected, to a series of benchmarks demonstrating its commitment to the protection of human rights both nationally and internationally.

On the international level:

to support broad and equal attention by the Council to all serious human rights situations around the world, including through existing permanent agenda items, special sessions, new mandates, and other Council mechanisms,
to play a constructive role in the UPR process, by conducting an equal and objective assessment of the human rights records of all states, regardless of regional, cultural, or geo-political ties,
to support the further strengthening of and cooperation with the special procedures, both country-specific and thematic,
to support the independence of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights,
to support further strengthening the effective role of NGO’s in the councel and its mechanisms,

On the national level:

to schedule the implementation of all voluntary commitment stated by Bahrain government in its report and its statement to the HRC Universal Periodic Review this year,
to remove reservations on the ratified treaties, namely; ICERD (art. 22) Individual complaints (art.14), ICESCR (art. 8(1)(d)), ICCPR (arts. 3, 9(5), 14(7), 18 and 23) Inter-state complaints (art.41), CEDAW (arts. 2, 9(2), 15(4), 16, 29(1)), CAT (art. 30(1)) Inter-state complaints (art. 21): Individual complaints (art. 22), CRC-OP-AC (art. 3(2)),
to ratify other core treaties and instruments, namely: ICCPR-OP, ICCPR-OP, OP-CEDAW, OP-CAT, ICRMW, CPD, OP-CPD, CED, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Conventions on Refugees and Stateless Persons, Protocol III of Geneva Conventions, ILO Fundamental Conventions No 87, 98 and 100, and UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education,
to submit due and overdue reports to UN treaty bodies, namely: CERD periodic reports due in 2007, HR Committee Initial report due in 2007, CAT periodic report due in 2007, CRC periodic reports overdue since 2004, CRC-OP-AC and CRC-OP-SC Initial reports overdue since 2006,
to fully cooperate with UN Special Procedures including; responding to all letters of allegation and urgent appeals and questionnaires on thematic issues within the deadlines,
to fully implement the recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (visited BAH in 2001) and the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons (visited BAH in 2006),
to respond positively and promptly to any request for visit by UN Special Procedures, including the standing request by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and the expected request by the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders,
to react positively and concretely to the CRC’s 2002 concluding observations including providing information on serious allegations of torture and arbitrary arrest of persons under 18 and to investigate effectively all cases of torture by police officers or other government officials and bring the perpetrators to justice,
to react positively concretely to CAT’s 2005 conclusions and recommendations including; the full insurance of the independence of the judiciary, the lack of a comprehensive definition of torture in domestic law, the blanket amnesty extended to all alleged perpetrators of torture or other crimes by Decree No. 56 of 2002, the lack of redress available to victims of torture, to ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism, including the law, complies with international human rights law, the inadequate safeguards available to detainees, including access to external legal advice while in police custody, to medical assistance and to family members, and lack of access by independent monitors to all places of detention without prior notice, notwithstanding assurances by Bahrain that it will allow access to civil society organizations.
to react positively and concretely to CERD’s 2005 conclusions and recommendations including; to take measures to give effect to the provisions of the ICERD, to incorporate in domestic law a definition of racial discrimination that includes the elements set forth in article 1 of ICERD, to provide statistics on cases of application of relevant provisions of domestic legislation concerning racial discrimination, the disparate treatment of, opportunities afforded to, and discrimination faced by, members of some groups, in particular the Shia, and to provide information on concrete steps taken to ensure that everyone, without distinction based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, enjoys the right set out in Art 5 of ICERD,
to react positively concretely to CERD’s request to maintain dialogue with all civil society organizations, including those critical of its policies, and to requests and concerns of SRSG on the situation of human rights defenders including; that the decision to dissolve the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights was an attempt by the authorities to silence human rights defenders in the country, the use of criminal charges such as “encouraging hatred of the State” and “distributing falsehoods and rumors” frequently implies the risk of suppressing legitimate free speech particularly when such charges are raised against a person for having denounced alleged human rights violations, the heaviness of the alleged sentences for defamation which is still a criminal offence in the country, to provide information on certain human rights activists and on any charges brought against them, to review the Law on Societies and other relevant regulations to ensure that Bahrain’s legislation adequately protects the right of persons to freely organize to defend human rights.
to investigate and provide redress and safeguards in regard to the shared concern of three UN mandate holders with respect to the alleged disproportionate use of force by the Bahraini security forces when dispersing peaceful demonstrators where many of the demonstrators were reportedly beaten and some required hospital treatment.
to take serious steps regarding notes by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, together with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, that; Bahrain does not have a codified family law that stipulates clear and equitable norms on divorce or child custody, judges can decide cases according to their personal interpretation of Sharia, reported failures to take into account clear evidence of violence against women.
to take serious steps regarding allegations raised by CERD and UNHCR of substantial prejudice against women migrant domestic workers, their working conditions, and their lack of protection under the Labor Code.
to respond positively and concretely to the concern and request by CERD and UNHCR that Bahraini woman is unable to transmit her nationality to her child when she is married to a foreign national, and that a foreign man is unable to acquire Bahraini nationality in the same manner as a foreign woman. To consider modifying these provisions and ensure that particular groups of non-citizens are not discriminated against with regard to access to citizenship or naturalization.
to establish the national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles as recommended by CAT and CERD.

Signatories:

Democracy Coalition Project, Dokhi Fassihian, Acting Executive Director
Africa Democracy Forum, Franck KAMUNGA, Coordinator
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Moataz El fegiery, Executive Director
Humanus International, Dieudonné Zognong, President,
FORUM-ASIA, Giyoun Kim, UN Advocacy Programme Manager
The Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, Humberto Guerrero, Advocacy Director
Defense International – Norway
International Justice Network, USA
CARAM – ASIA
African Centre, Hannah Forster
The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists – Egypt
East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP), Hassan Shire Sheikh, Executive Director
Yemen Women Journalists – MOF
TAKAMUL Youth Regional Network
The National Society for Democracy and Law – Palestine
Political Development Forum – Yemen
Earth Centre for Human Rights – Egypt
Yemen Organization for the defense of Rights and Freedoms
The Arab Centre for the Independence of Lawyers and Judges – Egypt
National Commission for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) –Yemen
Damascus Centre for Studies and Civil Rights – Syria
Yemen Monitor for Human Rights –Yemen
Human Rights First – Saudi Arabia
Women Journalist Without Restrictions – Yemen
Human Security Initiative – Sudan
Social Democratic Forum- Yemen
The Andean Commission of Jurists (Comision Andina de Juristas) – Peru
Human Rights Watch, Peggy Hicks, Global Advocacy Director