Review 2008

Roland — 2009-10-20T09:36:53Z

Bahrain was reviewed on the 7th of April of 2008. The troika consisted of Slovenia, the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.

National Report

. A/HRC/WG.6/1/BHR/1 A, C, E, F, R, S. Additional Information: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

OHCHR Compilation of UN information:

. A/HRC/WG.6/1/BHR/2 - A, C, E, F, R, S

OHCHR Summary of stakeholders' information:

. A/HRC/WG.6/1/BHR/3 - A, C, E, F, R, S

NGO submisions

*. NGO*
Asian Centre for Human Rights	E	1
Amnesty International	E	1, 2
Front Line	E
Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children	E
HAQ: Movement for Liberty and Democracy	E	1, 2, 3
Human Rights Watch	E
International Federation for Human Rights	E
Interfaith International	E
International Lesbian Gay Association	E
Islamic Human Rights Commission	E
National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture	E	1, 2, 3
Reporters Without Borders	E, F

Review in the Working Group – 7 of April 2008

. Summary by ISHR

. UN press release

. Full webcast . For the webcast per speaker, see here.

For statements in writing, see the OHCHR extranet.

Report of the Working Group

. A/HRC/WG.6/1/BHR/4: Report adopted "ad referendum"

Adoption of the Report of the Working Group – 9 April 2008

. Full webcast:
Part 1. For the webcast per speaker, see here.
Part 2. For the webcast per speaker, see here.

Adoption of the Report in the plenary - 9 June 2008

. A/HRC/8/52: Report of the eight session of the Human Rights Council

. UN press release (French).

. Webcast of the plenary. For the webcast by speaker, see here.

. Statement by Bahrain

. The following States took the floor: Algeria,Slovenia (on behalf of the EU), Tunisia, Qatar (on behalf of the Arab Group), Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Switzerland.

For all the statements made by States, see the OHCHR extranet.

The following observers took the floor:

. Bahrain Women Association (BWA)

. Declaración adjunta: Front Line, The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

The following NGOs submitted a written statement:

. Bahrain Women Association (BWA)

. OMCT

. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)+ Corrigendum

Final outcome

. A/HRC/8/19 - A, C, E, F, R, S : final report

. A/HRC/8/19/Corr - A, C, E, F, R, S : Corrigendum

Recommendations analysis and their answers by UPR Info

. List of all the recommendations made to Bahrain and its responses to them.

News articles and NGO analysis on the review

. Gulf Daily News, New laws to ensure equality are urged, 15 December 2009.

Follow-up: Statements under item 6

Bahrain

. 11th HRC session - 12 June 2009

“After the adoption of our UPR report, we have developed an Action Plan. We delegated the UNDP for its management and a governmental budget was allocated. Our Action Plan is based on four principles: transparency, participation, cooperation, adhering to results.

A Steering Committee was also formed with all stakeholders engaged with Human Rights: governmental bodies, NGOs, human rights institutions and associations, labour unions, transparency institutions, women associations and others.”

. 14th HRC session - 11 June 2010

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present here Bahrain's second annual progress report which represent the kingdom's commitment to continue in the implementation of UPR recommendations and voluntary pledges. I will start by stating that human rights in the kingdom of Bahrain are an integral part of our vision 2030. Our only asset is our human capital. We are the true wealth of our country. This report will hopefully provide an insight of the achievements made by the kingdom of Bahrain following the adoption of its 2008 UPR report. Since 2008 the kingdom of Bahrain has sought to fulfill the recommendations put forward by this Council as well as Bahrain's own voluntary commitments and pledges. This was possible thanks to an Action Plan that focused on five main outputs: The first one is the creation of a human rights database; second the implementation of human rights obligations in line with international human rights standards; third the application of a human rights approach to our development program; fourth setting up a national system for the promotion and protection of human rights and fifth the strengthening of Bahrain's national system for the promotion and protection of human rights and its normative framework. The Action Plan was our guide to achieve the goals of Bahrain's seat for itself in the human rights domain and today I am proud to say that in the past two years Bahrain has accomplished much of what it has pledged. Most significantly in 2009 Bahrain has established its National Human Rights Institution according to Paris Principles and most recently has appointed chairman and members. The creation of the National HR Institution was set to strengthen human rights in the kingdom of Bahrain. Also in 2009 Bahrain adopted its first Family La Section 1, however not complete and the Kingdom is making efforts towards the adoption of Section 2 of the Law. Bahrain also launched the first report of the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking which includes legislative developments and the measures and decisions taken by government agencies and capacity building for staff of government agencies and areas of cooperation with the UN and international organizations in addition to the issues of trafficking in persons. This step comes within the framework of Bahrain's realistic and responsibility of this problem as a global phenomena, no country is immune from its threats. In the past two years the government of Bahrain together with UNDP and the National UPR Steering Committee has worked on numerous capacity building programmes for both governmental and non governmental officials. Also, thanks to the support of many organizations, such as OHCHR, UNESCO, UNICEF, Amnesty International, WHO, APT, ICRC and others, the report is a compilation of the efforts made by kingdom of Bahrain in improving, promoting and protecting human rights with the ambition to achieve further in the years to come.”

NGOs

. 14th HRC session - 11 June 2010

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies:

“Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies expresses concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Bahrain sine its UPR review in April 2008. In a positive development, migrant workers in Bahrain are now allowed to move from one sponsor to another. However the sponsorship system itself, form of exploitation that is reminiscent of slavery, has not been abolished. One of the major commitments made by Bahrain during its review was to cooperate more with the UN Special Procedures. Yet since 2006 no Special Rapporteur has visited Bahrain, including the SR on migrants who requested a visit 5 years ago. CIHRS welcomes Bahrain's UPR Progress Report for 2010 and urges all States to adopt this good practice. Concerning section 2 of this report dealing with Bahrain's obligations in line with International Human Rights Convention , including efforts to combat discrimination. Discrimination on the grounds of gender and religion continues to occur in Bahrain in a systematic manner. Shiites face clear and severe discrimination by the government of Bahrain. Although they constitute the majority of the native population (two-thirds), they occupy less than 15% of senior positions in the Kingdom. The freedom of Shiites to practice their religious rites is restricted by government decrees that limit freedom of religion in Bahrain. Women in Bahrain continued to be denied the ability to quire citizenship for their children in cases where the father is not Bahraini. The government has increased persecution of independent civil society institutions, particularly humen rights groups. Some have been banned, their activities restricted and their members harassed and tortured. To begin to address these human rights challenges we encourage the National Human Rights Institution of Bahrain to seek accreditation with the International with the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions in order to validate adherence to the Paris Principles.”

Human Rights Watch :

“Human Rights Watch welcomes the update to the HRC given by Bahrain during the 11 session on 11 of June 2010 on the follow-up process established at the national level for the implementation of its UPR recommendations. Bahrain had announced that reforms had been launched on the labor market. The revision of Bahrain's restrictive sponsorship system beginning in August 2009 improved the status of some migrant workers by allowing them to change employers more freely . But the protection should be extended to migrant domestic workers who are especially vulnerable to employer abuse. Bahrain should also pass a new labor law, with a monitoring mechanism that effectively safeguards domestic workers from exploitive practices and abuse. Bahrain has also included the fight against torture in its voluntary pledges stating that “ there are no cases of torture in the Kingdom”. However Human Rights Watch documented in a rep0rt released in February 2010 that between late 2007 and mid 2009, security officials again have used torture and ill-treatment particularly during the interrogation of security suspects. To date, Bahrain has failed to conduct credible investigations into these allegations or prosecute those responsible. Human Rights Watch calls the government of Bahrain to report on cases of torture or ill-treatment in light of its statement during its UPR. Human Rights Watch is also concerned about restrictions on civil society organizations, including those working on human rights issues."

Follow-up: Reports

Bahrain

. Progress report 2010 - A, E on the status of implementation of recommendations and pledges.

UPR-Info.org

Review 2008

National Report

OHCHR Compilation of UN information:

OHCHR Summary of stakeholders' information:

NGO submisions

Advance Written Questions

Review in the Working Group – 7 of April 2008

Report of the Working Group

Adoption of the Report of the Working Group – 9 April 2008

Adoption of the Report in the plenary - 9 June 2008

Final outcome

Recommendations analysis and their answers by UPR Info

News articles and NGO analysis on the review

Follow-up: Statements under item 6

Follow-up: Reports