On 21 June 2021, Bahrain Center for Human Rights’ advocacy officer, Asma Darwish, participated in an online side event to the 47th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) dedicated to the use of torture and the lack of accountability in Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Speaking also at the event was Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture; Alaa Affash of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM); Mustafa Saadoon of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR); and Michael Khambatta representing Julia Legner of ALQST for Human Rights. The event was moderated by Weaam Youssef of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and Gerald Staberock of the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT), who gave the opening and closing remarks respectively.
Weaam Youssef of GCHR started the event by taking a moment of silence for ALQST Executive Director Alaa Al-Siddiq who passed in a tragic traffic accident. Youssef introduced the theme of the event and emphasized the importance of accountability for accusations of torture, especially in the six states that are highlighted in this panel.
UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on Torture Nils Melzer started off by stating that “even in times of crisis, there cannot be any situation in which torture is lawful, justifiable, and in that sense, not be a crime…but in all parts of the world torture still happens.” Nelzer underscored that in all these countries, there has been a lack of due process and an arbitrary use of anti-terrorism laws “which in [his] view already violates the prohibition of torture…and contributes to a culture of impunity.” Similar to the situations in the other countries, previous UN SRs on Torture have tried to visit Bahrain in 2012 and 2013, but the Bahraini authorities postponed their visits at the last moment. In his own mandate as the SR, Nelzer has submitted over 20 communications to Bahrain, but they have been unresponsive. On the other hand, Nelzer commended the Iraqi government for inviting him to visit their detention centers and assess the conditions there on-site.
BCHR’s Asma Darwish highlighted the difficulty of interviewing victims of torture in Bahrain, particularly due to fear of reprisal by the Bahraini government. BCHR’s report found that there has been a policy of torture in Bahrain and impunity has been the norm with regard to those cases of torture. Darwish explained that almost everyone who was arrested after the 2011 pro-democracy protests in Bahrain have been subjected to various levels of torture or ill-treatment, physical and psychological. Aside from the victims detailed in BCHR’s report (linked here), there is a lot more that has yet to be uncovered that occurred behind prison walls. And without external pressure, Bahrain’s culture of impunity will persist.
Alaa Affash of SCM pointed out that torture has several short- and long-term implications on the victims’ physical and emotional health. One victim interviewed by SCM said that she became infertile after she was tortured. When asked why she didn’t seek help afterward, she said, “I have no trust in them” and that the medical professionals in prison were extremely inhumane, “like executioners.” Moreover, Alafash recalled that one survivor said that because of the stigma surrounding torture, it was better to be convicted of prostitution so they would be disowned by the community.
Mustafa Saadoon of IOHR noted that torture has become systematic or at least semi-systematic in Iraq during the past seven decades. They anticipated the use of torture to cease after the end of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, but it continued nonetheless. 17 years later, Iraqi authorities have not resolved this issue or held those responsible accountable. He further recalled that in 2018, a teenager was killed due to torture and that IOHR found that there was a persistent lack of due process and did not allow families or even UN officials visit Iraqi detention centers.
Michael Khambatta from GCHR spoke on behalf of Julia Legner of ALQST for Human Rights, who couldn’t attend today. Khambatta explained that because Saudia Arabia does not have a penal code, judicial outcomes depend wholly on its judges’ interpretation of Sharia law. Moreover, ALQST has documented new methods of torture in recent years by squads of people directly connected to the crown prince in both official and unofficial detention spots. Namely, they found that female victims were physically and sexually assaulted, which was previously unheard of. The organization called for, among other things, a new penal code, to enshrine the principles in the UN Convention against Torture in the national legislature, and the launch of an investigation into all accusations of torture.
In concluding the event, Gerald Staberock of OMCT reaffirmed the importance of the prohibition of torture with regard to human rights defenders and the significance of SRs being allowed to verify on-site the replies from governments about cases. Staberock finished the event on a positive note, stating that Iraq’s invitation to the SR on Torture may set a precedent for state transparency with SRs in the future.
View the full event here.