On Wednesday 10 December 2022, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) approved the recommendation of the Committee on NGO Affairs’ to grant the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) for Special Human Rights to the Council, after the Center met international standards and requirements for NGOs. This comes in accordance with Article 71 of the Charter of the United Nations, which states that “The Economic and Social Council may make appropriate arrangements for consultations with non-governmental bodies dealing with questions and issues within its competence.”
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights’ obtaining this status will enable it to participate effectively in the work of the Council and United Nations bodies, as well as enable it to make oral interventions in the Council and organize side human rights events, in addition to other privileges that qualify it to represent human rights issues globally.
Nedal Al-Salman, Director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, expressed her happiness with this decision, which will give the Bahrain Center for Human Rights the opportunity to represent victims of violations in Bahrain globally. She also thanked the international organizations that supported the center to obtain this status and the organizations that worked to lift the ban on the center, which lasted for almost 7 years. Al-Salman also praised the efforts of the United Nations, which always bear fruit in reforming the human rights situation in general.