UN report praises Bahrain’s progress
Published: 11th March 2008
BAHRAIN is being urged in a United Nations human rights report to scrap its amnesty for officials allegedly involved in abuses before February 2001.
The UN Human Rights Council praises Bahrain for stamping out such abuses, but criticises the “blanket amnesty” for previous alleged violations.
There should be no “immunity for officials who have perpetrated or acquiesced in torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment”, says an advanced, unedited version of the council’s Universal Periodic Review.
UN report praises Bahrain’s progress
Published: 11th March 2008
BAHRAIN is being urged in a United Nations human rights report to scrap its amnesty for officials allegedly involved in abuses before February 2001.
The UN Human Rights Council praises Bahrain for stamping out such abuses, but criticises the “blanket amnesty” for previous alleged violations.
There should be no “immunity for officials who have perpetrated or acquiesced in torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment”, says an advanced, unedited version of the council’s Universal Periodic Review.
It recommends that Royal Decree 56, for 2002, which grants amnesty to officials accused of committing any such violations before February 2001, be amended to remove their immunity.
The report criticises the lack of redress available to alleged victims and the absence of a comprehensive definition of torture in domestic law.
It also recommends that the country incorporates into law a definition of racial discrimination and considers setting up a National Human Rights Institution.
The report welcomes the adoption of the National Action Charter in 2001 and the establishment of an inter-ministerial anti-trafficking taskforce, to develop a national plan against human trafficking.
But the document also expresses concern about reported discrimination among the Shi’ite community in obtaining their economic, social and cultural rights.
The UN report says the absence of a Family Law means there are concerns that a “considerable number” of women could be trapped in violent relationships because they fear having to renounce child custody, or property rights, in order to be granted a divorce.
It notes the significant achievement in the status of women in recent years, but expresses concern about discrimination against women and children born out of wedlock and certain vocational courses at secondary level that are restricted to one sex.
Workers
The plight of migrant domestic workers is also criticised, including their working conditions and exclusion from local labour laws.
UN officials in Bahrain declined to comment on the advanced report until they had seen it themselves.
Bahrain last month submitted its official report in Geneva to the UN Human Rights Council, which is reviewing the 20-page document and is expected to publish its findings early next month.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Nazar Al Baharna unveiled the country’s human rights review, which he billed as a four-year action plan to improve civil liberties in the country.
He also rejected claims by rights activists that Bahrain had breached 11 separate UN commitments, including those to improve freedom of expression, the right to justice for victims of crimes, the rights of migrant workers and the right to hold peaceful demonstrations.
The Bahrain Human Rights Society and now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights have already submitted a joint shadow report to the Human Rights Council and the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.
geoff@gdn.com.bh
——————————————————————————–
© Gulf Daily News
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/story.asp?Article=211212&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30357
