9 November 2005
About seventy representatives of civil society organizations from around the Middle East, meeting in Qatar, were outraged yesterday when the organizers informed them that the Bahrain Government might not allow Abdulhadi Alkhawaja to attend the Forum as their representative.
9 November 2005
About seventy representatives of civil society organizations from around the Middle East, meeting in Qatar, were outraged yesterday when the organizers informed them that the Bahrain Government might not allow Abdulhadi Alkhawaja to attend the Forum as their representative.
In there closing meeting yesterday, the participants in the human rights preparatory workshop for the Forum for the Future, insisted that Alkhawaja will continue to be apart of there six-representative-delegation to the forum, and they reflected there position and concerns in the Closing Statement along with there recommendations (see the attachment).
For more details:
You may contact: head of the delegation, Bahei eldeen Hassan, Gulf Hotel, Tel: +973 17713000, or Nabeel Rajab, vice-president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Mob.: +973 3963339
CLOSING STATEMENT ( Draft Translation)
Human Rights Workshop For Forum for The Future
Doha, 7-8 Nov 2005
The organizations and activities of civil community in Broader Middle East have met in the preparatory human rights forum on 7-8 Nov 2005 in Doha, the forum was organized by the National Human Rights committee (Qatar) and INTRAC Organization (U.K). The meeting had reached some of recommendations relating to support of the civil community role in the reform process from the legislative point of view as well as several mechanisms for realizing the targets.
First: The legislations
- Removing all legislative, administrative, security restriction regarding the establishment and activities of civil society readapting the related legislations according to the international standards, including the legislations for receiving funds from national and international sources.
- Removal of all legislative, administrative and security restriction regarding the establishment, management of political parties, information media, communication, freedom of information flow, opinion, expressions, creed, assembly and meeting with whatever means . Readapting of related legislations according to international standards.
- Termination of emergency state whenever effective. Cancellation of legislations and extraordinary courts.
Secondly: The Mechanisms
- Establishing “Forum for the Future Network of Civil Societies” in the region in order to represented in the forum, and follow up extent of progresses in reform process, to follow up the excellent of response of the government with civil community recommendations.
- Supporting the campaigns of awareness for the public opinion regarding the issues, priorities of human rights and reform. Parliamentary pressing groups to be formed for changing related legislations a cordoning to information standards.
- Establishment/ Supporting National institutions for human rights protection according to international standards.
The participants in the forum confirmed that the realization of reform process objectives in the region are hardly imagined to be executed without providing peaceful and safe environment. The G8 countries are required to bear their responsibilities to terminate immediately the Israeli occupation for Palestinian territories. Time schedule should be declared for withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq.
Finally,
The participating have condemned the objection of Kingdom of Bahrain government against the participation of the struggler/ Abdulhadi Al. Khawaja, the most distinguished defender for human rights in the Arab world and the director of Bahrain Centre for human rights to participate in the meetings of Forum for the Future. They expressed their surprise that the government of Kingdom of Bahrain had committed such assault on the human rights and rights of civil society originations in choosing their representative in a meeting whose priorities are issues of human rights and reform.
The civil society organizations don’t accept that any party shall VETO against their representative. They consider the collusion of other countries will destroy any remaining credibility of the Forum for the Future.