13 September 2013, Geneva
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights, the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights, and the Bahrain Human Rights Society express their highest gratitude to Her Excellency, Ms. Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in regards to her remarks delivered on Bahrain during the opening statement at the Human Rights Council 24th Session.
We would like to affirm our support for the High Commissioner’s calls for Bahrain to fully comply with its international human rights commitments. We agree that the cancellation of the scheduled visit by the Special Rapporteur on Torture is regrettable, and also wish to see full implementation of the reforms recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. We agree with the High Commissioner that cooperation between the Government of Bahrain and the OHCHR is disappointing, and call for an end to the delays preventing the OHCHR follow-up mission.
Our deepest thanks are also extended to Switzerland for their leadership in crafting a joint statement on the human rights situation in Bahrain, and the BCHR also sincerely thanks the countries of Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay for supporting human rights in Bahrain.
This joint statement is the third such issued from the international community, and it has never been clearer that the international community is aware and deeply concerned over the human rights situation in Bahrain. However, as the situation in Bahrain continues to deteriorate, it is equally clear that the authorities in Bahrain will not cease to commit human rights violations unless they are presented with consequences for their actions. The Bahrain Center for Human Rights therefore encourages the international community to continue to increase the pressure on the Government of Bahrain by bringing forth a resolution during the 25th session of the Human Rights Council.