ADHRB has delivered an oral interventions at the resumption of the United Nation Human Rights Council 43 under item 6 of the General Debate raising concerns on the ongoing lack of UPR implementations in Bahrain.
Madam President
The UPR is a mechanism that a country can follow to assess how it has discharged its obligations towards its citizens and under international law.
Unfortunately, the Government of Bahrain has blatantly ignored the UPR process by not implementing the overwhelming majority of the recommendations. The human rights situation in the country is very concerning and the government has closed down any space for civil society or political opposition.
One of the main recommendations during Bahrain’s UPR was the call for the release of all political prisoners who have been arbitrarily detained for exercising their freedom of expression. The Human Rights Council should demand Bahrain, as a member of this body, to unconditionally release ALL political prisoners and to compensate them immediately for the damages caused by the Bahraini government.
Another important call during Bahrain’s UPR was the call for ACCOUNTABILITY against the widespread culture of IMPUNITY among senior officials in the country. No serious investigations have been conducted in cases of extrajudicial killings committed by members of the Ministry of Interior and other security officials in Bahrain. Officials such as Nasser bin Hamad Alkhalifa, Rashid bin Abdulla Alkhalifa, Talal bin Mohammad Alkhalifa, Hisham Alzayani and others have not yet been investigated for serious allegations of torture committed by them.
We call on the Council to ask Bahrain to investigate the crimes committed by these individuals and we demand that Bahrain fully implement all UPR recommendations.
