Human Rights in the UAE: Insights from the Fourth Universal Periodic Review

Fourth Cycle UPR Overview During the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycle of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), numerous recommendations were made by states urging human rights reforms across various thematic areas, especially freedom of expression, death penalty, torture, independence of the judiciary and fair trial. In total, 323 recommendations were presented to the State[…]

Bahrain: Joint Letter on Human Rights Situation to Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council

Re: Upcoming 56th Session of the Human Rights Council   30 May 2024 Your Excellencies, Ahead of and during the upcoming 56th Session of the Human Rights Council, we urge you and your delegation to raise concerns over the human rights situation in Bahrain, particularly regarding the continued arbitrary detention of human rights defenders and[…]

Transnational repression: a tool that extends authoritarian government’s capacity for repression

Perhaps not-so-well-known, transnational repression constitutes a threat to human rights that has been going on for decades. The phenomenon, which entails governments reaching beyond their borders to silence or deter dissent by committing human rights abuses against their nationals or former nationals, has been extensively documented by Human Rights Watch. The 2018 murder and dismemberment[…]

Bahrain’s King’s Pardon: an act to hide the human rights violations

On Monday, April 8, 2024, Bahrain’s King issued a royal decree pardoning 1,584 prisoners  convicted of criminal and riot charges, making it the largest pardon since the  Arab Spring in 2011. This pardon was announced ahead of Eid al-Fitr,  a time when Muslims are encouraged to seek forgiveness and thus also a time when many[…]

ADHRB at HRC55: We urge the council to pressure Bahrain for the immediate release of human rights defenders before it is too late

On 21st March 2024, ADHRB delivered an intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 55 under item 4 during the General debate. ADHRB urged the council to pressure Bahrain for the immediate release of human rights defenders before it is too late. We draw the Council’s attention to the medical neglect endured by[…]