Bahrain UPR Political and Civil Rights

Introduction

1. SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights provides this submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Political and Civil Rights in Bahrain.
2. Bahrain was previously reviewed during the 1st, 13th and 36th sessions of the UPR, in 2008, 2012 and 2017 respectively.
3. The right to participate in public affairs and the administration of a country is a basic right for that country’s nationals, which is affirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its 21^st article and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in its 25^th
4. This right is neither a privilege nor gift from a ruler; it is an inherited right that cannot be violated under any pretext.
5. In this report, SALAM DHR will review the reality of political participation in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
6. Several of the sources referenced in this report are official Bahraini legal documents. For that reason, only Arabic copies were available. Every effort was made to acquire English translations but sources in Arabic have been cited where this was not possible.