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The undersigned Organizations would like to kindly draw the council attention to the latest developments in Bahrain’s human rights situation.
The clampdown on freedom of expression has reached its highest point whereby those exercising such a right are constantly prosecuted, with many human rights defenders and activists imprisoned simply for posting on social media platforms such as Twitter. Prominent national and political figures Sheikh Ali Salman (Wefaq’s Secretary General), Ebrahim Sharif (former Wa’ad SG) and Majid Milad were arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned. This has been made possible by the gross exploitation of the judiciary to issue capricious punishments against opposition members.
The Bahraini Government has largely failed to properly implement the accepted recommendations posed by the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry (BICI) – November 2011. It has also failed to implement the accepted recommendations posed by the UNHRC in 2012, continued unlawful and grave violations against its people during times where continuous international condemnations and demands were being stressed. Such examples include the impunity provided to human rights abusers, and the Jaw Prison events of March 2015 that unfolded during the 29th Session of the UNHRC in Geneva.
Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly has yet to be granted admission to Bahrain since 2011. Similarly, the Bahraini authorities have prohibited the Special Rapporteur on torture from carrying out his mandated obligations by barring visits since 2011, while continuing the practice of torture in prisons and detention centres. These restrictions and limitations have been criticized by Switzerland during the latest HRC Session.
A number of violations have been closely documented from 2011 to 2014 of the human rights abuses occurring in Bahrain. These are mentioned as follows:
• 166 people have been killed, 4 of them are foreign nationals;
• 6816 unlawful house raids have been carried out by Police Forces;
• 2945 cases of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment;
• 400 unlawful violations against freedom of religion or belief;
• 8824 arbitrary arrests have been carried out by Police Forces;
• 260 women arrested; and
• 720 minors arrested
In addition to approximately 461 arbitrary arrests between March and May 2015, 452 torture and inhuman and degrading treatment cases were documented since the last UNHRC session.
With the increasing severity of the violations:
We urge you to nominate a Special Rapporteur to Bahrain due to the deliberate noncompliance with international obligations and agreements as well as the non-adherence to international processes. We also call for the establishment of a UN commissioned fact-finding committee to investigate the reported violations.
We ask you to significantly pressure the Bahraini authorities to ensure the BICI and UNHRC recommendations are expeditiously implemented, and to release all prisoners of conscience, mainly the prominent political and human rights figures at the forefront, without reprisals or obligations, and to stop targeting political societies and NGOs.
The signatory organizations are as follows:
Salam for Democracy and Human Rights
Justice Human Rights
Bahrain Human Rights Observatory
Bahrain Forum for Human Rights
European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights
Bahrain Human Rights Society
Lualua Center for Human Rights
Khiam Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture
International Center for Supporting Rights and Freedoms
Sentinel Defenders
International Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights
Amman Center for Human Rights Studies
Shia Rights Watch
Aman Network for the Rehabilitation and Defense of Human Rights
Gulf Civil Soceity Associations Forum
Al-Hakim Foundation
Organization for defending victims of violence
Mauritanian Association for the Promotion of Law
The Youth Association for Agriculture of Mali
Alliance creative community project Association
Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism