Reports

Report and campaign launch: Bahrain – Advancing Democracy: ‘A hope that is achievable’

Posted on by Salam Media
01
Nov

This report comprises research conducted between October 2023 and September 2024

Up to the end of October 2024, the Government of Bahrain (GoB) had released around 2,000 individuals from detention, including those subject to ‘open prison’ and’ ‘alternative sentencing’ arrangements. This number included tens of activists and others who were detained on political charges. While human rights groups have hailed these releases as a positive step, the broader situation of civil and political rights in Bahrain remains dire. The reality indicates a re-invigorated and increasing silencing of dissent in a regional context where rule of law has been weakened. It does not have to be this way.

On 30 October 2024, Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) published the findings of research conducted in Bahrain between October 2023 and September 2024 about the adherence by the government of Bahrain to Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It provides for the right of citizens to participate in public affairs and take part in free and fair elections.

The report marks the start of an initiative to ensure that the general election expected in Bahrain in late 2026 fulfills the right of people to participate in public affairs and is as inclusive and participatory as possible. The initiative is predicated on the idea that inclusive and participatory democracy is the key to reducing human rights violations in Bahrain.

The 30 October 2024 launch event featured a panel discussion with Joey Shea, Researcher at Human Rights Watch; Bahraini political and human rights activist, former head of the National Democratic Action Society, or Wa’ad and commentator, Ebrahim Sharif ; former Bahraini parliamentarian and writer, Ali al-Aswad; Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN; Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Shenandoah University in the United States, Dr Staci Strobl; former United Kingdom MP for the Scottish National Party, Martyn Day along with SALAM DHR researcher, Dr Andrew McIntosh.

Jawad Fairooz, Director of Salam for Democracy and Human Rights stated:

“The many hundreds who took part in the research in Bahrain clearly told us that unless their elected representatives truly represent them; and the government listens to their concerns, they feared that growing disengagement could end the government-imposed, securitised calm. It does not have to be this way. Advancing democracy, before the 2026 elections is, as one participant said, ‘a hope that is achievable’.”

SALAM DHR’s research reveals that the legitimacy and resilience of Bahrain’s governing institutions face increasing public scrutiny and opprobrium. The government’s long-standing practice of imposing an uneasy peace through laws and practices that repress the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly risks falling apart and alienating whole communities. Participants expressed concern over a return to the pattern of cyclical unrest that many experienced in Bahrain between 1975-6; 1979-83; 1994-99; 2008-10 and since 2011. Evidence gathered in this project indicates that public confidence in the elected House of Representatives and the wider Bahraini government is low: many Bahraini appear to believe that a more responsive and effective elected House could improve the overall human rights and socioeconomic situation. The voices of women and younger Bahrainis, in particular, are largely absent in public discourse. 

Extensive, in-depth and multi-sourced evidence indicates that concrete measures to open civic space, enabling citizens to participate in a meaningful way in public affairs in advance of the 2026 elections, is key to reducing human rights violations in Bahrain, which will ultimately help improve social stability and build a more secure future for all Bahrainis. Such measures include decisive measures to end unlawful, arbitrary bans on members of opposition parties and others from partaking in the political process; including individuals released from prison in election processes?; and a transparent state-led campaign to involve all sectors of society in open debate and engagement in public affairs. 

The research carried out by SALAM DHR comprised: 

  • A survey to which 308 provided responses. It set out people’s views about the conduct and power of the elected House of Representatives (HoR); the responsiveness of the government and democracy in the country; 
  • Three, themed, in-person roundtable discussions in Bahrain, drawing in around 150 people; 
  • A further four, themed online sessions involving around a further 200 people;
  • The staging of 2 public webinars on issues relating to the project, engaging around 1000 each time; 
  • A systematic assessment of the conduct and working of HoR and its members, including by attending the informal, open-house gatherings many public figures routinely hold, called majlis; 
  • A systematic assessment of how the government engaged with citizens and legislation enacted; and
  • A routine and broad-based assessment of government-licensed media to assess how columnists and news coverage portrayed the HoR, its members and their work; government engagement and expression of people’s concerns.

While the findings comprise a spectrum of opinion, many hundreds of Bahrainis from across the country, confessional and professional communities and age groups told the project team that neither the government nor HoR and its members listened to them and certainly did not reflect their concerns over – for example – living standards, employment opportunities, wage levels, housing or access to social services. In this regard, the findings exhibit a cross-community convergence of frustration and alienated dissatisfaction that merits, if not demands government attention. A total of 76% of those who participated in the 308-respondee survey said that the National Assembly – the two chambers of parliament – and the executive branch of the Government of Bahrain (GoB) do not work together to meet citizens’ needs; 84.6% said they were not confident in the ability of the elected HoR to hold the executive to account while 74% expressed some form of dissatisfaction with HoR member’s engagement with survey participants, as citizens and members of the electorate while 86.3% claimed that members of the HoR do not represent their interests.

SALAM DHR could not find a single instance in which the GoB – the Cabinet – expressly consulted the public in relation to the development of legislation or other aspects of its administration. The evidence depicts governance as asymmetrical, top-down. The Cabinet exhibited a highly deferential attitude towards the King and its own Prime Minister. It lauded and enacted royal directives, eclipsing legislation developed by the voice of the people: the HoR.

Research findings in relation to the HoR frame the institution as legally weak and fragmented. It cannot hold the executive to account. While functional, its members were divided, inexperienced, at times unaware of their duties or powers. They were unwilling or unable to criticize the executive or make use of its limited accountability mechanisms. Members adopted a consultative role to government rather than crafting legislation of their own. The 2017 ‘political isolation’ laws that bans former political associations and prohibits individuals from standing for election or even voting further undermines the perceived legitimacy of the HoR. Individual HoR members engaged poorly with constituents, irrespective of their political outlook and poorly reflected citizens’ concerns in the HoR. Citizens, too, displayed misapprehension about the HoR. Findings found widespread pessimism amongst the electorate about the elected HoR. However, in the research period, HoR members increasingly engaged with constituents and government-licensed media increasingly carried articles that held the HoR to account and a public discourse of accountability in governance emerged. 

From 2025 onward, SALAM DHR will engage with the GoB to set out the merits of democratic reform, and argue that ensuring citizens’ participation in public life can and will reduce a spectrum of human rights violations. We will call upon Bahrain’s international partners to persuade the authorities that democratic reform will improve security of all Bahrainis and reduce human rights concerns. SALAM DHR seeks concrete change in advance of the late 2026 general election.

Bahrain is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights (ICCPR). Article 25 of the ICCPR guarantees the right of citizens to participate in public affairs, vote, and access public services.

 

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  • 1 The themes were: (1) National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP); (2) the UPR process; (3) the National Institution for Human Rights in Bahrain (NIHRB)
  • 2 The themes were (1) Participation in public affairs; (2) the 2030 and 2050 Economic Visions; (3) Role of civil society organizations in public affairs; (4) Right to Participation in Public Affairs
  • 3 Webinars were: (1) “13 years after unprecedented unrest, do Bahrainis have a voice?’’ and (2) “Does the existence of ‘parliaments’ in the Gulf states mean that citizens really have a voice in public affairs?”
  • 4 United Nations – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted 16 December 1966 under General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI). Article 25 states that:”Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors; (c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country.” See: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights Accessed 7 Oct. 2024