SALAM DHR report suggests that the UK needs to do more to promote democratic reform in Bahrain

London, Monday 8 June 2026

SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) will launch a major new report today, examining the United Kingdom’s relationship with Bahrain and its impact on human rights, raising serious questions about whether more than a decade of UK engagement has contributed to meaningful reform or instead reinforced a system of repression and impunity.

The report, Behind Closed Doors: An analysis of the UK’s impact on human rights in Bahrain, will be launched at a parliamentary event in the UK’s House of Lords in Westminster, due to be attended by parliamentarians, policymakers, diplomats, researchers and civil society representatives.

Drawing on an extensive analysis of UK diplomacy, security cooperation, trade policy, institutional support programmes and individual human rights cases, the report concludes that successive UK governments have prioritised strategic, economic and security interests over human rights concerns, despite repeated public commitments to promoting reform in Bahrain.

The report finds that, since the Bahraini authorities’ suppression of the pro-democracy uprising in 2011, the country has experienced a sustained deterioration in civil and political rights. Opposition groups have been dissolved, independent media outlets closed, political leaders, religious scholars, and human rights defenders remain imprisoned, and allegations of torture, unfair trials and impunity continue to be documented by international organisations and human rights groups. This deterioration has occurred alongside the continued provision of multi-faceted support by the UK to their Bahraini counterparts.

The report further highlights a significant escalation in restrictions on freedom of expression during 2026, with Bahraini authorities reportedly detaining at least 300 individuals in connection with online expression, protests and political activities linked to regional developments and the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

Among its key findings, the report concludes that:

• UK engagement has failed to produce measurable or lasting improvements in Bahrain’s human rights record;
• UK security cooperation and institutional support have continued to Bahraini institutions despite these bodies being widely accused of a wide variety of human rights abuses, or of systematically covering up or whitewashing these violations;
• Human rights concerns have been largely absent from UK-Bahrain trade negotiations, including the recently concluded UK-GCC Free Trade Agreement;
• The UK has adopted an inconsistent approach to public advocacy on behalf of imprisoned Bahraini opposition figures, activists and prisoners of conscience, in comparison to the efforts undertaken to secure justice for prisoners from other countries;
• Bahraini individuals and activists in the United Kingdom continue to face concerns relating to transnational repression, including intimidation and surveillance.

The report argues that the UK’s longstanding policy of constructive engagement has not delivered the reforms often cited by officials and calls for a fundamental reassessment of the relationship.

SALAM DHR recommends that the UK Government condition security and financial assistance on measurable human rights benchmarks, increase transparency around programmes supporting Bahraini institutions, incorporate enforceable human rights protections into trade agreements, and adopt a more consistent and public approach to raising individual human rights cases.

Commenting ahead of the launch, Alex Buckham, SALAM DHR’s Head of UK Advocacy, said:

“For years, UK officials have argued that close engagement with Bahrain provides an opportunity to encourage reform. Our findings suggest that this approach has failed to deliver meaningful progress and, in some cases, has helped legitimise institutions and practices associated with serious human rights violations. As Bahrain continues to restrict political participation and freedom of expression, it is vital that UK policy is subjected to greater scrutiny and is aligned with the human rights principles the UK Government claims to uphold.”

The report will be formally presented during a launch event hosted by SALAM DHR on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, in Westminster. The event will feature a presentation of the report’s findings, a panel discussion and audience questions exploring the future of UK-Bahrain relations and the role of human rights in British foreign policy.

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