Amnesty Int'l: Bahrain: UN human rights review must spur action not ho
 

21-09-12 07:56 AM

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19 Sep 2012
A new United Nations review of the human rights situation in Bahrain will have been a hollow exercise unless the Gulf kingdom follows it up with real action to implement its recommendations, Amnesty International said.
On Wednesday the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the outcome of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Bahrain – a four-yearly report card on the country’s human rights record.

Bahrain’s government has fully accepted more than 140 out of the 176 recommendations stemming from the review, including measures aimed at releasing prisoners of conscience, bolstering fair trial guarantees and investigating human rights violations committed during and after last year’s massive pro-reform protests.
“We’ve already seen Bahrain pledge human rights reform on the world stage – after the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, made up of international experts, published its findings last year – but the sad reality is that such pledges remain hollow without real action to back them up,” said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.
“Unless Bahrain’s government now puts into practice the UPR’s recommendations at the national level, this will have been just a hollow box-ticking exercise.”
Freedom of expression and fair trials
Among the UPR’s recommendations accepted by the Bahraini government were 16 measures related to fair trial guarantees – including the release of those behind bars for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Despite repeated assurances by the Bahraini government to respect the rights to freedom of expression and association, numerous prisoners of conscience remain behind bars and recent weeks have seen a renewed clampdown on these freedoms.
Earlier this month, Bahrain’s High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld harsh sentences against 13 prisoners of conscience.
And in August, human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested and faces a litany of charges – including tearing up a picture of the King – while human rights defender Nabeel Rajab was handed a three-year prison sentence for merely exercising his right to freedom of expression and association.
Torture allegations
The Bahraini government accepted 11 recommendations to investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of those detained after protests in 2011 – and to bring those responsible to justice.
While the Bahraini authorities have sentenced three police officers for abuses and recently brought charges against several others, the vast majority of alleged abusers have evaded justice so far.
Amnesty International calls on the Bahraini authorities to ensure accountability where human rights violations took place, and to make public the outcome of any investigations into allegations of torture and killings by the security forces.
Legislative reform
Bahrain’s government accepted 22 of the UPR’s recommended changes to national legislation, but rejected nine proposed legal amendments which would bring national law in line with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Amnesty International said the rejection was a regrettable move that will deny justice to victims of grave human rights violations. The government also rejected recommendations relating to the abolition of the death penalty.
The organization also urged the Bahraini authorities to remove vaguely worded provisions in national law that could still be used to criminalize the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.
“By continuing to place wide restrictions on political associations and to arrest scores of people who take place in peaceful demonstrations, Bahrain’s authorities are flagrantly violating their international human rights obligations,” said Luther.
“Taking the UN’s recommendations at face value and implementing real change is an urgent first step to remedying the dire human rights situation in the Gulf kingdom.”
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11/054/2012
20 September 2012
Bahrain’s acceptance of key UPR recommendations welcome, but implementation must follow Human Rights Council adopts Universal Periodic Review outcome on Bahrain In its views on the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) during the 21st session of the UN Human Rights Council, Bahrain expressed its acceptance of 156 recommendations - 143 of them fully and 13 of them partially - out of the 176 made during the UPR in May 2012.1 Amnesty International today welcomes the Bahraini government’s acceptance of these key UPR recommendations. However, the organization is concerned that continuing human rights abuses in the country and the limited nature of steps towards accountability risk making the exercise appear a hollow one.
Amnesty International welcomes the acceptance by the government of the 16 recommendations related to fair trial guarantees, including the release of those behind bars for exercising their right to freedom of expression.2 However, Amnesty International remains concerned that, despite repeated assurances by the Bahraini government that the rights to freedom of expression and association are respected, not only do prisoners of conscience remain behind bars but in the past few weeks there has been a further clampdown on these freedoms. In September, the High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld harsh sentences imposed on 13 prisoners of conscience, among them Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Ebrahim Sharif; and in August, human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested and now faces trial for, among other things, tearing up a picture of the King. In August human rights defender Nabeel Rajab received a three-year prison sentence for merely exercising his right to freedom of expression and association.
Amnesty International welcomes the government’s support of the 11 recommendations to investigate allegations of torture and other ill- treatment of those detained after protests in 2011 and to prosecute those found responsible.3 However, Amnesty International is concerned that the authorities have not taken significant enough steps towards justice and accountability, despite the sentencing of three security officers for abuses and recently announced charges brought against several others for alleged mistreatment of prisoners. So far the outcome of investigations into allegations of torture and killings has not been made public and the number of officers suspected of abuses who are on trial remains very low.
While Amnesty International welcomes the government’s acceptance of 22 recommendations to amend national legislation, 4 the organization regrets the government’s rejection of nine
1 A/HRC/21/6/Add.1, paragraph 4. 2 A/HRC/21/6, paragraphs 115.91, 115.98, 115.100, 115.101, 115.114-115.118, 115.122, 115.23, 115.125, 115.126, 115.30, 115.146, 115.159 (Slovakia, United States of America, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Norway, Mauritania, Australia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Switzerland). 3 A/HRC/21/6, paragraphs 115.84-115.88, 115.92, 115.106, 115.108, 115.111, 115.112, 115.121 (Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Maldives, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Finland). 4 A/HRC/21/6, paragraphs 115.21-115.27, 115.30, 115.32,115.33, 115.88, 115.90, 115.92, 115.99, 115.146, 115.148, 115.149, 115.151, 115.153, 115.154, 115.157, 115.160 (Belgium, Spain, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Mexico, Ireland, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Maldives, Korea, Canada, France, Norway, Chile, Austria, Estonia, Netherlands, Costa Rica).
recommendations to align national legislation to the Rome Statute .5 Furthermore, Amnesty International is concerned that Bahraini law still contains vaguely worded provisions that can be used to criminalize the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bahrain is a party. Political associations have been widely restricted and only able to organize political rallies on very limited occasions. Scores of people have been arrested in recent months for participating in demonstrations.
Amnesty International also regrets the government’s rejection of recommendations pertaining to the abolition of the death penalty.
The UPR of Bahrain will have been a hollow exercise if the government does not act to give effect to recommendations at the national level. The international community also has an important role – it must take a stand on Bahrain’s continued human rights abuses and lack of accountability.
Background The UN Human Rights Council adopted the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain on 19 September 2012 during its 21st session. Prior to the adoption of the review outcome Amnesty International delivered the oral statement above. Amnesty International had earlier submitted information on the situation of human rights in Bahrain: amnesty.org/en/library..
Public Document International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK www.amnesty.org
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