Human rights in Bahrain
Encyclopedia
Bahrain's record on human rights
has been described by Human Rights Watch
as "dismal", and having "deteriorated sharply in the latter half of 2010".
The government of Bahrain has been accused of marginalizing the majority Shia Muslim
population, torturing and mistreating political prisoners to extract confessions, blocked websites and blogs associated with the legal opposition, and harassment of human rights defenders. The crackdown on protesters during the 2011 Arab Spring has brought further human rights complaints, including the destruction of dozens of long-standing Shiite mosques.
On 29 June 2011, King Hamad established the Royal Independent Investigation Commission to examine the episodes of civil disobedience and alleged human rights offences committed in the aftermath of the February 2011 protests.
According to a 2011 report by Human Rights Watch
, between 2007 and 2009, the government regularly practiced torture and ill-treatment in interrogating security suspects. Although government spokesmen have issued denials, there is no evidence of criminal investigations and the government has not imposed disciplinary measures on the alleged perpetrators.
In 2011 Human Rights Watch found evidence protections for migrant workers have improved.
, Yitzhak Nakash, Counterpunch, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, etc.) to have used the term “apartheid” in describing it.
at the end of the eighteenth century.
According to Yitzhak Nakash, the invasion and conquest led by the Al Khalifa family in 1783 started an illegitimate occupation, establishing a system of "political apartheid based on racial, sectarian, and tribal discrimination."
According to Vali Nasr
, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
the Sunni élite treats Shi'ites as an underclass, limiting them primarily to manual labor and denying them a fair share of state resources. "For Shi'ites, Sunni rule has been like living under apartheid."
, Bahrain is practicing
According to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, while the Shiites exceeds 70% of the population, "they occupy less than 18% of total top jobs in government establishments. In several government ministries and corporations no Shiite is appointed in leading jobs."
Jobs in the police and armed forced are reserved for Sunni. Sunni Muslims from favored tribes are admitted to Bahrain as citizens to fill these jobs.
Shiites and "some Sunnis of Persian origins", are banned from residing in the city of Riffa, where only the Sunni Muslims are permitted to live.
According to Human Rights Watch
, Bahrain's personal status law (Law 19/2009), adopted in 2009 and marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance cases, applies only to Sunnis although women's groups believe that it should treat all citizens equally.
There are also concerns of the Bahraini government's systematic efforts to diminish the Shia majority by promotion of immigration of Sunni Muslims and granting them citizenship. According to Dr. Saeeid Shahabi, a London-based journalist, "there is the problem of political naturalization. The ruling family -- similar to the Apartheid regime in South Africa, where you had a minority ruling a majority -- wants to change the demographic situation of the country."
There was a flurry of race hate messages sent to naturalized Bahrainis from third world countries after opposition political leaders alleged that immigration was tantamount to ‘cultural genocide’. In November 2006, Al Ayam published a collection of threats sent to naturalized citizens warning that they would have to ‘choose between the suitcase and the coffin’, promising ‘Death and fire are your destiny’ and another warned that the author hated all naturalized Bahrainis, "You are detested. You have taken from us, the sons of Bahrain, our homes, jobs and education opportunities. You will face the same destiny as the Egyptians in Iraq [after the end of the Iraq-Iran war]. It will be nails, hammers and a coffin. Your destiny is near."
, former editor of the Bahraini newspaper Alwasat,
the Voice of Bahrian
,
Saeed Shahabi
of the Bahrain Freedom Movement
,
Iranian Press TV
,
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof,
Irshad Manji,
Shibil Siddiqi, Ameen Izzadeen, Ben Cohen, Professor Staci Strobl, Ali Akbar Salehi
, the Foreign Minister of Iran.
In 1996 the UK newspaper The Guardian
stated that, "if Bahrain is to preserve its reputation as a financial and service center in the Gulf, then the government must begin to forge a new national consensus and end the apartheid against the Shi'ites".
In 1997 Joe Stork
of Human Rights Watch
, reported that the apartheid practiced against the Shia by the government appeared to be "worsening."
called for a boycott of the October 23 election to the Bahraini Council of Representatives on the grounds that participation would be "tantamount to accepting the unjust sectarian apartheid system."
An estimated 1000 Bahrainis have been detained since the uprising and Bahraini and international human rights groups have documented hundreds of cases of torture and abuse of Shia detainees. According to csmonitor.org, the government has gone beyond the crushing of political dissent to what "appears" to be an attempt to "psychologically humiliating the island’s Shiite majority into silent submission."
The Royal Independent Investigation Commission was established on 29 June 2011 by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to assess the incidents that occurred in the Kingdom during the period of unrest in February and March 2011 and the consequences of these events. The Commission is expected to report its findings by 30 October 2011.
), elected by universal suffrage, and the upper chamber, the (Shura Council), appointed directly by the King
. Those represented in the Shura Council include members of Bahrain's Christian and Jewish communities.
The Prime Minister
and government ministers are not elected. They are appointed directly by the King, but ministers can be removed by parliamentary no-confidence votes. The current Prime Minister, Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah
, is the King's paternal uncle and has been in office since 1970. Twelve of the twenty-three cabinet ministers appointed in November 2006 are members of the Al Khalifa
royal family.
Bahrain has a complex civil society, which pre-date the reforms introduced by King Hamad, and has its roots in the emergence of the labour movement and the development of an educated middle class in the 1930s. According to a 2006 study on civil society in Bahrain by the European University Institute
, Voices in Parliament, Debates in Majalis, Banners on the Street: Avenues of Political Participation in Bahrain:
For the average politically active Bahraini, there are usually a number of outlets according to the European University Institute
:
The government’s moves to join international treaties protecting human rights have often been opposed by parliament. The initial attempt to get parliamentary ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
was blocked in February 2006 on the grounds that leading MPs said contradicted Islamic laws. Al Menbar Bloc president Dr Salah Abdulrahman complained that the covenant would allow citizens to change religions without any restrictions, noting "This means that Muslims could convert to another religion, something against the Islamic law, since those who do so should be beheaded," he said. "Under the convention, women have the right to marry without their father's consent, while in Islam they should do so if she was a virgin".
It was not until June 2006 that a second attempt was made to ratify the country’s accession to the Covenant, meaning that Bahrain did not formally accede to the treaty until September 20, 2006.
Civil society has been prominent in supporting specific legislation promoting human rights through parliament. One recent campaign is the call for Bahrain’s government to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is being led by the Bahrain-branch of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and wants the government to transfer the draft bill on ratification to parliament at the earliest. The Bahraini Coalition for the ICC is headed by Nasser Burdestani (who is also the head of the Bahrain-branch of Amnesty International
), who commented:
Citing the role that Bahrain plays in the region and the domino effect, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court Co-ordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, Amal Basha, said Bahrain's ratification could have a significant impact among the neighbouring Persian Gulf countries: "We believe that Bahrain could serve as a real catalyst by ratifying as soon as possible," she said. "It would provide a serious boost to the growing world movement to ensure accountability for the worst violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
noted in 2004 that the Penal Code gives the government "wide latitude to suppress public criticism" and that it "has provisions that contradict international human rights standards". Amnesty International
in 2004 stated the Code can be used "as a justification to restrict freedom of expression. The organization reiterates its call for the Code to be reviewed as soon a possible to ensure compliance with international human rights standards."
According to Human Right Watch 2011 country report and the international press, freedom of the press both in print and on web sites is severely with websites blocked, journalists allegedly tortured and editors fired.
Internet censorship in Bahrain is classified as pervasive in the political and social areas, as substantial in Internet tools, and as selective in conflict/security by the OpenNet Initiative
in August 2009. Bahrain is on Reporters Without Borders
' countries under surveillance by RWB in 2011.
On 5 January 2009 the Ministry of Culture and Information issued an order (Resolution No 1 of 2009) pursuant to the Telecommunications Law and Press and Publications Law of Bahrain that regulates the blocking and unblocking of websites. This resolution requires all ISPs - among other things - to procure and install a website blocking software solution chosen by the Ministry. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority ("TRA") assisted the Ministry of Culture and Information in the execution of the said Resolution by coordinating the procurement of the unified website blocking software solution. This software solution is operated solely by the Ministry of Information and Culture and neither the TRA nor ISPs have any control over sites that are blocked or unblocked.
, the Bahrain Migrant Workers' Protection Society, Bahrain Center for Human Rights and Bahrain Youth Human Rights Society have been closed or ordered to close.
According to Dr al-Bandar, the Minister paid five main operatives a total of more than $2.7 million to run:
payments for election rigging.
uprising and crackdown against Shia protest in Bahrain, "dozens" of Shia mosques have been leveled by the government according to a report in McClatchy newspapers. According to Shiite leaders interviewed by the reporter, work crews have often arrived "in the dead of night, accompanied by police and military escorts", to demolish the mosques, and in many cases, have hauled away the buildings' rubble before townspeople awake so as to leave no trace. Sheikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdulla al Khalifa, the minister of justice and Islamic affairs for Bahrain, defended the demolitions stating: "These are not mosques. These are illegal buildings." However the McClatchy reporter found that photos taken of several mosques before their destruction by the government "showed they were well maintained, decades-old structures."
, the son of Bahrain's spiritual Shi'a leader, Sheikh Abdul-Amir Al-Jamri and the spokesman of the Bahrain Freedom Movement
. The paper is as broadly sympathetic to the Shia Islamist opposition, particularly Ali Salman
. Akhbar Al Khaleej
has traditionally been close to Bahrain's Left and Arab nationalist strands, featuring controversial columnists such as Sameera Rajab. Al Ayam is seen as solidly pro-government, with its proprietor an advisor to the King.
The Press Law 47 of 2002 has been strongly criticised as restrictive as it specifies criminal charges against those who criticise the head of state or Islam, or "threaten national security". However, discussion in the newspapers is often robust with journalists frequently criticising government ministers: for instance one newspaper recently criticised the Minister of Housing, Fahmi Al Jowder, for lavishing "ludicrous praise" on the King.
In October 2006, the Criminal Court issued a ban on the publication of any news, information or commentary on the series of allegations in the Bandargate scandal
, which has continued to date. In the following weeks, the Ministry of Information ordered Bahraini ISP
s to block several websites that violated the ban, include the websites of National Democratic Action
(liberal opposition political society), the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Arab Network for Human Rights Information. The block order was accompanied by press statements from the Ministry threatening the website owners with legal action.
Many political websites and blog
s are blocked by the government, and as of November 2005 the government requires all Bahraini websites are required to register with the Ministry of Information. In August 2006, Bahraini government authorities blocked internet access to Google Earth
and Google Video
. Receantly they have blocked the popular site anonymous.com
Liberal intellectuals in the press have faced concerted campaigns against them by Islamists. In 2005, hundreds of Shia Islamists protested outside the Al Ayam's offices after it published a cartoon on Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory; while a Sunni Islamist campaign against the paper's editor, Isa Al Shaygi, was condemned at a conference of the International Federation of Journalists
: “The vicious and unprovoked attack on a respected and distinguished colleague is an example of the intolerant and undemocratic character of extremist politics that is increasingly being used against the free press."
All broadcast media is owned and managed by the government. In 2005, three website administrators were arrested by security forces.
In July 2005, Human Rights Watch
said:
Despite this prediction, the European University Institute
, in its study of civil society in Bahrain in 2006, Voices in Parliament, Debates in Majalis, Banners on the Street: Avenues of Political Participation in Bahrain, found that:
Bahrain is the only country in the Middle East to have sacked a senior government minister as a direct result of a human rights issue. In 2004, when the security forces fired rubber bullets at a demonstration led by Shia religious leaders, King Hamad immediately fired the country’s longstanding Interior Minister (and member of the royal family) Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
While public demonstrations about various issues regularly take place, they have sometimes resulted in clashes between the police and youths. Fifteen Bahraini Shia activists were arrested between May 16 and 20 May 2007 following clashes the police. Thirteen remain in custody, (as of June 2007) according to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights. In response to the problem presented by violent protestors, the Serbia-based human rights group, the Centre for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies, has been invited to Bahrain to teach demonstrators how to demonstrate peacefully. Under the scheme begun in 2007, peace camps will be set up in various trouble spots where specialists will advise on using protest strategies that do not involve violence. It is expected that a thousand youths will go through the training scheme.
The Interior Ministry had to resist pressure in May 2007 from business leaders to ‘crack down’ on the rioters, as well as deal with concerns that local residents would take matters into their own hands and deal with the rioters themselves. Concerns about vigilantism resulted in a call by Central Municipal Council vice-chairman Abbas Mahfoodh for closer cooperation between politicians and the Interior Ministry to stamp out rioting, after residents of the town of Tubli confronted and chased away three masked men who allegedly planned to commit acts of sabotage using Molotov cocktail firebombs.
In a report issued in 2006, the "Arab Network for Human Rights Information" (a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange
) documented two cases of human rights activists being harassed by government authorities, through physical and sexual assaults, and fabricated cases.
However, these top-down reforms have proven contentious, with calls for reform opposed by conservatives and the royal family
. In 2002 the decision by King Hamad to grant women the right to vote and equal political rights with men was opposed by a majority of Bahraini women, with 60% of women surveyed saying they disagreed with the move. Salafists have publicly restated their opposition to women's participation in parliament, and none of the Islamist parties that dominate parliament has ever fielded a female candidate. One woman won a seat in parliament in 2006, although her victory in the sparsely populated constituency in the south of the country was seen by some as engineered by the government which wanted to see a woman represented in Council of Deputies.
A bill prompted by women's rights activists in 2005 to introduce a unified personal status law to protect women's rights in marriage, divorce and other family matters was opposed in a series of large-scale demonstrations organised by an alliance of salafists and Shia Islamists including Al Wefaq
and Asalah. The demonstrations (and the implicit threat of escalation by those who organised them) forced the government to withdraw the law and was seen as a major defeat for women's rights activists.
In response to sweeping poll victories by Islamists in 2006's election
, Amnesty International Bahrain
's head of campaigns, Fawzia Rabea, described the threat to women's rights as 'very serious' and called on women to do everything in their power to fight laws proposed by the new parliament that could limit their freedom. After newly elected Al Wefaq
MP, Sayed Abdulla Al A'ali, called for legislation to restrict women's employment rights by banning women from "male-orientated jobs", Ms Rabea said, "With this type of thinking I am sure we are facing a very big challenge with parliament. I am worried about this, it is very serious." Bahrain Women's Union president, Mariam Al Ruwaie, expressed surprised at the MP's suggestions, "This does not agree with His Majesty the King's reforms, which give women and men the same rights for education and work. In Bahrain's society women make up 26 per cent of the labour force, there are more girls in schools and universities than men and their results are better...I am worried because the parliament has not started and he [Mr Al A'ali] has said something like this. It is a bad start."
Ghada Jamsheer, the most prominent women's rights activist in Bahrain has called the government's reforms "artificial and marginal". In a statement in December 2006 she said:
Bahraini human rights groups say "hundreds of women have been detained" in recent weeks prior to 30 May 2011, "the first time in the wave of protests sweeping the Arab world that large groups of women have been targeted", according to analysts in the region.
annual report of 2006 unions are allowed to play an "effective role" with workers having the right to unionise. According to the ICTFU's annual report:
The ICFTU's main concern in its 2006 report was that a new labour law would be far more restrictive of worker's rights. The ICFTU commented:
A visiting delegate from the International Labour Organization
at a seminar in Bahrain on trade unionism, held under the patronage of the Labour Ministry, described some of Bahrain's labour laws as out of line with international standards. According to the ILO international labour standards department deputy director, Karen Curtis, the current rules governing where strikes can be held in Bahrain were too restrictive.
In response to the government’s labour reforms, Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, was invited as guest of honour to the International Labour Organisation’s 96th session, where he used the opportunity of addressing the conference to announce that the first regional dialogue on workers' issues would be held in Bahrain. "This will offer countries that recruit manpower and those that provide it an opportunity to engage in an open and honest discussion on the impact of globalisation." The ILO Director General Juan Somavia has described the Crown Prince as an innovator with a modern vision of commitment to change and a belief in dialogue. Somavia has noted that Bahrain had been one of the pioneers of Decent Work Country Programmes, beginning with a pilot programme in 2002.
In August 2009 Bahrain adopted Decision 79/2009 permitting guest workers, except for domestics, more freedom to change jobs. According to Human Rights Watch, as of 2011 many workers were unaware of this right.
In 2007, government passed legislation to ban construction and other outdoor work between noon and 4pm during the summer – the hottest times of the day. The vast majority of those involved in this type of work being expatriate labourers from the Indian sub-continent. The move was backed by a “massive” labour inspection campaign by the Ministry of Labour to ensure that companies obeyed the decision. The ban was criticized by construction companies saying that the government’s decision would delay their projects, but according to the Ministry of Labour, migrant workers' protection representatives and human rights activities have welcomed the move.
An ICFTU Annual Report 2006 found that "Foreign workers harshly treated":
Despite these reforms, Bahrain remains a Tier 3 country on the US State Department Trafficking in Persons report, the worst tier which means that these countries made little or no efforts to improve the situation.
and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, which have frequently been highly critical of one another, the Center accusing the Society of having been unduly close to government. Other NGOs active around 2008-10 included the Bahrain Youth Human Rights Society, the Women’s Petition Committee, the Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture, the Human Rights Office of the Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy
, the Committee for Citizenship-less and the Coordinating Committee for the Defence of Political Detainees.
As of 2011, several human rights NGOs, including at least the first three named above, had been closed or ordered to close, as was the Bahrain Migrant Workers' Protection Society.
, the Government announced plans to create a national human rights institution for Bahrain. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Foreign Ministry jointly organised a workshop in Manama, bringing in NHRI experts from Jordan
, Morocco
and Northern Ireland
to meet a wide range of Bahraini civil society. The NHRI was duly established by the King on 11 November 2009 through Royal Order No. 46/2009.
On 25 April 2010 Royal Order No. 16/2010 appointed 17 men and five women as the first members of the NHRI, including prominent human rights activists Salman al-Sayyid ‘Ali Kamal al-Din, the former deputy secretary-general of the independent Bahrain Human Rights Society, as president. While the appointments were initially welcomed by Amnesty International
, other NGOs including the Bahrain Center for Human Rights questioned the credibility and independence of the new institution. The Center alleged that several of the 22 nominees held government appointments or were linked to bodies accused by the Society of operating as government fronts or GONGO
s, such as the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society
, the Jurists Society and the Association of Public Freedoms and Human Rights.
On 6 September 2010 Salman Kamal al-Din resigned as president, in protest at the institution's failure to criticise the arrests of pro-democracy activists.
, Arab Press Freedom Watch Third Annual Conference, May 2004
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
has been described by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
as "dismal", and having "deteriorated sharply in the latter half of 2010".
The government of Bahrain has been accused of marginalizing the majority Shia Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
population, torturing and mistreating political prisoners to extract confessions, blocked websites and blogs associated with the legal opposition, and harassment of human rights defenders. The crackdown on protesters during the 2011 Arab Spring has brought further human rights complaints, including the destruction of dozens of long-standing Shiite mosques.
On 29 June 2011, King Hamad established the Royal Independent Investigation Commission to examine the episodes of civil disobedience and alleged human rights offences committed in the aftermath of the February 2011 protests.
Torture
Despite repeated government claims of improvement over the course of several years, there is evidence that torture is a regular part of the legal process in Bahrain.According to a 2011 report by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, between 2007 and 2009, the government regularly practiced torture and ill-treatment in interrogating security suspects. Although government spokesmen have issued denials, there is no evidence of criminal investigations and the government has not imposed disciplinary measures on the alleged perpetrators.
In 2011 Human Rights Watch found evidence protections for migrant workers have improved.
Oppression of Shia
Discrimination against Shia Muslims in Bahrain is severe and systematic enough for a number of sources (Time magazine, Vali NasrVali Nasr
Vali Nasr is a leading expert on Middle East and Islamic world, a best-selling author, influential commentator and Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings Institution, and a columnist for...
, Yitzhak Nakash, Counterpunch, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, etc.) to have used the term “apartheid” in describing it.
Origins
Over 70% of the population of Bahrain are Shia Muslims. The ruling Al Khalifa family, who are Sunni Muslim, arrived in Bahrain from KuwaitKuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
at the end of the eighteenth century.
According to Yitzhak Nakash, the invasion and conquest led by the Al Khalifa family in 1783 started an illegitimate occupation, establishing a system of "political apartheid based on racial, sectarian, and tribal discrimination."
According to Vali Nasr
Vali Nasr
Vali Nasr is a leading expert on Middle East and Islamic world, a best-selling author, influential commentator and Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings Institution, and a columnist for...
, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
the Sunni élite treats Shi'ites as an underclass, limiting them primarily to manual labor and denying them a fair share of state resources. "For Shi'ites, Sunni rule has been like living under apartheid."
Operation
According to Time MagazineTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Bahrain is practicing
According to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, while the Shiites exceeds 70% of the population, "they occupy less than 18% of total top jobs in government establishments. In several government ministries and corporations no Shiite is appointed in leading jobs."
Jobs in the police and armed forced are reserved for Sunni. Sunni Muslims from favored tribes are admitted to Bahrain as citizens to fill these jobs.
Shiites and "some Sunnis of Persian origins", are banned from residing in the city of Riffa, where only the Sunni Muslims are permitted to live.
According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, Bahrain's personal status law (Law 19/2009), adopted in 2009 and marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance cases, applies only to Sunnis although women's groups believe that it should treat all citizens equally.
There are also concerns of the Bahraini government's systematic efforts to diminish the Shia majority by promotion of immigration of Sunni Muslims and granting them citizenship. According to Dr. Saeeid Shahabi, a London-based journalist, "there is the problem of political naturalization. The ruling family -- similar to the Apartheid regime in South Africa, where you had a minority ruling a majority -- wants to change the demographic situation of the country."
Race and sectarian discrimination
Elections and the reconstitution of parliament have been accompanied by a strengthening of previously banned Islamist political societies, and policies advocated by them are now on the public agenda. Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s main Shia Islamist opposition party, has for several years tried to introduce racial segregation, calling for the removal of third world immigrants from predominately Bahraini areas. In 2004, the head of Manama City Council, Al Wefaq’s Murthader Bader, called for the introduction of racial segregation in the city with the removal of South Asian nationals to other parts of the country. Racial segregation it was argued would best address tensions between locals and third world expatriates that saw race riots against immigrants in March 2004. In 2006, the call was reiterated by Al Wefaq councillor Sadiq Rahma who said Asians 'make the neighbourhood dirty'. The move has been criticised by Bahraini human rights groups as a 'a violation of basic human rights'. After 2006’s elections, the party’s Abdullah Al A’ali used his parliamentary platform to call for legislation to restrict expatriate labour away from Bahraini families, saying "Labourers who now live in neighbourhoods with Bahraini families should be given a grace period to relocate before they face legal action."There was a flurry of race hate messages sent to naturalized Bahrainis from third world countries after opposition political leaders alleged that immigration was tantamount to ‘cultural genocide’. In November 2006, Al Ayam published a collection of threats sent to naturalized citizens warning that they would have to ‘choose between the suitcase and the coffin’, promising ‘Death and fire are your destiny’ and another warned that the author hated all naturalized Bahrainis, "You are detested. You have taken from us, the sons of Bahrain, our homes, jobs and education opportunities. You will face the same destiny as the Egyptians in Iraq [after the end of the Iraq-Iran war]. It will be nails, hammers and a coffin. Your destiny is near."
Criticism of the Baharaini apartheid system
Among the journalists, authors and human rights activists who have criticized Bahrain's system as apartheid are Mansoor Al-JamriMansoor Al-Jamri
Mansoor al-Jamri was born in Bahrain on 17 December 1961. He is the son of Bahrain's spiritual Shi'a leader, Sheik Abdul-Amir Al-Jamri.Mansoor is the Editor-in-Chief of the independent Bahraini daily newspaper Al Wasat...
, former editor of the Bahraini newspaper Alwasat,
the Voice of Bahrian
Bahrain Freedom Movement
Bahrain Freedom Movement is a London based Bahraini opposition group which has its headquarters in a north London mosque...
,
Saeed Shahabi
Saeed Shahabi
Saeed Shahabi, Saeeid Shahabi, Said Shehabi, is a London-based political activist, journalist, commentator and member of the Bahrain Freedom Movement...
of the Bahrain Freedom Movement
Bahrain Freedom Movement
Bahrain Freedom Movement is a London based Bahraini opposition group which has its headquarters in a north London mosque...
,
Iranian Press TV
Press TV
Press TV is a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Iranian government. Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran, with bureaux in Beirut , Damascus , London , Seoul and Washington DC ....
,
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof,
Irshad Manji,
Shibil Siddiqi, Ameen Izzadeen, Ben Cohen, Professor Staci Strobl, Ali Akbar Salehi
Ali Akbar Salehi
Ali Akbar Salehi is an Iranian politician, diplomat and academic and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 13 December 2010. Previous to his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 16 July 2009 to 13 December 2010...
, the Foreign Minister of Iran.
In 1996 the UK newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
stated that, "if Bahrain is to preserve its reputation as a financial and service center in the Gulf, then the government must begin to forge a new national consensus and end the apartheid against the Shi'ites".
In 1997 Joe Stork
Joe Stork
Joe Stork is an American political activist and Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch. He holds an M.A. in International Affairs/Middle East Studies from Columbia University.-Career:...
of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, reported that the apartheid practiced against the Shia by the government appeared to be "worsening."
Calls for a boycott
In 2010 the Al-Wafa Islamic Movement, Haq Movement and Bahrain Freedom MovementBahrain Freedom Movement
Bahrain Freedom Movement is a London based Bahraini opposition group which has its headquarters in a north London mosque...
called for a boycott of the October 23 election to the Bahraini Council of Representatives on the grounds that participation would be "tantamount to accepting the unjust sectarian apartheid system."
2011 uprising
In February 2011, the tensions between the Sunni ruling minority and the Shi'a majority spilled over into street protests which was violently suppressed by police forces, resulting in multiple civilian deaths. McClatchy Newspapers/csmonitor.com reported that as of mid-May 2011,Authorities have held secret trials where protesters have been sentenced to death, arrested prominent mainstream opposition politicians, jailed nurses and doctors who treated injured protesters, seized the health care system that had been run primarily by Shiites, fired 1,000 Shiite professionals and canceled their pensions, detained students and teachers who took part in the protests, beat and arrested journalists, and forced the closure of the only opposition newspaper.
An estimated 1000 Bahrainis have been detained since the uprising and Bahraini and international human rights groups have documented hundreds of cases of torture and abuse of Shia detainees. According to csmonitor.org, the government has gone beyond the crushing of political dissent to what "appears" to be an attempt to "psychologically humiliating the island’s Shiite majority into silent submission."
The Royal Independent Investigation Commission was established on 29 June 2011 by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to assess the incidents that occurred in the Kingdom during the period of unrest in February and March 2011 and the consequences of these events. The Commission is expected to report its findings by 30 October 2011.
Civil and political rights
Parliamentary and municipal elections take place every four years, since the restoration of elections in 2002, when women were also given the vote for the first time as part of reforms by King Hamad. Bahrain has a bicameral legislature with the lower chamber of parliament, the (Council of Representatives of BahrainCouncil of Representatives of Bahrain
The Council of Representatives , sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the main legislative body of Bahrain....
), elected by universal suffrage, and the upper chamber, the (Shura Council), appointed directly by the King
King of Bahrain
The King of Bahrain is the monarch and head of state of Bahrain. Between 1783 and 1971, the Bahraini monarch held the title of Hakim, and, from 1971 until 2002, the title of Emir...
. Those represented in the Shura Council include members of Bahrain's Christian and Jewish communities.
The Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Bahrain
In Bahrain, the Prime Minister is the head of government of the country. According to the Constitution of Bahrain, the Prime Minister is appointed directly by the King, and needs not be an elected member of the Council of Representatives....
and government ministers are not elected. They are appointed directly by the King, but ministers can be removed by parliamentary no-confidence votes. The current Prime Minister, Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah
Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah
Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa is the Prime Minister of Bahrain since 1971, hence is the longest-serving unelected prime minister in the world...
, is the King's paternal uncle and has been in office since 1970. Twelve of the twenty-three cabinet ministers appointed in November 2006 are members of the Al Khalifa
Al Khalifa
The Al Khalifa family is the ruling family of Bahrain. The Al Khalifa profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe that migrated from Najd to Kuwait in the early 18th century. They are also from the Utub tribe...
royal family.
Bahrain has a complex civil society, which pre-date the reforms introduced by King Hamad, and has its roots in the emergence of the labour movement and the development of an educated middle class in the 1930s. According to a 2006 study on civil society in Bahrain by the European University Institute
European University Institute
The European University Institute ' in Florence is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute established by European Union member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, in a European perspective...
, Voices in Parliament, Debates in Majalis, Banners on the Street: Avenues of Political Participation in Bahrain:
For the average politically active Bahraini, there are usually a number of outlets according to the European University Institute
European University Institute
The European University Institute ' in Florence is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute established by European Union member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, in a European perspective...
:
The government’s moves to join international treaties protecting human rights have often been opposed by parliament. The initial attempt to get parliamentary ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
was blocked in February 2006 on the grounds that leading MPs said contradicted Islamic laws. Al Menbar Bloc president Dr Salah Abdulrahman complained that the covenant would allow citizens to change religions without any restrictions, noting "This means that Muslims could convert to another religion, something against the Islamic law, since those who do so should be beheaded," he said. "Under the convention, women have the right to marry without their father's consent, while in Islam they should do so if she was a virgin".
It was not until June 2006 that a second attempt was made to ratify the country’s accession to the Covenant, meaning that Bahrain did not formally accede to the treaty until September 20, 2006.
Civil society has been prominent in supporting specific legislation promoting human rights through parliament. One recent campaign is the call for Bahrain’s government to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is being led by the Bahrain-branch of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and wants the government to transfer the draft bill on ratification to parliament at the earliest. The Bahraini Coalition for the ICC is headed by Nasser Burdestani (who is also the head of the Bahrain-branch of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
), who commented:
Citing the role that Bahrain plays in the region and the domino effect, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court Co-ordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, Amal Basha, said Bahrain's ratification could have a significant impact among the neighbouring Persian Gulf countries: "We believe that Bahrain could serve as a real catalyst by ratifying as soon as possible," she said. "It would provide a serious boost to the growing world movement to ensure accountability for the worst violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
Freedom of speech
The government claims that the press is free. However, the Penal Code of 1976, still active today, has been widely criticized by local and international human rights bodies for granting the regime widespread powers to suppress dissent. Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
noted in 2004 that the Penal Code gives the government "wide latitude to suppress public criticism" and that it "has provisions that contradict international human rights standards". Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
in 2004 stated the Code can be used "as a justification to restrict freedom of expression. The organization reiterates its call for the Code to be reviewed as soon a possible to ensure compliance with international human rights standards."
According to Human Right Watch 2011 country report and the international press, freedom of the press both in print and on web sites is severely with websites blocked, journalists allegedly tortured and editors fired.
Internet
OpenNet Initiative
The OpenNet Initiative is a joint project whose goal is to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employs a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigators, to determine the extent and nature of government-run...
in August 2009. Bahrain is on Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
' countries under surveillance by RWB in 2011.
On 5 January 2009 the Ministry of Culture and Information issued an order (Resolution No 1 of 2009) pursuant to the Telecommunications Law and Press and Publications Law of Bahrain that regulates the blocking and unblocking of websites. This resolution requires all ISPs - among other things - to procure and install a website blocking software solution chosen by the Ministry. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority ("TRA") assisted the Ministry of Culture and Information in the execution of the said Resolution by coordinating the procurement of the unified website blocking software solution. This software solution is operated solely by the Ministry of Information and Culture and neither the TRA nor ISPs have any control over sites that are blocked or unblocked.
Freedom of Association
According to the Human Right Watch 2011 country report, freedom of association is severely curtailed by an association law, "which prohibits organizations from involvement in political activities." The Bahrain Human Rights SocietyBahrain Human Rights Society
The Bahrain Human Rights Society was set up in 2002 following wide ranging political reforms by the Bahraini government to allow the functioning of independent human rights groups....
, the Bahrain Migrant Workers' Protection Society, Bahrain Center for Human Rights and Bahrain Youth Human Rights Society have been closed or ordered to close.
Bandar Gate
The Bandargate scandal refers to an alleged political conspiracy by the certain government officials in Bahrain to foment sectarian strife and marginalize the majority Shia community in the country. The conspiracy was allegedly lead and financed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and head of the Civil Informatics Organization and member of the Al Khalifa royal family. The allegations were revealed in September 2006, in a 240-page document produced by the Gulf Centre for Democratic Development, and authored by Dr Salah Al Bandar, an adviser to the Cabinet Affairs Ministry. Following the distribution of the report, Bahraini police forcibly deported Dr Al Bandar to the United Kingdom, where he holds citizenship.According to Dr al-Bandar, the Minister paid five main operatives a total of more than $2.7 million to run:
- a secret intelligence cell spying on Shi’as
- ‘GONGOs’ – government operated bogus NGOs like the ‘Bahraini Jurists Society’ and the ‘Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society’
- internet forums and websites that foment sectarian hatred
- subsidisation of ‘new converts’ from Shia Islamic sect to the Sunni sect
payments for election rigging.
Freedom of religion
The Constitution states that Islam is the official religion and that Shari'a (Islamic law) is a principal source for legislation. Article 22 of the Constitution provides for freedom of conscience, the inviolability of worship, and the freedom to perform religious rites and hold religious parades and meetings, in accordance with the customs observed in the country; however, the Government placed some limitations on the exercise of this right. The Government continued to exert a level of control and to monitor both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, and there continued to be government discrimination against Shi'a Muslims in certain fields. Members of other religious groups who practice their faith privately do so without interference from the Government. There were occasional reports of incidents between the Government and elements of the Shi'a majority population, who were often critical of the Sunni-controlled Government's rule. Problems continued to exist, stemming primarily from the Government's perceived unequal treatment of Shi'a in the country.Destruction of religious facilities
In the wake of the 2011 Arab SpringArab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
uprising and crackdown against Shia protest in Bahrain, "dozens" of Shia mosques have been leveled by the government according to a report in McClatchy newspapers. According to Shiite leaders interviewed by the reporter, work crews have often arrived "in the dead of night, accompanied by police and military escorts", to demolish the mosques, and in many cases, have hauled away the buildings' rubble before townspeople awake so as to leave no trace. Sheikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdulla al Khalifa, the minister of justice and Islamic affairs for Bahrain, defended the demolitions stating: "These are not mosques. These are illegal buildings." However the McClatchy reporter found that photos taken of several mosques before their destruction by the government "showed they were well maintained, decades-old structures."
Media and publication
Bahrain has eight daily newspapers representing a broad section of opinion. In 2002, Al Wasat was set up by Mansoor Al-JamriMansoor Al-Jamri
Mansoor al-Jamri was born in Bahrain on 17 December 1961. He is the son of Bahrain's spiritual Shi'a leader, Sheik Abdul-Amir Al-Jamri.Mansoor is the Editor-in-Chief of the independent Bahraini daily newspaper Al Wasat...
, the son of Bahrain's spiritual Shi'a leader, Sheikh Abdul-Amir Al-Jamri and the spokesman of the Bahrain Freedom Movement
Bahrain Freedom Movement
Bahrain Freedom Movement is a London based Bahraini opposition group which has its headquarters in a north London mosque...
. The paper is as broadly sympathetic to the Shia Islamist opposition, particularly Ali Salman
Ali Salman
Ali Salman is the president of the Al-Wefaq political society in Bahrain. He is a Twelver Shi'a cleric educated in Qom. In January 1995 the Bahraini government forcibly exiled him to Dubai for leading a popular campaign demanding the reinstatement of the constitution and the restoration of...
. Akhbar Al Khaleej
Akhbar Al Khaleej
Akhbar Al Khaleej is a Bahraini daily with a Left wing/Arab nationalist slant. Its editor in chief is Anwar Abdulrahman and it is the sister paper of the English language, Gulf Daily News....
has traditionally been close to Bahrain's Left and Arab nationalist strands, featuring controversial columnists such as Sameera Rajab. Al Ayam is seen as solidly pro-government, with its proprietor an advisor to the King.
The Press Law 47 of 2002 has been strongly criticised as restrictive as it specifies criminal charges against those who criticise the head of state or Islam, or "threaten national security". However, discussion in the newspapers is often robust with journalists frequently criticising government ministers: for instance one newspaper recently criticised the Minister of Housing, Fahmi Al Jowder, for lavishing "ludicrous praise" on the King.
In October 2006, the Criminal Court issued a ban on the publication of any news, information or commentary on the series of allegations in the Bandargate scandal
Bandargate scandal
The Al Bandar report refers to an alleged political conspiracy by the certain government officials in Bahrain to foment sectarian strife and marginalize the majority Shia community in the country...
, which has continued to date. In the following weeks, the Ministry of Information ordered Bahraini ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s to block several websites that violated the ban, include the websites of National Democratic Action
National Democratic Action
The National Democratic Action Society - Wa'ad is Bahrain's largest leftist political party. It emerged out of the Popular Front, a radical clandestine opposition movement of Maoist, socialist and Arab nationalist orientation...
(liberal opposition political society), the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Arab Network for Human Rights Information. The block order was accompanied by press statements from the Ministry threatening the website owners with legal action.
Many political websites and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s are blocked by the government, and as of November 2005 the government requires all Bahraini websites are required to register with the Ministry of Information. In August 2006, Bahraini government authorities blocked internet access to Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
and Google Video
Google Video
Google Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
. Receantly they have blocked the popular site anonymous.com
Liberal intellectuals in the press have faced concerted campaigns against them by Islamists. In 2005, hundreds of Shia Islamists protested outside the Al Ayam's offices after it published a cartoon on Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory; while a Sunni Islamist campaign against the paper's editor, Isa Al Shaygi, was condemned at a conference of the International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, is a global union federation of journalists' trade unions—the largest in the world. The organization aims to protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of journalists...
: “The vicious and unprovoked attack on a respected and distinguished colleague is an example of the intolerant and undemocratic character of extremist politics that is increasingly being used against the free press."
All broadcast media is owned and managed by the government. In 2005, three website administrators were arrested by security forces.
Public gatherings
New political freedoms mean that public political activity and demonstrations are a common occurrence: according to the Ministry of Interior’s figures there were 498 street demonstrations in 2006, up from 259 the previous year.In July 2005, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
said:
Despite this prediction, the European University Institute
European University Institute
The European University Institute ' in Florence is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute established by European Union member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, in a European perspective...
, in its study of civil society in Bahrain in 2006, Voices in Parliament, Debates in Majalis, Banners on the Street: Avenues of Political Participation in Bahrain, found that:
Bahrain is the only country in the Middle East to have sacked a senior government minister as a direct result of a human rights issue. In 2004, when the security forces fired rubber bullets at a demonstration led by Shia religious leaders, King Hamad immediately fired the country’s longstanding Interior Minister (and member of the royal family) Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
While public demonstrations about various issues regularly take place, they have sometimes resulted in clashes between the police and youths. Fifteen Bahraini Shia activists were arrested between May 16 and 20 May 2007 following clashes the police. Thirteen remain in custody, (as of June 2007) according to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights. In response to the problem presented by violent protestors, the Serbia-based human rights group, the Centre for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies, has been invited to Bahrain to teach demonstrators how to demonstrate peacefully. Under the scheme begun in 2007, peace camps will be set up in various trouble spots where specialists will advise on using protest strategies that do not involve violence. It is expected that a thousand youths will go through the training scheme.
The Interior Ministry had to resist pressure in May 2007 from business leaders to ‘crack down’ on the rioters, as well as deal with concerns that local residents would take matters into their own hands and deal with the rioters themselves. Concerns about vigilantism resulted in a call by Central Municipal Council vice-chairman Abbas Mahfoodh for closer cooperation between politicians and the Interior Ministry to stamp out rioting, after residents of the town of Tubli confronted and chased away three masked men who allegedly planned to commit acts of sabotage using Molotov cocktail firebombs.
In a report issued in 2006, the "Arab Network for Human Rights Information" (a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange
International Freedom of Expression Exchange
The International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
) documented two cases of human rights activists being harassed by government authorities, through physical and sexual assaults, and fabricated cases.
Women's rights and gender
King Hamad’s moves to promote women’s rights have been described by Amnesty International as representing a “New Dawn for Bahraini Women”. In 2002, women voted for the first time in national elections and were given equal political rights.However, these top-down reforms have proven contentious, with calls for reform opposed by conservatives and the royal family
Al Khalifa
The Al Khalifa family is the ruling family of Bahrain. The Al Khalifa profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe that migrated from Najd to Kuwait in the early 18th century. They are also from the Utub tribe...
. In 2002 the decision by King Hamad to grant women the right to vote and equal political rights with men was opposed by a majority of Bahraini women, with 60% of women surveyed saying they disagreed with the move. Salafists have publicly restated their opposition to women's participation in parliament, and none of the Islamist parties that dominate parliament has ever fielded a female candidate. One woman won a seat in parliament in 2006, although her victory in the sparsely populated constituency in the south of the country was seen by some as engineered by the government which wanted to see a woman represented in Council of Deputies.
A bill prompted by women's rights activists in 2005 to introduce a unified personal status law to protect women's rights in marriage, divorce and other family matters was opposed in a series of large-scale demonstrations organised by an alliance of salafists and Shia Islamists including Al Wefaq
Al Wefaq
Al Wefaq National Islamic Society , also known as the Islamic National Accord Association, is a Bahraini political society, and the largest party in the Bahrain, both in terms of its membership and its results at the polls...
and Asalah. The demonstrations (and the implicit threat of escalation by those who organised them) forced the government to withdraw the law and was seen as a major defeat for women's rights activists.
In response to sweeping poll victories by Islamists in 2006's election
Bahraini parliamentary election, 2006
Bahrain held parliamentary elections on 25 November 2006 for the 40-seat lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, as well as municipal elections. There was a 72% turnout in the first round of polling...
, Amnesty International Bahrain
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's head of campaigns, Fawzia Rabea, described the threat to women's rights as 'very serious' and called on women to do everything in their power to fight laws proposed by the new parliament that could limit their freedom. After newly elected Al Wefaq
Al Wefaq
Al Wefaq National Islamic Society , also known as the Islamic National Accord Association, is a Bahraini political society, and the largest party in the Bahrain, both in terms of its membership and its results at the polls...
MP, Sayed Abdulla Al A'ali, called for legislation to restrict women's employment rights by banning women from "male-orientated jobs", Ms Rabea said, "With this type of thinking I am sure we are facing a very big challenge with parliament. I am worried about this, it is very serious." Bahrain Women's Union president, Mariam Al Ruwaie, expressed surprised at the MP's suggestions, "This does not agree with His Majesty the King's reforms, which give women and men the same rights for education and work. In Bahrain's society women make up 26 per cent of the labour force, there are more girls in schools and universities than men and their results are better...I am worried because the parliament has not started and he [Mr Al A'ali] has said something like this. It is a bad start."
Ghada Jamsheer, the most prominent women's rights activist in Bahrain has called the government's reforms "artificial and marginal". In a statement in December 2006 she said:
Women in the 2011 crackdown
According to reports in NPRNPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
Bahraini human rights groups say "hundreds of women have been detained" in recent weeks prior to 30 May 2011, "the first time in the wave of protests sweeping the Arab world that large groups of women have been targeted", according to analysts in the region.
Labor
According to the International Confederation of Free Trade UnionsInternational Confederation of Free Trade Unions
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions , and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour to form the...
annual report of 2006 unions are allowed to play an "effective role" with workers having the right to unionise. According to the ICTFU's annual report:
The ICFTU's main concern in its 2006 report was that a new labour law would be far more restrictive of worker's rights. The ICFTU commented:
A visiting delegate from the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
at a seminar in Bahrain on trade unionism, held under the patronage of the Labour Ministry, described some of Bahrain's labour laws as out of line with international standards. According to the ILO international labour standards department deputy director, Karen Curtis, the current rules governing where strikes can be held in Bahrain were too restrictive.
In response to the government’s labour reforms, Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, was invited as guest of honour to the International Labour Organisation’s 96th session, where he used the opportunity of addressing the conference to announce that the first regional dialogue on workers' issues would be held in Bahrain. "This will offer countries that recruit manpower and those that provide it an opportunity to engage in an open and honest discussion on the impact of globalisation." The ILO Director General Juan Somavia has described the Crown Prince as an innovator with a modern vision of commitment to change and a belief in dialogue. Somavia has noted that Bahrain had been one of the pioneers of Decent Work Country Programmes, beginning with a pilot programme in 2002.
Migrant workers
According to Human Rights Watch, in as of 2011 there were more than 460,000 guest workers in Bahrain, many of whom experience prolonged periods of withheld wages, passport confiscation, unsafe housing, excessive work hours and physical abuse. Government protective measures are "largely ineffective."In August 2009 Bahrain adopted Decision 79/2009 permitting guest workers, except for domestics, more freedom to change jobs. According to Human Rights Watch, as of 2011 many workers were unaware of this right.
In 2007, government passed legislation to ban construction and other outdoor work between noon and 4pm during the summer – the hottest times of the day. The vast majority of those involved in this type of work being expatriate labourers from the Indian sub-continent. The move was backed by a “massive” labour inspection campaign by the Ministry of Labour to ensure that companies obeyed the decision. The ban was criticized by construction companies saying that the government’s decision would delay their projects, but according to the Ministry of Labour, migrant workers' protection representatives and human rights activities have welcomed the move.
An ICFTU Annual Report 2006 found that "Foreign workers harshly treated":
Despite these reforms, Bahrain remains a Tier 3 country on the US State Department Trafficking in Persons report, the worst tier which means that these countries made little or no efforts to improve the situation.
Human rights NGOs
There are several generic human rights NGOs in Bahrain, and other NGOs working in related fields such as women's rights, child rights and migrant labour. The two most prominent organisations have been the Bahrain Human Rights SocietyBahrain Human Rights Society
The Bahrain Human Rights Society was set up in 2002 following wide ranging political reforms by the Bahraini government to allow the functioning of independent human rights groups....
and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, which have frequently been highly critical of one another, the Center accusing the Society of having been unduly close to government. Other NGOs active around 2008-10 included the Bahrain Youth Human Rights Society, the Women’s Petition Committee, the Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture, the Human Rights Office of the Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy
Haq Movement
The Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy is an opposition political organization in Bahrain founded in 2005 with Hasan Mushaima as its Secretary general...
, the Committee for Citizenship-less and the Coordinating Committee for the Defence of Political Detainees.
As of 2011, several human rights NGOs, including at least the first three named above, had been closed or ordered to close, as was the Bahrain Migrant Workers' Protection Society.
National human rights institution
In 2008, during the Universal Periodic Review of its human rights record at the UN Human Rights CouncilUnited Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
, the Government announced plans to create a national human rights institution for Bahrain. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Foreign Ministry jointly organised a workshop in Manama, bringing in NHRI experts from Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to meet a wide range of Bahraini civil society. The NHRI was duly established by the King on 11 November 2009 through Royal Order No. 46/2009.
On 25 April 2010 Royal Order No. 16/2010 appointed 17 men and five women as the first members of the NHRI, including prominent human rights activists Salman al-Sayyid ‘Ali Kamal al-Din, the former deputy secretary-general of the independent Bahrain Human Rights Society, as president. While the appointments were initially welcomed by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, other NGOs including the Bahrain Center for Human Rights questioned the credibility and independence of the new institution. The Center alleged that several of the 22 nominees held government appointments or were linked to bodies accused by the Society of operating as government fronts or GONGO
GONGO
GONGO stands for Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organization, which may have been set up by governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid, or mitigate specific issues related to in-country work or international relations...
s, such as the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society
Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society
The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, is a Bahraini human rights organization established in November 2004 which claims to protect housemaids, and to fight for women’s rights....
, the Jurists Society and the Association of Public Freedoms and Human Rights.
On 6 September 2010 Salman Kamal al-Din resigned as president, in protest at the institution's failure to criticise the arrests of pro-democracy activists.
See also
- Bahrain Center for Human Rights
- Bahrain Human Rights SocietyBahrain Human Rights SocietyThe Bahrain Human Rights Society was set up in 2002 following wide ranging political reforms by the Bahraini government to allow the functioning of independent human rights groups....
- Bahrain Human Rights Watch SocietyBahrain Human Rights Watch SocietyThe Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, is a Bahraini human rights organization established in November 2004 which claims to protect housemaids, and to fight for women’s rights....
- List of Bahrain-related topics#Human rights in Bahrain
- Al Bandar report
External links
- Human Rights Watch: Bahrain
- Amnesty International: Bahrain
- Bahrain Center for Human Rights
- Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society
- Redress Trust: Bahrain
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange: Bahrain
- National Democratic Institute: Bahrain
- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005, US Department of State
- International Confederation of Free Trade Unions: Bahrain
- Arab Human Rights Index: Bahrain
, Arab Press Freedom Watch Third Annual Conference, May 2004
- Bahrain: Five years of lost opportunities, Proceeding of a seminar held under the auspices of Lord AveburyEric Lubbock, 4th Baron AveburyEric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, PC is an English politician. A Liberal Member of Parliament from 1962 to 1970, he succeeded as Baron Avebury in 1971...
, the Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group in the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, 15 December 2005 - Review of Bahrain by the United Nations Human Rights CouncilUnited Nations Human Rights CouncilThe United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
's Universal Periodic Review, April 7, 2008