After the British rule, your country briefly experienced limited and partial democracy from 1972 to 1975. In 1975, the authorities suspended key articles of the Constitution and, as a consequence, the Parliament of Bahrain was dissolved and replaced by appointed " representatives ".
The Bahraini authorities periodically express their strong commitment to ensure respect for human rights in Bahrain, in international bodies such as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. However, the International Federation of Human Rights and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights from Bahrain (CDHRB), FIDH’s member organisation in Bahrain, have not noted in-depth improvment of the human rights situation in the country. The only significant step recently undertaken by the Bahraini authorities has been the ratification of the Convention against torture in 1998. Since Your Excellency has been ruling the country, only punctual measures have been taken, but serious and systematic human rights violations continue to occur.
In the past years, FIDH and CDHRB have been expressing their on-going serious concern about human rights violations to the Bahraini authorities.
Torture and ill-treatment are still practised routinely in the prisons. Since your country ratified the Convention against torture, there has been no adaptation of the country’s legislation and the Convention is far from being implemented.
Unfair trials of political opponents and human rights defenders before the State Security Court continue to be carried out in flagrant violation of the right to a fair trial, with harsh sentences, including death penalty and life imprisonment, sometimes imposed on minors.
The FIDH and the CDHRB are seriously concerned that arbitrary detention is a common practise in Bahrain. It includes minors as well as some political detainees who have completed their sentence. This alarming situation has led the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to schedule a visit to Bahrain in February 2001, to conduct investigations. This working group of independant experts will then report back to the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Freedom of expression and freedom of association are also severely restricted. The authorities directly control the broadcast media, and the print media is subjected to strong State-censorship as well as self-censorship. No independant association can work freely. All human rights associations have to work in exile. Repression against associations or political groups is still very frequent as clandestine political activities are considered as conspiracies against the State security.
The Government keeps implementing a discrimination policy against Shi’a citizens, in breach of the international Convention against racial discrimination which was ratified by Bahrain.
The Government has continued to forcibly exile opponents, to deny returning citizens entry to their homelands and to banish them.
Given this situation, and on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the dissolution of the Parliament, the International Federation of Human Rights and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Bahrain call the Bahraini authorities for :
· the restoration of the Constitution,
· the election of a Parliamentary assembly in Bahrain which should include women,
· the liberation of political prisoners without conditions,
· the return of exiles,
· the repeal of emergency laws,
· the conduction of investigations into all torture and death in custody cases,
· bringing to justice security personels who practised torture and other human rights violations.
We urge Your Excellency to take all appropriate measures to implement these recommandations.
Yours respectfully,
Patrick Baudouin
President