Bahrain Human Rights Society
Encyclopedia
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.
In 2010 the government dissolved the BHRW's Board of Directors, leaving the group's future in doubt.
It is the main human rights group in Bahrain, and while several of its members are associated with the main Leftist opposition group, the National Democratic Action
, the Society is generally respected for its professionalism. The Society's leadership, including president Dr Sabika Al Najjar and vice president Salman Kamaluddin, were former political prisoners and exiles who returned to Bahrain in 2001.
The Society produces an annual report on human rights in the Kingdom, liaises with international organisations and carries out human rights activism in the Kingdom. It has worked with international human rights organisations including the controversial American group, Freedom House
. The Society was charged with organising the parallel conference of Arab NGOs during the G8
Summit on Middle East reform, the Forum for the Future 2005
, held in Bahrain in November 2005.
On 24 December 2005, the Society became the first NGO in the Arab world to carry out a prison inspection when it visited Jaw prison. The party visiting Jaw included activists, doctors, and psychiatric nurses with the purpose at examining the facilities, the treatment of prisoners and looking for any signs of abuse. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=130859&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28280
Summarising Bahrain's human rights situation in November 2005, leading activist and former exile Abdulnabi Al Ekri
stated:
I was in exile and now I am back in my country saying what I believe without hesitation. The best thing is we can organise in this space. It doesn't make me satisfied or content to say "everything is okay", but it doesn't mean I can deny the positive changes that have been made. Redress needs to be made for the past and reforms need to be made concrete.http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=126857&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28239&date=11/14/2005
In March 2006, the Gulf News
newspaper claimed that the Society's Abdulnabi Al Ekri had accused the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab and Abduljalil Singace of being motivated by 'personal gain'http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/03/26/10028284.html. In response, Mr Singace wrote a letter to the Gulf News in which he refuted the claims and reserved the right to seek legal redress. The three activists met the following week and Mr Al Ekri clarified that the Gulf News reporter had in fact falsified his wordshttp://www.montadayatbh.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11303.
Politics of Bahrain
Politics of Bahrain takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy, with an executive appointed by the King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and a bi-cameral legislature, with the Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and the Shura Council appointed directly by the king...
by the Bahraini
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
government to allow the functioning of independent human rights
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...
groups.
In 2010 the government dissolved the BHRW's Board of Directors, leaving the group's future in doubt.
It is the main human rights group in Bahrain, and while several of its members are associated with the main Leftist opposition group, the 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...
, the Society is generally respected for its professionalism. The Society's leadership, including president Dr Sabika Al Najjar and vice president Salman Kamaluddin, were former political prisoners and exiles who returned to Bahrain in 2001.
The Society produces an annual report on human rights in the Kingdom, liaises with international organisations and carries out human rights activism in the Kingdom. It has worked with international human rights organisations including the controversial American group, Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
. The Society was charged with organising the parallel conference of Arab NGOs during the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
Summit on Middle East reform, the Forum for the Future 2005
Forum for the Future (Bahrain 2005)
The Forum for the Future in Bahrain on 11–12 November 2005 brought together, by suggestion of the prime minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the leaders of states of the Middle East, industrialised countries of the Group of Eight and other partners to promote political, economic and...
, held in Bahrain in November 2005.
On 24 December 2005, the Society became the first NGO in the Arab world to carry out a prison inspection when it visited Jaw prison. The party visiting Jaw included activists, doctors, and psychiatric nurses with the purpose at examining the facilities, the treatment of prisoners and looking for any signs of abuse. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=130859&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28280
Summarising Bahrain's human rights situation in November 2005, leading activist and former exile Abdulnabi Al Ekri
stated:
I was in exile and now I am back in my country saying what I believe without hesitation. The best thing is we can organise in this space. It doesn't make me satisfied or content to say "everything is okay", but it doesn't mean I can deny the positive changes that have been made. Redress needs to be made for the past and reforms need to be made concrete.http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=126857&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28239&date=11/14/2005
In March 2006, the Gulf News
Gulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
newspaper claimed that the Society's Abdulnabi Al Ekri had accused the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab and Abduljalil Singace of being motivated by 'personal gain'http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/03/26/10028284.html. In response, Mr Singace wrote a letter to the Gulf News in which he refuted the claims and reserved the right to seek legal redress. The three activists met the following week and Mr Al Ekri clarified that the Gulf News reporter had in fact falsified his wordshttp://www.montadayatbh.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11303.