His Majesty’s reformation project has laid a solid foundation for a wide range of comprehensive development processes spanning many fields, such as politics, economics, society, culture, and more; these processes collectively contribute to the safeguarding of human rights and essential freedoms. Moreover, the reformation project and its resulting development processes play a pivotal role in building a society where security and stability prevail, helping to guarantee justice, support the development of democratic mechanisms, ensure the success of comprehensive development efforts, and propel the Kingdom of Bahrain’s efforts to promote regional and global peace. In line with the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and other pertinent international and regional agreements, the Kingdom of Bahrain is resolute in its conviction that a culture of respect for human rights is integral to maintaining international peace and security, developing international relations between nations, and achieving international cooperation.
In this context, efforts persist in the Kingdom of Bahrain across the constitutional, legislative and operational levels. This includes the adoption of the National Action Charter in the year 2001, which garnered 98.4% of the vote in the referendum held to decide its adoption. The charter formed an early vision for the Kingdom of Bahrain’s future, a guide for national action, and a flexible road map that adapts with the changes in the local, regional, and global landscapes.
The amended constitution of 2002 further solidified the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to upholding human rights and freedoms, reinforcing the autonomy of the legislative, executive and judicial branches while maintaining cooperation between them. The amended constitution underlined that the governing framework in the Kingdom of Bahrain adheres to democratic principles, where the law guarantees rights and freedoms without discrimination. In 2002, a Royal Decree was issued to establish the Constitutional Court, an institution mandated with reviewing laws and ensuring their alignment with the constitution.
In 2011, the Bahrain National Dialogue was launched, encompassing an array of subjects, including politics, human rights, social issues, and economics. During the dialogue, many perspectives were voiced, raising a number of issues, and delivering recommendations for those issues. Upon the conclusion of the National Dialogue, all the proposals which the participants agreed upon were submitted to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the patron of the dialogue. In response, His Majesty formed a dedicated committee entrusted with overseeing the implementation of the proposals which resulted from the dialogue.
To better coordinate and strengthen efforts to promote and protect human rights, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, issued Edict No. (35) of 2023 establishing the National Human Rights Committee. This committee is tasked with coordinating with government entities in all matters related to human rights. Additionally, the committee reviews the Kingdom of Bahrain’s international commitments in the field of human rights and ensures compliance with international standards in this regard.
The committee’s responsibilities include coordinating with government entities in all matters pertaining to human rights, preparing and submitting national reports, responding to appeals and complaints received from abroad, and preparing the National Plan for Human Rights in cooperation with all of the relevant authorities and stakeholders.
Chairmen of the National Human Rights Committee since 2012-2023:
The committee was mandated with preparing a national plan for human rights, a task for which it was keen to execute with adherence to the principle of partnership between all relevant stakeholders, including official entities, civil society institutions and individuals.
On 3 April 2023, during its regular weekly session, the cabinet approved the "National Plan for Human Rights 2022-2026", which comes as a continuation of the efforts made by the Kingdom to promote and protect human rights, dignity and freedom, recognizing it as a fundamental pillar of the reformation project of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to enhance national efforts to support and care for human rights and freedom, which is further supported by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister's constant oversight and follow-up.
Between 2020-2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also organized a number of broad consultations to prepare the National Human Rights Plan, which culminated in over 300 working papers. These consultations included the participation of representatives of the three branches of government, the National Institution for Human Rights, independent national human rights organizations, civil society, the media, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Nations Center for Drug and Crime Control, research centers, some of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as national and international experts in the field of human rights. Throughout the consultations more than 300 working papers were produced. Furthermore, 9 workshops were held throughout the period, with over 1,700 participants in total, producing over 300 recommendations in various fields of human rights.
The National Human Rights Plan is divided into four categories: civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, the rights of vulnerable groups, and solidarity rights. There are 17 main goals, 34 sub-goals, and 102 projects under the themes, which form the executive framework of the plan. The projects within the plan are divided into three categories, legislation, capacity building, and institution development.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs formed a team, supervised by the Higher Coordinating Committee for Human Rights, tasked with the coordination of and the follow-up on the implementation of the National Human Rights Plan. As part of the National Plan’s stipulations, the coordinating team must produce annual reports, which include all statistics related to the implementation of the national plan by the participating parties. The first report, for the year 2022, focused on the progress made in the national plan’s execution, revealing that within the first year, 14 projects had been implemented by 12 entities.
A draft of the national plan’s annual progress report was presented to impartial bodies such as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the National Institution for Human Rights, and the Bahrain Jurists Society, to express their views on the report. The progress report was then amended to reflect the comments and suggestions made by these impartial bodies. Currently, in the year 2023, 26 projects will be implemented by 15 entities.
With the goal of streamlining the process of coordination and follow-up, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an internal e-platform linking together all the entities tasked with executing the National Human Rights Plan. The platform covers all of the national plan's projects, and is constantly updated with the latest developments in the implementation of the national plan by the concerned authorities. In addition, the platform acts as a central archive for all documents related to the National Human Rights Plan, provides an overview of the national plan and each of its projects, highlights the importance of each project, clarifies all objectives, and provides key performance indicators.
During the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), 80 of 92 member states praised the Kingdom of Bahrain’s endorsement of the National Plan for Human Rights and the outstanding achievements of the Kingdom in the field of human rights protection. Among these achievements is the application of alternative sentencing, the establishment of mechanisms to ensure the protection of human rights and essential freedoms, the expansion of services provided to vulnerable groups, and the further development of the legislative system.
The report includes a detailed overview of the key developments in human rights protection and promotion within the kingdom, and the latest information on the efforts made by the kingdom in this regard. Moreover, the report acts as an official reference on the human rights achievements of the Kingdom of Bahrain locally, regionally, and globally.
During the session, the delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain reviewed the great success and progress achieved by the Kingdom in the field of protecting and promoting human rights and essential freedoms, while highlighting that these achievements come as a result of the reformation project of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Respect for human rights, the rule of law, justice and the rights of solidarity in establishing the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence and supporting sustainable development.
Notably, the UPR is a unique process that involves reviewing the human rights records of all United Nations Member States, and is an opportunity for those states to announce the actions they have taken to improve human rights conditions in their countries and overcome challenges to the enjoyment of human rights.
In this regard, the kingdom has acceded to the following 7 human rights conventions:
In addition to this, the Kingdom of Bahrain has ratified 10 of the International Labor Organization conventions, including five of the eight basic conventions approved by the organization.
Doing so while adhering to the principles of transparency and openness in respecting, protecting, and promoting human rights.
The Kingdom remains committed to submitting timely periodic reports on human rights committees and treaties, in addition to cooperating with the High Commissioner of the Human Rights Council. Furthermore, the Kingdom actively engages in responding to all forms of communication, including inquiries, urgent appeals and questions of special procedures from mandate-holders.
The Kingdom is also working to establish a comprehensive mechanism involving all stakeholders to effectively implement the recommendations it receives during the discussion sessions of the reports, whilst adhering to clear timetables and ensuring completion and submission within the specified period.