MANAMA: The establishment of the Arab Court of Human Rights in Bahrain is seen as a historic paradigm shift in Arab human rights.
A high-profile international two-day conference opens in Manama on Sunday the International Conference of Arab Court of Human Rights which attracted over 400 delegates from a broad spectrum of officials and legal experts.
Addressing the opening session of the conference the President of the National Institution for Human Rights Bahrain Dr Abdulaziz Abul lauded the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and said that this institution would serve as a right platform for the Arabs to ensure human rights.
The opening session was addressed by including Arab League Secretary-General Dr. Nabeel Al-Arabi, GCC Secretary-General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Representative for The Middle East and North Africa Faraj Fneish, Arab Parliament President Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Jarwan and Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions Chairman Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabar
National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) Secretary-General Dr. Ahmed Abdulla Farhan said that the Arab Human Rights Court was not the first initiative launched by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa”, Dr. Farhan said, pointing out that HM the King had called for a similar institution to be set up as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
He stressed the importance of the two-day conference as a platform to exchange views and international expertise and discussed the draft bylaw of the planned Arab Human Rights Court.
Bahrain had already submitted the draft bylaw of the Arab Human Rights Court to the conference which was held last year in Doha, Qatar, bringing together the national human rights institutions.
The Doha conference had then endorsed the court project, stressing the importance of establishing a judicial mechanism under the authority of the Arab League.