MANAMA: The maiden report on status of human rights and how to safeguard basic rights of citizens is seen a major milestone in the history of Bahrain, according to a senior official at the NIHR.
The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), which on Tuesday hosted a number of Arab and foreign diplomatic missions accredited to the Kingdom, claimed that the first report by NIHR shows the capacity and integrity of a local institution to highlight the existing gaps in the areas of human rights.
“The NIHR compiled the first report by a hard work of six month and the findings are very relevant to authorities, leadership and to all stakeholders to maintain the status of Bahrain’s constitution which guarantees human rights to all,” Dr Abduaziz Hassan Abul, Chairman NIHR told The24X7News.
The fact of the matter is, he said, the NIHR effort has been very well received by His Majesty the King, His Royal Highness the Prime Minister and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and 1st Deputy Premier.
“The NIHR is a national institution and throughout the process the report has been compiled by the Bahrainis and for the Bahrainis which naturally brings more authenticity and credibility when it comes to the implementation of the recommendations,” Dr Abul, added.
“We are overwhelmed with the response from the leadership, government and the NGOs and NIHR will continue to work as an independent entity with highest level of integrity and objectivity,” he said.
The NIHR Chairman Dr. Abdulaziz Abul lauded the great cooperation of the Kingdom’s political leadership with it, noting that the country’s leaders have welcomed the NIHR’s efforts and encouraged it to serve the interests of the nation.
Earlier, Dr Abul was joined by his team to share the report with the envoys and reviewed with them its first annual report for the 2013 and answered their inquiries about it.
The diplomats commended the tremendous efforts exerted by the NIHR to prepare its report.
The Dean of Diplomatic Corps and the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Bahrain Shaikh Azzaqm Mubarak Al Sabah praised the NIHR’s role and credibility, in line with the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his pioneering Reform Project, adding that the report reflected the NIHR’s efforts to project to the world the real image of the kingdom.
The Moroccan Ambassador to Bahrain Ahmed Rachid Khatabi congratulated the NIHR for its dedicated efforts, credibility and professionalism, noting that the report revealed the real situation boldly.
The US Ambassador Thomas Krajeski congratulated the NIHR for its initiative to present the report to diplomatic missions, noting that the move should be copied by other countries, given the global dimension of the human rights issue.
The NIHR was also congratulated by the Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme Peter Grohmann on the issuance of its first report.
The NIHR’s Deputy Chairman Dr. Abdulla Al Derazi said that the first annual report revealed the panel’s neutrality and independence in preparing it, which, he noted, has gained it local and international praise, describing the cabinet’s lauding of it and directives to study it thoroughly as a great success for the NIHR.
Regarding the NIHR’s Secretary-General Dr. Ahmed Farhan, he said that the report had been the first since the launch of the Reform Project, adding that the document reviewed the overall human rights situation in the kingdom, and proposed the solutions the NIHR deemed appropriate. He said that they had faced some obstacles, just like any NIHR across the world.
He stressed that no independent report could be produced in an Arab country without the prevalence of democracy and neutrality, affirming that the NIHR enjoyed the welcome and support of the leadership, which, he said, consolidates human rights in the Kingdom.
He asserted that the report highlighted some petty violations that cannot be considered systematic, noting that those violations are either individual or the result of the violators’ ignorance or the weakness of the human rights culture among society.