Manama: A proposal by King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa to set up an Arab Court for Human Rights is set to make a huge leap forward on Sunday as Bahrain hosts an international conference to discuss the establishment of the court.

The two-day conference, co-organised by the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), the Arab League, the Arab Parliament, the Arabic Network for Human Rights and Qatar ’s National Committee for Human Rights and NIHR will bring together 235 participants from Bahrain and abroad as well as 135 delegations from international human rights organisations.

The participants in the major event are renowned figures in the human rights field as well as in the judiciary, NIHR said.

The conference will review the steps taken to set up Arab Court for Human Rights, the Arab League reforms in the human rights field and the role of the UN High Commission for Human Rights and the Arab Parliament in ensuring success of the Arab Court for Human Rights.

Discussions will focus on comparing tribunal systems and successful judicial experiences as well as spotlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the current systems in the Arab countries, the human rights watchdog said, quoted by Bahrain News Agency (BNA) on Saturday. The results of deliberations and the conference’s recommendations will be presented on Monday

The event will also feature several workshops on the visions of the human rights organisations on the court’s by-laws and other related issues.

King Hamad in November 2011 called for setting up the court that will contribute to international justice and fairness.

“I will propose to our fellow Arab states that we now move concretely toward the creation of an Arab Court for Human Rights to take its proper place on the international stage,” King Hamad said then. “Bahrain was an immediate supporter of the Arab Charter of Human Rights 15 years ago, but in truth this text has not created a system like those of Europe and the Americas.”

The Bahraini leader said that the nations of Europe were routinely held accountable before the European Court in Strasbourg.

“That Court, through its hundreds of judgments, has set the standards for modern international human rights,” he said. “The same is true of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. The whole world benefits from the jurisprudence of these Courts. Surely, this shows us that there is something missing. Surely, the Arab nations, with our ancient transitions of fairness and justice, also have something to contribute. Surely, we too need to show that our officials are subject to a higher law, and that we can be proud of our traditions of respect for human rights,” King Hamad said.