Gulf | Bahrain
Comply with Paris principles, rights watchdog tells Bahrain government
A human rights watchdog has asked the government to fully comply with the Paris principles in the nomination of the members of the national human rights commission it is planning to set up.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 14:04 June 17, 2008
Manama: A human rights watchdog has asked the government to fully comply with the Paris Principles in the nomination of the members of the national human rights commission it is planning to set up.
"The composition of the national commission should be in accordance with the Paris Principles to ensure the pluralist representation of the civilian society involved in the protection and promotion of human rights," Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) said on Tuesday.
"The members should represent the non-governmental organisations, experts, the parliament, trade unions and concerned social and professional organisations. If the commission is to include representatives of government departments, they should participate in the deliberations only in an advisory capacity," BHRS said in a statement to the press.
Wary of what it said were "rights commissions that had no national and international credibility because of their lack of independence, limited powers and members with dubious rights protection records," the society insisted that the commission should be formed according to a law submitted by the government, endorsed by the parliament and ratified by the king.
"The commission should also have its administrative and financial independence and should also have the authority to investigate all human rights-related cases, issues, procedures and legislation,'" said BHRS, Bahrain's oldest rights watchdog.
All members should be appointed based on impeccable rights records and mutual acceptance from the civilian society, the government, experts and the legislative branch.
The appointment should include the reasons for their selection and the specific duration of their mandate, according to BHRS.
"We need to ensure that the failures experienced by commissions formed in other countries are not repeated in Bahrain," the society said.
Workshop
The Paris Principles, defined at a human rights workshop in Paris in 1991, relates to the status and functioning of national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights.
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