GCC ministers call for Gulf rights body
Commission will highlight steps taken to improve condition of citizens in the region
The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council have recommended the establishment of a human rights commission.
The panel will highlight the steps taken by the GCC states to improve the human rights situation of Gulf citizens in line with Arab and Islamic values, the ministers said at the end of a one-day meeting held here.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have often complained that reports issued by international organisations often tend to undervalue or ignore their achievements on the issue.
The call for the establishment of a human rights commission was among a series of recommendations issued by the ministers as they reviewed Bahrain's proposal to enhance the efficiency of the council established in Abu Dhabi in 1981.
Bahrain's vision, presented by King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa at the Kuwait GCC summit in December, included economic, security and military cooperation, human rights, the implementation of decisions taken by the GCC leaders and economic relations with Asia.
"The meeting was fruitful and there were several agreements," Kuwait's Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammad Salem Al Sabah said at the end of the discussions.
