Gulf | Bahrain

International rights conference to open today

Bahrain says objective is to help citizens move forward in field of human rights.

  • By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
  • Published: 23:40 November 18, 2008
  • Gulf News

Manama: An international conference on human rights reviews will open on Wednesday in Bahrain in the presence of all Arab states and international rights watchdogs.

The Comparative Universal Periodic Review (UPR) experiences in the field of Human Rights, co-organised by the foreign affairs ministry, UNDP, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, aims at sharing best practices, identifying challenges encountered and ways to tackle them while promoting good practices in the Arab region, organisers said.

"The conference is gaining a regional and international momentum thanks to the presence of all Arab countries and distinguished participants. Bahrain has invited speakers from the UK, Morocco, South Africa, Philippines, Canada and Argentina, one from each continent, to speak about their countries experiences in the UPR process," Nejib Friji, head of the Bahrain-based UN information centre, said.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch will be among the international human rights organisations attending the two-day conference, alongside Bahrain's political societies, human rights formations and official establishments.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Nizar Al Baharna denied allegations that the aim of the conference was to "brighten up the image of Bahrain."

"Our main objective through this conference is to help the citizens of Bahrain and people in general to move forward in the human rights field," he said at a press conference announcing the event.

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