BHRWS

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/source/XXX/266/images/page1.pdf

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=202559&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30266

Rights training drive launched

By RASHA AL QAHTANI

A GROUP of human rights activists in Bahrain yesterday launched an international campaign to raise further awareness on various issues.
Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society regional and international director Faisal Fulad said the International Community Partnership initiative would enrich human rights awareness.
"We will integrate human rights in education, training, the media and anything that will raise the issue," he said.
He was speaking at the UN House yesterday to mark the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, which falls on December 10.
Also present were UN representatives and Shura Council members.
Mr Fulad called on the private sector and businessmen to support the initiative.
"We hope to open a human rights awareness centre with the help of supporters in the future," he said.
The move follows Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa calling on international organisations to come up with a human rights community partnership in a statement on Saturday.
The event was attended by more than 20 UCO Home for Parents Care members, who were invited to learn about the International Human Rights Day.
The UN Information Centre for Gulf countries director, Nejib Friji, read UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's message to the UCO members, which highlighted the organisation's policies on human rights.
The UN Development Programme resident representative, Sayed Aqa, said everyday should be a human rights day.
"I request everyone to remember four elements of human rights, which are; to respect each other, protect each other's rights, promote human rights, and provide human rights to others," he said.
"We are very pleased that Bahrain has made a lot of progress regarding human rights issues and we hope it will join the International Convention on Migrant Workers."
rasha@gdn.com.bh

http://english.bna.bh/?ID=65033

UN INFORMATION CENTER HOLDS CONFERENCE TO MARK INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

date: 10 12, 2007

MANAMA, DEC. 10 (BNA) -- THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION CENTER (UNIC) HELD A CONFERENCE ON MONDAY TO MARK THE UN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY.
IT WAS HELD IN THE PRESENCE OF SHURA COUNCIL SECOND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN ALICE SAMAAN, MEMBER OF THE FINANCIAL COMMITTEE HUDA NOONO AND MEMBER OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE FAISAL FULATH. UNIC DIRECTOR NEJIB FRIJI READ THE MESSAGE OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON ON THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY IN WHICH HE AFFIRMED THAT THE COMMEMORATION OF THE OCCASION WAS TO REINFORCE THE WORLD GOVERNMENTS WILL TO IMPLEMENT THE INTERNATIONAL CRITERIA, INCORPORATED IN THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS WHICH THEY WILLINGLY ADOPTED. ON HIS PART, UNDP RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE IN BAHRAIN SAYYED AGHA GAVE A SPEECH IN WHICH HE HAILED BAHRAINI-UN PARTNERSHIP IN THE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, BASED ON HUMAN RIGHTS, HAILING BAHRAINS ENDORSEMENT OF THE MAJORITY OF RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, FRIJI ANNOUNCED THAT THE CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY IN BAHRAIN COINCIDED WITH THE LAUNCH OF A UN COURSE. THE COURSE, HE SAID, AIMED TO ELUCIDATE THE RELATION BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS TO UN STAFF AND EXPERTS AND HOW TO MAKE USE OF IT IN IMPLEMENTING ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE KINGDOM. IT WAS ALSO AGREED TO BEGIN ARRANGING FOR THE COMMEMORATION OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON DECEMBER 10, 2008 SOON. ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE WERE A NUMBER OF OLD PEOPLE FROM UCO PARENTS HOUSE WHO WERE PRESENTED WITH FLOWERS BY HUDA NOONO AS THEIR PRESENCE WAS A RECOGNITION THAT THEIR RIGHTS WERE INCORPORATED IN THE DECLARATION.

http://english.bna.bh/?ID=65032

BAHRAIN MAKES TREMENDOUS PROGRESS IN HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION

date: 10 12, 2007

MANAMA, DEC. 10, (BNA)--BAHRAIN IS PROUD OF ITS LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENTS IN RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OUT OF A STRONG BELIEF THAT BAHRAINI PEOPLE ARE THE KINGDOMS REAL ASSETS AND THE CORNERSTONE OF ITS DEVELOPMENT.
PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IS VITAL FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BAHRAIN, LED BY HIS MAJESTY KING HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA, WHICH COULD SECURE ITSELF A SEAT AT THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL IN MAY 2006 FOLLOWING FULL-FLEDGED COMMITMENT TO INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND CONVENTIONS.

BAHRAINS PLEDGE TO SAFEGUARD HUMAN RIGHTS WAS REITERATED BY PRIME MINISTER SHAIKH KHALIFA BIN SALMAN AL KHALIFA IN HIS ADDRESS TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO MARK THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY.

THIS COMMITMENT IS CONSTANT AND UNWAVERING WHICH LED TO THE APPEARANCE OF MANY CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTIONS OPERATING IN THIS FIELD IN ADDITION TO BAHRAINS OFFICIAL ENROLLMENT AT MANY INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.

BAHRAINS FREE AND TRANSPARENT PARLIAMENTARY AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS ALONG WITH WOMENS ACQUISITION OF THEIR ELECTORAL AND LEGISLATIVE RIGHTS WERE ALSO TESTIMONIAL OF THE KINGDOMS HEALTHY DEMOCRACY.

MAYBE THE MOST REMARKABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN RIGHTS WAS THE CABINETS DECISION EARLY LAST NOVEMBER TO SET UP A HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION IN 2007, WHICH WAS A GIANT STRIDE IN THE KINGDOMS DEMOCRATIC MARCH.

THE ORGANIZATION WILL TAKE CHARGE OF MAPPING OUT A COMPREHENSIVE SCHEME TO FURTHER BOOST HUMAN RIGHTS IN BAHRAIN AND SUGGEST WAYS OF ACHIEVING IT.

A NUMBER OF CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTIONS AND LAW FIGURES WELCOMED THE FORMATION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND CALLED FOR TAKING INTO ACCOUNT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS WHEN APPOINTING ITS MEMBERS.

BAHRAIN HAS ALWAYS BEEN COMMITTED TO AND RESPECTFUL OF THE RULE OF LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS AND HAS LONG BEEN REINFORCING THE STATE INSTITUTIONS AN OPENING UP NEW OUTLETS AND CHANNELS FOR CITIZENS TO FULLY EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS.

SINCE THE EARLY MONTHS THAT FOLLOWED HIS MAJESTY KING HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFAS ACCESSION TO THE THRONE IN 1999, A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE WAS FORMED IN THE SHURA COUNCIL AND WAS FOLLOWED BY DECREE BYLAW NUMBER 11 OF 2001 ANNULLING ANOTHER DECREE BYLAW REGARDING STATE SECURITY MEASURES AND DECREE NUMBER 4 OF THE SAME YEAR ANNULLING THE SPECIALTIES OF THE SPECIAL COURT THAT DEALS WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STATE SECURITY CRIMES.

IN 2001, DECREE NUMBER 10 GRANTED AMNESTY TO THOSE CONVICTED OF STATE SECURITY OFFENCES AND UNCONDITIONAL AMNESTY TO POLITICAL EXILES WHILE SEVERAL ROYAL GESTURES AND DECISIONS WERE ISSUED TO IMPROVE CITIZENS LIVING CONDITIONS AND ENSURE THEIR COMFORT.

BAHRAIN ALSO ENDORSED A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AGREEMENTS SUCH AS THE CHILD RIGHTS AGREEMENT, THE ANTI-TORTURE AGREEMENT, THE AGREEMENT TO ELIMINATE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND THE ARAB CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES COUNCIL IN TUNIS IN 2004.

IN 2005, THE REPRESENTATIVES COUNCIL TOOK AN UNPRECEDENTED STEP IN THE ARAB WORLD WHEN IT APPROVED A DECISION TO INCLUDE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY AS A DISTINCT SUBJECT IN THE EDUCATION MINISTRYS CURRICULA OF THE INTERMEDIATE AND SECONDARY LEVELS.

BAHRAINS ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS FIELD HAVE EARNED INTERNATIONAL PRAISE AS THE US STATE DEPARTMENTS ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT OF 2005 COMMENDED THE KINGDOMS STEPS TO REINFORCE DEMOCRACY, DEVELOP THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND COMBAT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE AND CORRUPTION.

FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT OF 2004 AFFIRMED THAT BAHRAINI TOPPED THE ARAB STATES IN RESPECT FOR FREEDOMS WHEREAS DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD ORGANIZATION AGAINST TORTURE ERIC SOTTAS JOINED AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IN 2005 TO PRAISE BAHRAINS HUMAN RIGHTS DOSSIER.

HE ALSO AFFIRMED THAT THE REINFORCEMENT OF POLITICAL, CIVILIAN, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS WERE A FACTOR OF STRENGTH TO HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE KINGDOM.

HE ALSO CONSIDERED THEM EXEMPLARY MODELS OF DEMOCRACIES AND REFORMS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA.

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE UN COMMITTEE FOR ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION PAID TRIBUTE IN 2005 TO THE NOTICEABLE PROGRESS IN HUMAN RIGHTS WHICH WERE MADE IN THE PAST FEW YEARS WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE ROYAL REFORM SCHEME OF HM KING HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA.

THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ALSO PRAISED IN 2004 THE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS MADE ON THE TRACK OF HUMAN RIGHTS AS PART OF HMS ROYAL REFORM PLAN.

THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN WAS UNANIMOUSLY ELECTED IN JANUARY 2004 TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL IN GENEVA AND WAS ALSO ELECTED IN THE SAME YEAR TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE.

BAHRAINS REITERATION OF ITS FULL ADOPTION OF THE PRINCIPLES AND VALUES INCORPORATED IN THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION WAS AN INDICATION OF ITS DETERMINATION TO REINFORCE HUMAN RIGHTS CULTURE AND RECOGNIZE DIGNITY AND EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL PEOPLE.

MARKING THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, PRIME MINISTER SHAIKH KHALIFA BIN SALMAN AL KHALIFA CALLED FOR AN INITIATIVE TO ADD MOMENTUM TO PUBLIC AWARENESS OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

ON THEIR PART, THE NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) AND CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTIONS (CSI) ARE EAGER TO ENTER INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GOVERNMENT, BUILT ON DIALOGUE AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH TO ENSURE A BETTER HUMAN RIGHTS FUTURE.

MTQ 10-DEC-2007 17:32

http://photos.bna.bh/details.php?image_id=29730

http://photos.bna.bh/details.php?image_id=29729

New York, Manama, 9 December 2007 (UN Information Centre)—Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s message on the occasion of the Human Rights Day (10 December 2007):

On this Human Rights Day, we launch a year-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The entire UN family will take part in a campaign to promote the Declaration's ideals and principles of justice and equality for everyone.

The campaign reminds us that in a world still reeling from the horrors of the Second World War, the Declaration was the first global statement of what we now take for granted -- the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings.

The extraordinary vision and determination of the drafters produced a document that for the first time set out universal human rights for all people in an individual context. Now available in more than 360 languages, the Declaration is the most translated document in the world -- a testament to its universal nature and reach. It has inspired the constitutions of many newly independent States and many new democracies. It has become a yardstick by which we measure respect for what we know, or should know, as right and wrong.

The Declaration remains as relevant today as it did on the day it was adopted. But the fundamental freedoms enshrined in it are still not a reality for everyone. Too often, Governments lack the political will to implement international norms they have willingly accepted.

This anniversary year is an occasion to build up that will. It is a chance to ensure that these rights are a living reality -- that they are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. It is often those who most need their human rights protected, who also need to be informed that the Declaration exists -- and that it exists for them.

May this year reinvigorate us in that mission. Let us make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights an integral part of everyone’s life.