AhlulBayt News Agency - The National Democratic Opposition Societies in Bahrain underlined that the majority of recommendations set out by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) on 23rd November 2011 have not been implemented. A small number of recommendations were implemented in a sham manner by overlooking the core of the human rights and political crisis in the country.
The first and most strategic recommendation in the BICI report was to form a joint commission where the opposition and government can supervise and follow the execution of the report’s recommendations. Contrary to this, a follow-up commission was formed without the opposition. This commission announced that it had implemented all recommendations just weeks after it was formed, whilst, abuses including torture, home raids and extrajudicial killings were ongoing. Sadly, the spectrum of human rights violations that took place after the BICI report was issued outnumbered the violations that happened prior to the report. Bahrain is now lingering in its exacerbating crisis with more than 3000 political prisoners and detainees.
In addition, the government has established window-dressing institutions that have not proved independency in their mission to protect human rights as recommended by the BICI report.
The training programs devoted to the judiciary, prosecutor office and police have not made positive outcomes. Systematic torture and harsh sentences continue to be used against dissidents. Nationals in Bahrain also continue to be stripped of their citizenship in clear violation to the constitution and international conventions. Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states in Article 15: (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
All international reports issued about Bahrain have confirmed that the government has not implemented most of the recommendations, nor those set out by the UN Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Right. Most recently, the report issued by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The government’s claims of its complete implementation of the BICI recommendations is nothing more than a public relations campaign to whitewash its image. Our country is facing major challenges that we can only address as a nation through real dialogue.
The National Democratic Opposition takes this opportunity to invite Prof. Cherif Bassiouni, the chairperson of the BICI, who is visiting Bahrain, to meet with the opposition societies and hear their perspective on the status and future of the BICI recommendations.
National Democratic Opposition – Manama
Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society (Wefaq)
National Democratic Action Society (Waad)
National Democratic Gathering Society (Qawmi)
Ekhaa National Society (Ekhaa)
/129
source : al-Wefaq
Saturday
14 May 2016
9:13:24 AM
754089
The National Democratic Opposition Societies in Bahrain underlined that the majority of recommendations set out by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) on 23rd November 2011 have not been implemented.