Human rights circles highlighted that Bahrain’s practices in the United Nations Non-Governmental Organizations Committee constitute a form of crushing democracy and human rights, which requires the suspension of its membership.
The Geneva-based International Center for Support of Rights and Freedoms announced that it had sent a letter to the United Nations to expose the extent of the harm experienced by human rights organisations that request consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
“Values related to freedom and respect for human rights are essential elements of democracy that cannot be provided without a climate of human rights protection,” the Center said in its speech.
The Center added that Bahrain is less than Russia’s contempt for democracy and human rights. Its continued membership in the NGO Committee in New York is a crushing of democracy and human rights.
In the regular session of the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee, which was held from 17-26 May 2022, the United States of America requested a vote on several organisations requesting consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
According to the Center, the Bahraini human rights view also coincides with the Russian view by committing unjustified human rights violations. On April 7, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution suspending Moscow’s membership in the Human Rights Council by the end of 2023.
The Center emphasised that all over the world, independent human rights organisations and actual human rights defenders face various forms of reprisals, and despite this, they continue their work.
Bahrain commits reprisals against human rights organisations that monitor and document human rights violations, or one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Yemen. Revenge occurs when one of these organisations requests to obtain consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Bahrain deprives it of obtaining consultative status through illegal and repeated questions to postpone it.
On April 15, 2022, the International Center for the Promotion of Rights submitted its report to the Human Rights Committee, explaining Bahrain’s exploitation of its membership in the NGO Committee in New York to retaliate against human rights organisations.
The Center highlighted that many human rights organisations that Bahrain is not satisfied with are suffering from the presence of the Bahrain delegate in the NGO committee, who stated in the committee’s last session that she could not decide between returning to the capital, Manama.
The International Center for the Promotion of Rights and Freedoms called on the General Assembly of the United Nations not to stand by and watch this tampering with the law from Bahrain and to put forward a resolution for a vote suspending Manama’s membership in the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee.
