COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF BAHRAIN

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the report of Bahrain on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Presenting the report was Majeed Bin Muhsen Al Alawi, Minister of Labour of Bahrain, who drew attention to the various policies taken by Bahrain in recent years to protect and promote human rights which focused on political, economic, social and legal reform. The Minister noted that one of the most important developments in the legal sphere was the creation of the Constitutional Court at the end of 2002 and the preceding orders issued by his Royal Highness King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to establish a National Action Charter aimed at, among other things, broadening the scope of public participation in government decisions and better promoting and protecting their human rights.

In the course of the discussion, which was held over two meetings, issues concerning cases of racial discrimination brought before the courts and the application of the Convention in Bahraini Courts; human rights training for Bahraini officials; the role of civil society in promoting and protecting human rights in Bahrain; and the rights and protection of foreign workers in Bahrain, were raised among other subjects.

In preliminary remarks, the country Rapporteur for the report, Committee Expert Ralph Boyd, praised the Government of Bahrain for the enactment of several legal instruments which allowed for the implementation of the International Convention. These favorable trends, among others, bode well for the people of Bahrain to exercise their human rights free from discrimination. Among other things, Mr. Boyd underscored the need for the State party to provide disaggregated data in its next periodic report. This, he said, would help clarify the nature of acts of discrimination.

The Committee will present its final conclusions and recommendations on the sixth and seventh periodic reports of Bahrain, which were presented in one document, at the end of its session, which concludes on 11 March.

The delegation of Bahrain also included representatives of the Ministry of Labour; the Ministry of Justice; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Department of Legal Affairs; and the Permanent Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will begin its consideration of the third and fourth periodic reports of Azerbaijan (CERD/C/440/Add.1).

Report of Bahrain

The sixth and seventh periodic reports of Bahrain, presented in one document CERD/C/443/Add.1, state that since the submission of the last report, Bahrain has witnessed a succession of important constitutional, political and social developments, notably the adoption, in February 2001, of the National Action Charter, the promulgation, on 14 February 2002, of the amended Constitution, and the proclamation of a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain. According to the 2001 census, the total population of the island is 650,600, of which 405,700 are Bahraini, and 244,900 non-Bahraini. The State provides free educational services at basic, secondary and pre-university levels of education for all Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis residing in the country, without any distinction or discrimination among them, and allows foreign residents of other religions and cultures to set up schools and centres of learning that teach their curricula and cultures.

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination has been incorporated in national legislation, and is binding on all authorities. Regardless of the religion they profess, citizens can take part in political life without any discrimination. The report states that Article 17 of the Bahraini Constitution was amended to establish equality among all Bahraini nationals, whether they are Bahrainis by descent or by naturalization, and to give effect to the principles of non-discrimination. The Labour Act grants equality to foreign and national workers in the provisions relating to pay, without prejudice to the principle that priority in employment shall be given to national workers. According to article 44, "an employer who employs foreign workers shall not pay them higher wages and remuneration than he pays to Bahraini workers, if they have the same technical skills, capacities and know-how, except within the limits dictated by the need to attract foreign labour".

The country has seen a number of economic developments and considerable economic growth in recent decades, particularly since the beginning of the 1960s. In view of its low population density and the fact that the country’s economic growth rate outstrips its rate of population growth, Bahrain has called on the help of foreign workers of different nationalities and religions from many countries of the world, as clearly illustrated by workforce statistics for 2001. However, there has been no racial tension or friction; indeed, all of these persons are treated as the country’s honoured guests and are warmly and gratefully received.

Presentation of Report

MAJEED BIN MUHSEN AL ALAWI, Minister of Labour of Bahrain, noted that in recent years Bahrain had been undertaking various policies to protect and promote human rights which focused on political, economic, social and legal progress. Municipal and legislative elections took place in May and October of 2002 which had a turnout of some 98 per cent of the population. In addition, in July 2002 three decrees were issued as well as laws related to political rights. Women had also gained all rights, including political rights, thus allowing them to run for public office. The Supreme Women’s Council was the central body to defend the rights of women in Bahrain. Also in 2002, the Labour Union Law was enacted after consultation with all the concerned associations related to employment issues; this led to the establishment of trade unions in Bahrain for the first time.

The Minister noted as one of the most important developments in the legal sphere the creation of the Constitutional Court at the end of 2002. Two important laws were also issued at that time dealing with the judiciary and the law of criminal proceedings. He also mentioned that the role civil society had been enhanced in Bahrain and at present there were over 390 non-governmental organizations in-country.

Mr. Al Alawi said the current instability in the Middle East region could have been seen as putting obstacles in front of his Government’s plans to promote and protect human rights in the country, but in Bahrain the people were committed to continuing with the progress made in this regard.

With a view to strengthening national action and democracy and moving the process of political change forward so as to secure growth and prosperity for Bahraini society, His Royal Highness King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa had issued legal orders establishing a higher national committee to prepare a draft for a national action charter, which defined the general framework for the State’s future objectives in various areas of national action and the roles of State institutions and the constitutional powers in that regard. In accordance with the Charter, the amended Constitution was introduced in 2002.

The commitment of Bahrain to the Convention reflected the conviction of Bahraini people to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination by upholding principles of equality. The Convention has been introduced into the domestic legal framework of Bahrain and any violation of the Convention was considered a violation under Bahraini law.

The Press and Publication Act of 1979, the Minister noted, prohibited the publication of anything likely to incite intercommunal hatred or contempt, if such incitement might disrupt public order or propagate a spirit of social discord, as well as anything that offends public morals, is prejudicial to personal dignity or privacy, or would encourage non-compliance with the law. Moreover, the Act of 1989 on associations prohibited the inclusion of programmes of association that would incite confessional divisions and made it illegal to set up an association that undermined the principle of equality.

Mr. Al Alawi stated that foreigners in Bahrain were treated with respect on the basis of equality and all inhabitants in Bahrain lived in an environment that guaranteed legal protection and any person in Bahrain had the right the work, education and health among other things.

In closing, the head of the delegation of Bahrain reaffirmed that all people were equal in human dignity and there was no discrimination on grounds of sex, origin, religion or belief. The Kingdom had taken several steps to disseminate and promote the principles of the Convention, as well as human rights principles in general. In short, since its independence in 1971, Bahrain has been pronouncing its rejection of racial discrimination in all of its forms.

Discussion

RALPH BOYD, the Committee Expert serving as country Rapporteur, noted that Bahrain became a State party to the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1990 although it had not yet made the declaration under its article 14. The Rapporteur noted that ethnic Bahrainis made up over 60 per cent of the population although the same percentage of the workforce was not made up of Bahrainis. While noting that the report contained information on the non-Bahraini population by nationality and gender, he welcomed more information reflecting ethnicity, religious affiliations and language affinity, as well as information regarding the relative socio-economic status of members of various distinct ethnic, religious and language groups within Bahrain.

Mr. Boyd made reference to reports on and asked for information regarding the disparate treatment and diminished employment and other economic opportunities for some groups of non-Arabic and non-English speakers as well as the Shiite Muslim population which made up some 70 per cent of the population of Bahrain but was less represented in Bahrain’s civic and economic mainstream.

While noting that the report was well organized, the Rapporteur asked the delegation for a further elaboration and concrete examples of how particular laws or norms were applied in practice by the pertinent executive, administrative or judicial authority.

Mr. Boyd asked the delegation to provide information as to whether there were any legal exceptions to the non-discrimination concept found in the Constitution and whether there were any examples where the Convention had been invoked in Bahraini Courts.

The Rapporteur noted with appreciation that the State party’s report included information about Bahrain’s Human Rights Committee. In that context he asked why the Committee was abolished and whether it had been replaced by another entity. He also asked whether the Committee had identified any legislative, administrative or judicial shortcomings and what, if any, remedial legislative or ameliorative measures did it recommend. Moreover, he asked if the Committee had conducted any research with respect to human rights or racial discrimination in Bahrain.

Mr. Boyd asked whether the State party had any intention of creating a national plan for human rights and whether there were any legislative, judicial or administrative measures of any kind that were being formulated to further implement article 2 of the Convention.

The Rapporteur also asked the delegation to provide information on concerns raised by non-governmental organizations that Shiite Muslims and Bahraini citizens of Persian decent were prohibited from living in Riffa – one of Bahrain’s largest districts.

Mr. Boyd asked whether there was any ongoing consideration being given to legislative amendments generally that might enhance protection against racial incitement.

The Rapporteur referred to the report’s mentioning that the Constitution of Bahrain established the right to seek legal redress but that an aggrieved worker must first, according to the Labour Code, submit a formal complaint to the Ministry of Labour with a view to settling the dispute in an "amicable manner". He asked for more information in that regard and about employment dispute settlements in general including data by race, ethnicity, religion and national origin.

He also sought information on what steps had been taken by the State with regard to the protection of foreign workers and whether any employers had been sanctioned for discriminatory practices against foreign workers.

While drawing attention to the concerns raised by the Special Rapporteur on Racism and Racial Discrimination about possible discrimination in the functioning of the instrumentalities of the government itself, Mr. Boyd asked for more information on what steps the Government had taken in that regard. In particular, the Special Rapporteur had expressed concern about the fact that Shiites were widely perceived to be largely excluded from positions of importance in government and that they had difficulty in entering universities.

The Rapporteur favorably noted recent developments in Bahrain involving the Bidoon – Farsi speakers of foreign decent – including the granting of citizenship to several thousand Stateless Bidoons. In that context he asked whether these citizenships had been accompanied by any special measures to deal with levels of unemployment of the Bidoon and of the Shiite population more generally. He also asked for additional information about employment and housing opportunities for the Shiite population.

Mr. Boyd asked for information about racial discrimination complaints adjudicated in Bahrain, if any. If there were not any, he asked what consideration the State party had given to the possibility that the absence of such cases in Bahraini courts could be attributable to victims’ lack of knowledge about their legal rights, and for a lack of confidence in the authorities commitment to discrimination cases or perceived capacity of the justice system to effectively handle these matters.

Lastly, the country Rapporteur asked whether there was a component that pronounced the need to tolerate and embrace diverse religious beliefs and practices in Bahrain’s school system. He also asked whether there were any specific training programmes, seminars, or instructional courses for members of the judiciary, law enforcement, teachers, social workers, and public officials with respect to the Convention, its requirements and application.

Another Committee Expert noted that Bahrain was rated first among the 37 Arabic countries in terms of socio-economic progress and of the advancement of the principles of human rights. He asked whether the provisions of the State’s penal code covered all foreigners, including legal and illegal residents.

The Expert also asked whether there was any provision for monitoring the broadcasting on the Internet of racist ideas, how mixed marriages in Bahrain were regulated and how Shariya law impacted the rights of foreigners.

Several Experts welcomed the steps taken by the State party in terms of legislative and judicial reform. An Expert expressed concern that no information was provided on religious groups in Bahrain and asked for clarification on that matter, particularly the reported discrimination against Shiites.

Many Experts also raised questions concerning the rights of foreign workers. An Expert asked whether in practice there was any difference between men and women in work places and if there were any special requirements a foreign worker had to meet to join a labour union and if they could benefit from economic aid provided by the Government.

An Expert asked what cooperation existed between Government authorities and non-governmental organizations and to what extent they were consulted in the drafting of the report.

Other Experts asked whether Shariya law contained provisions that may be seen as discriminatory against women; about the number of authorized schools for foreigners; about human rights training for law enforcement officers; and about the Government’s plans to publicize the report under review and the subsequent observations by the Committee.

An Expert asked what action the State party had planned or taken with regard to different pay wages to employees of different nationalities and whether any sanctions had been imposed against employers for any human rights violations.

Concerning non-governmental organizations in Bahrain, an Expert asked what number of the reported 390 non-governmental organizations in-country were involved in work related to human rights, and more particularly dedicated to the work concerning the implementation of the Convention.

Response by Delegation

Concerning the number of cases on racial discrimination in Bahraini Courts, the delegation said there were no statistics kept on cases brought before the courts involving racial discrimination matters although there was one exception – a case brought before the Constitutional Court in 2004. In response to a related question, the delegation noted that all victims of such abuses were aware of their rights and many efforts had been made by civil society organizations to raise the awareness of the public about their rights and guarantees.

Regarding training programmes on human rights, the delegation indicated that several such programmes had been organized in various sectors in Bahrain; the High Council of the Judiciary of Bahrain had organized programmes to train judicial officials about human rights and the Convention in particular. Some judges had recently taken part in a workshop organized by the Bahraini Association of Human Rights referred to as "Fair Trials". Specialized training course had also been organized for law enforcement officials on human rights matters; one such course dealt with reporting human rights abuses. Moreover, a workshop was conducted on drawing up the State's National Action Plan for Human Rights and the Bahraini Association of Human Rights had organized a training course for officials in the Ministry of the Interior last year.

Concerning alternative solutions to dispute settlements, the delegation said a number of symposia were held last year to address this issue; there was also a draft Bill on case management as well as a proposed amendment being tabled on the Labour Code aimed to facilitate arbitration procedures.

In response to a question on safeguards for defendants during trials, the delegation indicated that there were either Shariya courts or civil courts; Shariya courts dealt with family-related maters and civil courts dealt with criminal, civil and administrative cases. The civil courts were broken down into the court of cassation, the appeal courts, the superior appeals courts and smaller courts.

Concerning legal precedents related to the definition of racial discrimination in Bahrain, the delegation noted that in the event of such related disputes, the judicial authorities turned to the provisions of article one of the Convention.

As to any references made to the International Convention in court decisions, the delegation clarified that there had been no court cases where there had been judgments invoking the Convention, however the principles of the Convention were always applied in related cases.

Regarding a question on the State party’s intention to make the declaration under article 14, the delegation said Bahraini courts had sufficient measures in place to allow every individual to enjoy and protect their rights and voice their concerns. The Office of the Ombudsman, for example, addressed all complaints by individuals.

Concerning any actions taken to create a national plan for human rights, the delegation noted that there had been a symposium held recently which was designed to create a national human rights plan for Bahrain. However, they underlined that the Charter of National Action and the amended Constitution of 2002 embodied the principles of human rights; the establishment of the Higher Council for Women was also part of the nation’s plan to promote and protect human rights.

In response to a question on the tasks and abolishment of the Human Rights Commission, the delegation said, among other things, that the Commission had been designed to present advice to the King and to the executive authorities on human rights matters. The Commission also used to study legislation, suggest appropriate amendments, conduct awareness raising on human rights, conduct research and studies in the field of human rights, and foster relationships with international organizations related to human rights. The Ministry of Interior and Foreign Affairs had since established a Department of Human Rights which would take up all matters dealt with by the previous Commission.

As to consultation with non-governmental organizations in drafting the report, the delegation noted that the report had been contributed to by various sources of civil society. Moreover, there were numerous civil society organizations in Bahrain which were very active in promoting and protecting human rights.

Regarding the rights of foreign workers, the delegation made mention that the Labour Act granted equality to national and foreign workers in accordance with international requirements and developments and human rights standards. Among other things, a decision had been taken by Bahraini authorities to grant the right of a worker to move from one employer to another. Moreover, a committee had been established to protect foreign workers and find appropriate solutions for them. The Criminal Code, the delegation added, prohibited any assault against domestic workers and any domestic worker whose human rights had been violated could go before the courts to file a complaint. More generally, any worker could come to the Ministry of Labour to file a complaint. In response to a specific question, the delegation noted that there had been 2,324 complaints filed by workers presented to the Ministry and 1,004 of those were settled by the Ministry; there were 1,012 complaints from non-Bahrainis. There was a new draft of the Labour Code which was currently being reviewed by authorities. Although domestic and agricultural workers were not covered by the Labour Code, the delegation noted that they were governed by the Civil Code.

As to measures taken to combat trafficking in people, the delegation noted that public awareness measures had been taken by the Government including the issuance and dissemination of a brochure at airports, among other places, to outline this problem. There had been 45 cases of human trafficking reported in Bahrain thus far which had been forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor.

In response to a question, the delegation noted that the Trade Union law did not discriminate between Bahraini and non-Bahraini workers.

The delegation pronounced that in Bahrain there was no such thing as racism; the people of Bahrain, numbering approximately 500,000, had four or five basic origins. Shiites of Iranian origin represented 8 per cent of the population and many of them held high professional positions in society. Shiites, Sunnis and Bidoons among others were treated equally in all manners.

In response to a question, the delegation stated that the Government of Bahrain planned to disseminate the findings of the Committee’s conclusions of the report and discussion to the public, including through the Internet.

Concerning a question on the disbandment of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, the delegation said that the Bahraini authorities had called for the disbandment of this national organization following its threat to public order, and more specifically its threat to the Prime Minister.

Preliminary Observations

RALPH BOYD, the Committee Expert serving as country Rapporteur, said the report reflected a very serious and important effort on the part of Bahrain to detail what steps it had taken to implement the provisions of the Convention. The focused nature and comprehensive responses received by the delegation reflected the Government’s commitment to uphold those principles.

There was much to be encouraged with respect to the implementation of the International Convention, namely the enactment of several legal instruments. These favorable trends, among others, bode well for the people of Bahrain to exercise their human rights free from discrimination. There was also an increased frequency of Bahrain entering into dialogue with international entities on human rights which was to be commended. Mr. Boyd expressed his opinion that the Bahraini Head of State appeared to be reform-minded and had been taking positive steps consistent with human rights principles. He also noted as positive the steps taken to reconstitute the human rights committee in Bahrain. Moreover, Bahrain had embarked on an ambitious effort to diversify its labour market which had resulted in a rise in the GDP and GNP.

Despite the progress made by the Government of Bahrain, the country Rapporteur said it had much work to do to fully satisfy the implementation of the Convention, including reporting on cases of racial discrimination and providing concrete and detailed examples of any such cases. Mr. Boyd underscored the need for the State party to provide disaggregated data in its next periodic report. This, he said, would help clarify the nature of discrimination acts.

Among other things, he praised the holding of workshops in drafting human rights reports and noted as important the need to continue engaging in dialogue with members of civil society, even those who may have expressed their discontent with policies of the Government. Lastly, he urged the State party to make the declaration under article 14 of the Convention.