NIHR Participates in Inaugurating “My Rights” Program for Public Sector Employees
Under the patronage of the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments His Excellency Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa, the Judicial and Legal Studies Institute, in partnership with the Bahrain Institute for Political Development and the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), launched “My Rights” Program for Public Sector Employees, at the Judicial and Legal Studies Institute headquarters.
The Program was inaugurated in the presence of Undersecretary of Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments HE Mr. Wael Buallay, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Institute for Political Development Dr. Mai Al-Otaibi, Head of the NIHR Committee on Civil and Political Rights and Member of the NIHR Council of Commissioners HE Mrs. Jameela Salman and a number of representatives of governmental institutions and mass media in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
During her speech, Mrs. Jameela Salman emphasized that the NIHR works, as per its strategy for 2015 – 2018, on the dissemination of the human rights culture among various groups, according to national and international standards, through the training and educational programs and specialized courses, in order to transfer the human rights knowledge into a social culture and a daily conduct that is practiced by all groups, in an attempt to find out the best ways to exercise basic rights and protect them against any potential violation.
She added that the NIHR’s interest in targeting this group of employees with a special human rights program proceeds from the importance such public sector employees represent in the country in various governmental and official institutions and entities as a large segment of society, which affects and is affected by the human rights culture, being citizens first and foremost, indicating that the Program will especially target employees that are concerned with drafting legislations and developing and implementing the human rights policies, as well as employees that are responsible for drafting and preparing reports to the boards and bodies of international human rights treaties and attending the discussion of such reports.
She further emphasized that the importance of “My Rights” Program stems from its goals to develop and enhance the skills of public sector employees and increase their knowledge of the issues on human rights, which are guaranteed by international covenants and national legislations, as well as the controls on practicing thereof, the matter which will have a direct impact upon the quality of their job performance, especially in the area of preparation of human rights reports, which are committed by the Kingdom of Bahrain to be presented to international treaty and non-treaty bodies, in addition to preparation of scientific researches and advisory opinions in the human rights area.
It is indicated that “My Rights” Program to the public sector employees is a training and awareness program in the constitutional, legal and human rights areas in general and the rights and duties of the public sector employee in particular. The Program targets employees in governmental and official institutions and bodies at their various administrative levels, for the purpose of enhancement and respect of human rights and development of constitutional, legal and human rights knowledge for employees in public sector positions, in order to ensure that everybody practice their rights and duties, which at the same time form rights of the other citizens, as well as dissemination of the culture of responsibility and human rights citizenship in the public sector position area and create a generation or workers in the public sector positions who have constitutional, legal and human rights capacity and knowledge.
The Program extends from February to December 2017. It is a comprehensive program for employees in official and governmental institutions at various levels. It includes a set of workshops, training courses and awareness lectures on topics relevant to constitutional, legal and human rights areas, which are conducted by a group of national experts specialized in such areas.
The Program aims to achieve a number of goals, mainly to familiarize employees of governmental institutions with the issues and topics of human rights, which are guaranteed to them by international covenants and national legislations, and the controls of practicing thereof, to develop awareness of citizenship values on constitutional and legal levels, to enhance knowledge of international and national mechanisms for protection of citizen rights and duties and to raise the capacities and skills of handling local and international constitutional and legal frameworks, which organize the public sector position.
The Program further aims to develop capacities and skills of researchers in the public position in the legal and human rights area and to provide training on positive handling of the rights and duties of a public sector employee.
