NIHR receives a Delegation from the Centre for Research and Policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Mr. Abdullah Al-Derazi, NIHR’s Vice Chairperson, received Dwight Bashir is Director of Research and Policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the accompanying delegation. Present were Ms. Maria Khouri, Head of NIHR’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Dr. Aisha Mubarak, member of the same Committee, Dr. Badr Mohamed Adel, Head of NIHR’s Committee on Civil and Political Rights and Dr. Khalifa bin Ali Al-Fadel, NIHR’s Acting Secretary-General.
At the beginning of the meeting, NIHR’s Vice Chairpeson welcomed the visiting delegation, praising the good relations between the two friendly countries. He reviewed the bright record of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the area of religious freedoms and tolerance among all faiths, stressing that the religious minorities are practicing their rituals freely, in the context of guaranteed public and personal freedoms and equality among all without distinction as to race, language, religion or sex, thanks to the policies of the King of the Country, confirming HIS Majesty’s belief that the freedom of faith and religious practice are fundamental pillars of nation-building.
For her part, Ms. Khouri stressed that religious freedoms are not limited to the existence of places of worship and the right to practice religious rites and rituals, but also the right to obtain everything guaranteed by the two International Covenants, i.e. the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain without any discrimination, as the right to education, health and housing is available and guaranteed to all. She also expressed her hope that the NIHR will be contacted as an entity that is independent from the executive authority, accredited by the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and correspondent with the Paris Principles, with the aim to ensure that any information related to religious freedoms is included in any future reports.
Dr. Al-Fadel pointed out that the concepts of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence emphasized by the King in His Majesty’s article published by “Washington Times” have been witnessed by the whole Bahraini society in the past decades, describing them as a source of strength and steadfastness for the Kingdom of Bahrain, stressing that His Majesty’s article is consistent with reality in the Bahraini society and the values of tolerance and coexistence on which the Bahraini citizen was raised.
For his part, Mr. Bashir praised the NIHR’s effective role to shed the light on the level of civilizational achievements and human rights gains achieved in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He expressed his thanks for the good reception and hospitality and for responding to the delegation’s inquiries and questions.
