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A Delegation of the NIHR Meets President of the UN Human Rights Council

A delegation of the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), under the chairpersonship of Mr. Saeed bin Mohamed Al-Faihani, chairpwerson of the NIHR, met Ambassador Mr. Joaquin Martelli, President of the Human Rights Council and Permanent Representative of Salvador, on the sidelines of the delegation’s participation in the 27^th round of the Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain, which is held at the UN Palace in Geneva.

At the beginning of the meeting, NIHR’s Chairperson explained to Mr. Martelli that the elections were held during the first procedural meeting of the council of Commissioners, under which the Chairperson and Vice chairperson were elected for 4 years, pursuant to the Royal Decree No. (23) of 2017 on the formation of 11 members of the Council of Commissioners.  He also stated that the NIHR was established in November 2009 by virtue of Royal Decree.  In 2014, NIHR’s Establishment Law was issued, and it was amended by Decree – Law No. (20) of 2016, which granted more powers to the NIHR to perform its terms of reference and goals in compliance with the feedback of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) as well as the Paris Principles organizing the work of the national human rights institutions.  Mr. Al-Faihani also praised the support received by the national human rights institutions from the UN Human Rights Council through its mechanisms and organs aiming at the enhancement and protection of human rights.

For his part, President of the UN Human Rights Council welcomed the NIHR’s delegation, indicating the importance of NIHR’s participation in the Review session of Bahrain as well as the significant role of the national institutions for human rights in providing support to the States in order to implement the recommendations, in addition to their role in the dissemination of the human rights culture.  He also stressed the Human Rights Council’s cooperation with the NIHR and its readiness to provide it with all that it needs in order to carry out its duties to the fullest.

The meeting was attended by Mrs. Christine Elsasser, Head of the Office of Human Rights Council President, Mr. Abdullah Al-Derazi, NIHR’s Vice Chairperson, Dr. Khalifa Al-Fadel, NIHR’s Acting Secretary General and Chancellor Mr. Yasser Shahin, NIHR’s Assistant Secretary General.