Coronavirus, human rights and the vaccine
Almost a year has passed since the spread of the coronavirus in various parts of the world. The year has been marked by ominous health challenges and exceptional measures to mitigate its spread.
This tiny virus has posed an unprecedented global challenge that caused the imposition of numerous strict measures commensurate with its severity and led to isolating cities in various corners of the world.
It also led to bans on cultural, sports, and entertainment activities, the prohibition of gatherings, and the restriction of freedom of movement and travel.
Such restrictions have prompted widespread debates among human rights organizations at the regional and international levels about the impact of these measures on the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and on the principles of the International Bill of Human Rights.
With the outbreak of the pandemic, countries took the initiative to impose many restrictions that affected all freedoms and rights in order to prevent the dangers of the virus and protect the right to life and health, especially after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on January 30, 2020.
However, the Kingdom of Bahrain, in the application of preventive and precautionary measures, selected another option that enhanced the protection of citizens and residents without prejudice to any of the principles of human rights, and such a selection made the country an outstanding model for the respect of human rights.
Based on the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the government, headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, has placed people and their rights at the top of its priorities.
It eased all procedures to ensure that citizens and residents went on with their lives, daily routines and commitments without any discrimination and provided all components of the society with curative and preventive services in accordance with the best international standards.
The directives were not confined to mitigating the economic impacts on citizens and residents, but were also extended to include health and educational rights, the protection of the rights of children, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, and workers as well as the consolidation of food security for all.
This was made possible through the adoption of a wide range of decisions and carefully considered precautionary and preventive measures that greatly contributed to limiting and reducing the damages caused by the pandemic. Such directives ensured that the strengthening and protecting of human rights could not be compromised or diminished in any way.
The decisions were complemented with the lofty decision of HM the King to pardon hundreds of prisoners for humanitarian reasons in light of the pandemic and by the national efforts to confront it, as well as by the significant expansion in the application of the alternative penal code.
Since the early days of the outbreak of the pandemic, the National Institution for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain has been keen to monitor actively the measures taken by the concerned authorities. The keenness was based on the institution's human rights and oversight roles within its broad powers and mandate affirmed by its establishment law in accordance with the Paris Principles.
The institution made announced and unannounced field visits to monitor the human rights situation in reformation and rehabilitation institutions, detention centers, labor gatherings, and health and educational homes.
Those in charge in these different places were genuinely keen on transparency, clarity, and seriousness in dealing with the spread of the pandemic across their measures and the significance of the health factor.
They strengthened cooperation and interaction with civil society organizations and institutions concerned with the protection of human rights, as well as with all components of society as essential partners in overcoming pandemic. They spared no effort to ensure full respect of human rights.
The acrimonious paradox is that there are organizations that claim commitment to defending human rights, but in fact, exercise double standards in their approach - and this is the most dangerous type of duplicity - to undermine Bahrain's human rights achievements and international standing.
From time to time, they issue misleading media statements that are in fact a violation of human rights and allegations that do not reflect the reality on the ground.
Driven by self-serving interests, they present concocted information based on desperate attempts to distort the facts about the great humanitarian efforts made by the Kingdom of Bahrain to protect its citizens and residents from the coronavirus and without any prejudice to human rights.
One year after the coronavirus outbreak, and with the arrival of a shipment of safe and licensed vaccine to confront the virus in accordance with international standards, making the Kingdom of Bahrain one of the first countries to provide it, His Majesty the King directed that the vaccine be made available free of charge to every willing citizen and resident.
In such an instance, the noble human and civilizational values of the wise leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain are obvious.
HM the King has set his sights on human rights as part of his directives by making the vaccine free - despite the Kingdom’s limited resources - for everyone, whether they are Bahrainis or foreigners, and by stressing it was optional in respect of personal freedom. In many other countries, immunization is confined to citizens, excluding everybody else.
In conclusion, we affirm that the Kingdom of Bahrain is moving forward and steadily towards strengthening the values and principles of human rights, tolerance and coexistence in all their practices and manifestations and under the state of institutions and the rule of law.
The forward-looking progress is moving ahead under royal auspices that leave no room for doubt about the extent of its deep belief in the dignity of the human being, its respect for people's rights and its commitment to protecting all people without any discrimination or prejudice, making the kingdom a leading role model.
