Meeting

The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR)’s Council of Commissioners convened its 15^th regular meeting by teleconference under the chairpersonship of
Ms. Maria Khoury, Chairperson of the NIHR.  At the beginning of the meeting,
Ms. Khoury and the Council members expressed their highest and sincere congratulations to His Majesty, King of Bahrain, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and the faithful people of Bahrain, on the occasion of the glorious National Fay, the Sitting Day and the Bahraini Martyr Day, stating that the Kingdom of Bahrain has witnessed a lot of accomplishments at various levels, which constituted a milestone in the history of our Kingdom with its human rights, political and developmental gains, and contributed to achieving a decent life under His Majesty’s Reform Approach, in which His Majesty was one of the pioneers of comprehensive reform, not only in the region but also in all parts of the Arab world.

The Council members then listened to a brief on the actions of NIHR’s standing committees, presented by Head of the NIHR’s Committee on General Rights and Freedoms and Head of the NIHR’s Committee on Detention & Facilities Visitation, as well as a brief on the actions of the NIHR’s Committee on Complaints, Monitoring and Follow-up on the complaints received by the NIHR, the legal aids provided by it, the cases monitored via the media and social media and the trial sessions attended, and the actions taken thereupon, noting that the NIHR’s call and complaints center dealt with (335) cases via the hotline from October to December 2020, which varied between submitting new complaints and applications for aids and following-up on previously submitted complaints and applications for aids.

The Council reviewed the NIHR’s efforts in following up the precautionary measures taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), and the efforts made by the NIHR in raising awareness of human rights during this period.  The Council also approved the reports of a number of visits recently conducted by the NIHR to the correction and rehabilitation institutions, some health care centres and a number of workers' accommodations of major companies in the Kingdom, with the aim to verify the extent to which inmates or workers exercise their basic rights guaranteed to them under the relevant local and international laws, where the competent authorities will be addressed regarding what has been monitored during such visits and the NIHR’s recommendations thereupon.

The Council also discussed the preparation of 2020 annual report, which will focus on the NIHR’s efforts in following up precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, and its recent actions to ensure that everyone, including citizens and residents, exercise their rights.  The Council also approved the NIHR Secretariat-General’s actions report for the third quarter of this year.

The Council also reviewed the NIHR’s proposal to hold a round table “Distance Education between Reality and Expectations” next January in three sessions.  The first session will focus on the reality of distance education in the Kingdom of Bahrain in light of the measures taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain to confront the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), highlighting the efforts of the relevant official authorities.  The second session will focus on public and private education and its role in confronting the challenges relating to the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).  The third and last session will focus on the reality and prospects of distance education in light of the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), where a number of official authorities and universities, public and private schools and relevant civil society institutions will be invited.

The Council concluded the meeting by reviewing the NIHR’s participation in a number of local, regional and international events recently.