Meeting

The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR)’s Council of Commissioners convened its 6^th regular meeting under the chairpersonship of HE Ms. Maria Khouri, Chairperson of the NIHR. The meeting was held at the NIHR’s headquarters in the Seef District. 

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council of Commissioners congratulated the wise leadership on the occasion of Bahrain’s advanced ranking in combatting trafficking in persons (Tier 1), stressing their pride in this great achievement, which reflects Bahrain’s compliance with the relevant international standards, including human rights standards.

The Council Members listened to a briefing on the work of the three permanent committees, as well as a summary of the complaints received by the NIHR, the legal assistance provided by it, the monitored cases via the media and social media, and the actions taken in that regard.

During the meeting, the updated Guide for Receiving Complaints and providing legal assistance was adopted, which came in line with the progress made in the mechanism of dealing with complaints in terms of the new electronic system to follow up on complaints received and legal assistance provided.  The Guide is divided into eight sections.  Section 1 deals with the general principles of concepts and terminology.  Section 2 deals with the terms of reference granted to the NIHR and the complaints that fall under its jurisdiction and those that do not fall under its jurisdiction.  Section 3 deals with the procedures of receiving complaints, means of their submission and procedures for their follow-up.  Section 4 deals with the mechanism and stages of dealing with complaints, studying them and providing legal opinion thereon.  Section 5 deals with following up the complaint and communicating with the concerned authorities.  Section 6 deals with suspending and filing complaints.  Section 7 deals with providing legal assistance and advice.  Section 8 deals with the procedures for amending the Guide to Receiving Complaints.