Meeting

Engineer Ali Ahmed Al-Derazi chaired the twelfth regular session of the NIHR Council of Commissioners, attended by Council members and the Secretary-General. The meeting commenced with a briefing on the activities of NIHR committees, where committee heads provided overviews of their recent work. The head of the Complaints, Monitoring, and Follow-up Committee outlined details of the institution's activities over the past three months, including handling 70 cases: 21 complaints, 44 legal assistance cases, and 5 monitoring cases. Of these, 22 complaints were lodged in person, while 14 were received via the toll-free hotline, and 13 through email, mobile apps, and the website. The institution liaised with relevant authorities in the kingdom to address these cases effectively.

The Head of the Detention & Facilities Visitation Committee, provided a comprehensive summary of the visits carried out by his committee in the preceding period to various correctional and rehabilitation centers. The primary objective is to ensure that inmates in these facilities are afforded their fundamental rights as guaranteed by law. This aligns with the institution's oversight responsibility in safeguarding and advancing human rights, particularly within correctional and rehabilitation settings, as well as in the realms of healthcare, social services, education, and housing for foreign laborers. The council stressed the significance of maintaining both announced and unannounced visits to monitor human rights conditions in any facility suspected of violating these rights, in accordance with the authority vested in the institution by its governing legislation.

The Head of the General Rights and Freedoms Committee outlined the committee's activities, which encompassed suggestions to organize various events aimed at enhancing awareness about the NIHR's role as empowered by the founding legislation, and aligned with the principles outlined in the Paris Principles, to governmental officials, Shura councils, and representatives. Additionally, the committee examined several legislative projects and proposals concerning human rights forwarded by the legislative authority.

The Chairperson provided a synopsis of the outcomes of the Legal Advisor's visit to the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), aimed at assisting NIHR through the forum's technical cooperation programs. APF serves as a regional network aiding national institutions, of which NIHR in the Kingdom of Bahrain is a member. Stressing the significance of ministries and relevant agencies collaborating with NIHR, the Chairperson highlighted the necessity of furnishing the institution with requisite information, data, and documents to fulfill its mandates within the designated timeframes as per Article 14 of the establishment law.