NIHR’s Committee on General Rights and Freedoms convenes its 12th Regular Meeting
11 Mar 2020
The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR)’s Committee on General Rights and Freedoms has convened its 12th regular meeting under the chairpersonship of Dr. Bader Mohamed Adel and membership of Mrs. Wedad Radhi Almoosawi and Mr. Ahmed Mahdi Alhaddad. The meeting was held at the NIHR’s headquarters in the Seef District.
The Committee opened its meeting by praising the directives of His Majesty the King of Bahrain and appreciating the efforts made by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister in leading the National Campaign for combating Coronavirus (Covid-19). The Committee praised the great attention by the Kingdom of Bahrain to the right to health through its precautionary and preventive measures and steps in order to spread awareness and educate the community about this disease and take all actions to reduce its spread in order to preserve the health and safety of all citizens and residents.
The Committee also reviewed a statement of all its previous resolutions and recommendations and examined the measures taken therein. The Committee then reviewed a report prepared by a member of the Council of Commissioners on the right of children to free education and discussed its content and recommendations. It also reviewed the proposal of study prepared by the Secretariat General on the tuition fees applicable in private schools in Bahrain and their impact on residents’ enjoyment of their right to education. It concluded that amendments should be made in accordance with the Abidjan Principles on the human rights obligations of States to provide public education and to regulate private involvement in education, and stressed the importance of the NIHR’s role on the protection and promotion of human rights through coordination to hold an event on the reality of education, especially private education in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and to invite the competent authorities and stakeholders to discuss the challenges to providing education for all citizens and residents.
The Committee postponed the discussion of its report on child labor prepared in light of the US Department of Labor on this subject until its next meeting for further study and research.
