News

NIHR organizes a Round Table entitled “Bahraini Experience and its Role in Promoting and Protecting Expatriate Workers’ Rights in light of Coronavirus Pandemic

The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) organized a round table titled, “The Bahraini Experience and its Role in Promoting and Protecting Expatriate Workers Rights in light of the Coronavirus Pandemic” by videoconference in order to shed light on the effect of Coronavirus (Covid-19) on expatriate workers and the efforts and solidarity of the concerned bodies and authorities in the Kingdom of Bahrain to address it in line with Bahrain’s advanced position in protecting human rights in general and the right to health for all in particular.  It was attended by representatives of the relevant ministries, authorities and institutions, in addition to a number of relevant civil society institutions.

During the event moderated by Dr. Bader Mohamed Adel, Head of the NIHR Committee on General Rights and Freedoms and Member of the NIHR Council of Commissioners, the role of the NIHR in light of the Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on expatriate workers was addressed, explaining the efforts made by the relevant authorities in the Kingdom of Bahrain in this regard as well as the regulations relating to workers housing and the conditions that must be met to avoid overcrowding and create an appropriate healthy environment.

The event shed light on the most important challenges facing expatriate workers with the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), and discussed the best ways to activate partnership with official bodies and the relevant civil society organizations, in addition to the relationship between precautionary measures taken and the exercise of human rights in general and expatriate workers rights in particular.

The round table event hosted by the NIHR concluded with a number of recommendations and proposals aimed at finding solutions to the challenges facing expatriate workers in light of the Coronavirus pandemic, such as monitoring their conditions and raising their awareness and perception of their basic rights and freedoms, in addition to the importance of conducting surveys and field studies on the most affected sectors and workers.

On the sidelines of the event, Ms. Maria Khoury, Chairperson of the NIHR, appreciated the great measures and efforts undertaken by the Kingdom of Bahrain to combat this pandemic, through which it considered human rights in general for citizens and residents alike without any discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, language or religion, noting the NIHR’s role in following-up the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus and their impact on the exercise of human rights, and in conducting field visits to the housing of expatriate workers to ensure that the nature of living and the quality of accommodation reflects the extent of the application of precautionary measures, confirming at the same time the NIHR’s readiness to engage all relevant parties, provide assistance and exchange expertise, for everybody’s access to all human rights.