BCHR Welcomes UPR Report With Reservations

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) wrote a response to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report, in which it welcomed the increase in the number of recommendations from nine last year to 176 this year. Though BCHR recognized some progress has been made by the Bahraini government, it reminded the international community about ongoing violations of human rights, and encouraged countries to remain wary of Bahrain’s progress moving forward. “Bahrain has become accomplished at putting on a smile and pretending that everything is fine,” the response read, “but Bahrainis have been waiting since 1975 for a government based on a fair and non-discriminatory constitution.” Relatedly, Freedom House welcomed the decision by the Senate Appropriations Committee to put conditions upon foreign aid to Bahrain, “on the protection of freedom of expression, association, and assembly, on release of individuals charged with offenses relating to peaceful expression, and on investigations into the involvement of government officials in rights violations.”

Julia Hanne describes Bahrain as the West’s “blind spot,” criticizing the hypocrisy of the West in calling “for a free Syria while applauding a ‘slowly reforming Bahrain.’” Hanne said it was “unfortunate” that it would take an event such as the Formula One Grand Prix to bring Bahrain back into the light of the media and concluded, “The role of the media should be to keep critically reviewing the western interests in places like Bahrain. Both politicians and western media are guilty of applying an ignoble double-standard when they call for action in Syria while tuning out the plight of the Bahraini people.” Julia Duin interviews Bahrain’s ambassador to the U.S. Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, whose job, Duin argues, has become more complicated by the Arab Spring. Barbara Slavin says, “Whatever goodwill the Bahraini government got by sending a Jewish woman to Washington has been completely overtaken by events. Now, it’s an impossible situation for anybody sent by Bahrain.”