Under the patronage of His Excellency Dr Ali bin Fadul Al Buainain, Attorney General, conference (The Effective Role of National Bodies and Mechanisms in the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights) was held today. The conference is organized by SIU on the occasion of the tenth anniversary since the establishment SIU, in cooperation with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Judicial and Legal Studies Institute via video conferencing. At the forefront of those present was His Excellency Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Mr. Mohammed Al-Zarqani, Acting Resident Coordinator of UN Activities in the Kingdom of Bahrain, heads and members of the national bodies and mechanisms concerned with the protection of human rights, and a number of legal and human rights national experts.
In his opening speech to the conference, the Attorney General underlined that the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is rich in pioneering development and human rights achievements in ensuring human rights and public freedoms. Moreover, the national mechanisms concerned with the protection of human rights have become one of the foundations of national action, to create an integrated human rights system that works on the rule of law and ensure accountability, which leads to building and sustaining peace, achieving comprehensive development in the country, and the implementation of procedural legitimacy as one of the basic assets of criminal trials.
While the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed in his speech that the reform approach of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is based on consolidating respect and protection of human rights, strengthening the democratic process and continuing the comprehensive development efforts of the Kingdom in a way that achieves the good and benefit of the citizen and the resident in economic, social, cultural and developmental fields. He added that the complementary role played by the national mechanisms concerned with the protection of human rights, in cooperation with the various official public agencies, is the mainstay for spreading a culture of promoting protection and respect for human rights. His Excellency further praised the positive and responsible role played by SIU in exercising its competencies that has reinforced the importance of its existence as one of the national redress mechanisms.
On her part, Mrs. Aykan Mukanpitova, UNDP Acting Head the Kingdom of Bahrain, said that close cooperation with the national mechanisms concerned with achieving criminal justice in various fields has contributed to building and strengthening legal and structural capacities; to continue carrying out its activities in accordance with international standards and protocols. And this promotes human rights and achieves sustainable development goals.
SIU Head also indicated that this conference is an extension of the conference on the protection of human rights in the criminal justice system, held in Bahrain during 2019, regarding the role of national mechanisms in protecting and promoting human rights. It concluded with a number of legal and human rights recommendations, including the generalization of the experience of Bahraini national mechanisms concerned with human rights in the criminal justice system, to decisively implement the rule of laws and strive to respect international conventions and covenants.
During its sessions, the conference dealt with several main axes including the national efforts exerted in the field of protection and promotion of human rights, the stages Bahraini legislation development and its compliance with international conventions and standards, with a review of the effective role of national bodies and mechanisms in achieving criminal justice, and international experiences in dealing with crimes of torture and inhuman treatment.
The sessions and discussions concluded with a number of recommendations, including emphasizing the importance of research and training in the field of crime prevention and prevention, the role of modern technologies and emerging solutions in combating crime and strengthening criminal justice mechanisms, while intensifying national efforts to establish a culture of respect for the law and its rule, and work on an innovative use of the media in promoting societal awareness of ways to access national mechanisms concerned with achieving criminal justice.
