Repression Climates in Bahrain: Summoning as a Vindictive Approach for Silencing Voices
The Bahraini government promotes its human rights record through formal steps taken from time to time. These efforts often aim to cover up its violations and present an incomplete picture of the human rights situation in the country. Since the start of the popular demand movement in 2011, there has been no real reform. However, what appears in public is only a small part of the larger, bleak human rights landscape painted by the ruling Al Khalifa family. In Bahrain, a climate of repression prevails. The basic rights of citizens to participate in public life and express their opinions are violated.
Updated: Husain Ali Muhana was a 21-year-old Bahraini student when Bahraini authorities arrested him without presenting an arrest warrant at his friend’s house on 14 December 2017. During his detention, he was subjected to torture, isolation, solitary confinement, enforced disappearance, denial of access to his lawyer during interrogation, unfair trials, and medical negligence. He is currently serving his life sentence in Jau Prison.
Bahrain: Joint Letter on Human Rights Situation to Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Ahead of and during the upcoming 56th Session of the Human Rights Council, we urge you and your delegation to raise concerns over the human rights situation in Bahrain, particularly regarding the continued arbitrary detention of human rights defenders and opposition leaders in Bahrain, many of whom have been wrongfully imprisoned since 2011.
Updated: Ebrahim Yusuf Ali AlSamahiji was a 39-year-old Bahraini citizen and an employee at the Aluminium Bahrain Company (ALBA) when Bahraini authorities arbitrarily arrested him from his home on 15 October 2015 without presenting an arrest warrant. During his detention, he was subjected to torture, sexual assault, religion-based insults, provocation, insults, enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, denial of communication, reprisals, isolation, and medical neglect. He was sentenced in an unfair trial based on evidence extracted under torture in a terrorism case known as the “Nuwaidrat Warehouse Case” and is currently serving his life sentence in Jau Prison.
Universal Periodic Review on Saudi Arabia, May 2024
Saudi Arabia’s human rights record continues to be deeply concerning. This report includes the four most alarming points at present in Saudi Arabia; including the killing of migrants, repression of dissidents and systemic discrimination against women. The following sectors covered by this report violate international Human Rights standards and demand urgent attention.
Bedoon, meaning “without nationality” in Arabic, is a stateless Arab minority in Kuwait who were not granted citizenship at the time of the country’s independence or shortly thereafter. The government currently labels Bedoon as “illegal residents,” despite many having no tangible connections to any country other than Kuwait, and notwithstanding decades of social discourse depicting Bedoon as intertwined with Kuwaiti territory.
Briefing paper: Migrant rights and the Kafala system in the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is the country with the highest proportion of international migrants in the world. Labour migration in the kingdom is governed by a restrictive and abusive system, named kafala, that causes numerous and well-documented abuses. This briefing paper contextualizes the kafala system in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United Arab Emirates singularly and goes on to outline the different migrant workers’ abuses and the UAE’s human rights international law violations. Lastly, it delves into the International Community’s stance on the issue and proceeds to make recommendations.
Oman restricts civil societies from operating in the country: a real threat to human rights
Civil societies are an important instrument for protecting human rights, both locally and internationally. In Oman, national laws allow civil societies and human rights nongovernmental organizations to form, yet they also severely restrict their ability to operate. These organizations cannot work independently in Oman as they are tightly regulated by the government. As a result, any organization that could threaten the government is blocked by them.
Saudi Arabia’s Continued Use of the Death Penalty on Minors: Unveiling Legal Loopholes and Human Rights Violations
In April 2024, the Court of Appeal in Saudi Arabia approved two death sentences for Yousif Al-Manasif and Ali Al-Mubaiouq, both Saudi nationals, who were accused of protest-related crimes allegedly committed as children. The two men were arrested between April 2017 and January 2018 for protesting against the government and ‘betraying the homeland’, a time in which they were between the ages of 14 and 16. Saudi Arabia has denied allegations of torture against the defendants and refuted claims that they were minors at the time of the charges, despite the Public Prosecutor’s examination confirming that they were.
Kuwait Dissolves Parliament: A Step Back for Democracy
Kuwait has been known to be the most democratic country in the Middle East. Article 6 of its constitution states that the “system of government shall be democratic, under which sovereignty resides with the people”. However, in the last decade, there have been several dissolutions of the parliament, which have led to numerous elections. Since 2016, no parliament has finished its full four-year term. The latest dissolution, declared by Emir Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, occurred on May 10 2024, only one month after the snap election on 4 April 2024. These perpetual dissolutions raise the question: is Kuwait failing its democratic system?
