"Bahrain: Rights under Restrictions-Freedom of Expression Peaceful Assembly and Right of Citizenship"

The fifth international human rights conference was held in Beirut on the 29th and 30th of March 2016 by the invitation and organization of Bahrain Forum for Human Rights, entitled: "Bahrain: Rights under Restrictions-Freedom of  Expression, Peaceful Assembly and Right of Citizenship". The conference was attended by a number of international and regional human rights organizations, in addition to experts on law and journalists from different countries.

 The conferrers discussed in their sessions the deprivation of Bahrainis from practicing their right to freedom of expression and assembly and their right to citizenship, and the violations occurring to them during exercising these rights, and thus requested:

1. Creating a team in cooperation with the International Federation for Human Rights to follow up the cases of revoking citizenship and enforced deportation in the following international institutions:

• The European Parliament

• The European Court for Human rights

• The International Court of Justice, in addition to any other institution that provides a benefit in this regard.

2. Setting a popular tribunal "conscience court" for the Bahraini authorities for their violations of freedom of expression, revoking nationalities and deporting citizens from their countries; in accordance with international parties and human rights associations who are in solidarity. 

Recommendations:

• First: Demanding that the Bahraini authorities stop immediately disrupting the public freedoms in Bahrain, and in particular the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and releasing all ties that prohibit practicing this right.

• Second: Call on the Bahraini authorities to stop implementing judiciary policies as tools in depriving Bahrainis of their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and their right to citizenship.

• Third:  Forcing the Bahraini authorities to abort all the decisions and convictions of revoking nationality on its political opponents and human rights activists, and to stop using enforced deportation for those citizens, for opposing the articles of the constitution and laws and all the international treaties and covenants.

• Fourth: Dropping all the charges on prisoners whom trials were built on accusations relating to the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and releasing them and making up for them taking into consideration the fact that they are prisoners of conscience, in particular the general secretary of Al-Wefaq, Sheikh Ali Salman, former secretary-general of the National Democratic Action Society-Waad-Mr. Ibrahim Sharif, and the rest of the political prisoners.

• Fifth: Demanding that the Bahraini authorities apply the laws included in the Bahraini constitution, which ensure the practice of the rights to citizenship and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

• Sixth: Call on the Bahraini authorities to stop tracking human rights defenders and banning them from travel, for this opposes the International Covenant on Human Rights and the laws in Bahrain, in particular the President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, the activist Mr. Nabeel Rajab, and the Head of  Religious Freedoms in the Bahrain Human Rights Observatory, Sheikh Maitham Al Salman.

• Seventh: Call on the Arabian parliaments to implement the decision of the French parliament which includes the stop of a constitutional reform that allows revoking nationalities for the French citizens who are accused of terror.

• Eighth: Pressuring the Bahraini authorities to allow the visits of the special rapporteurs to Bahrain, in particular the special rapporteur on freedom of expression and assembly.

• Ninth: Forcing the Bahraini authorities to empower children, whom parents’ nationalities have been revoked for political purposes, from the right to have a nationality and citizenship as referred in the civil and political rights agreed internationally and locally, taking in regard the humanitarian and emotional effects on their lives and future.

• Tenth: Call on the European governments to stop providing the Bahraini government with equipments and tools that might be used to ban citizens from exercising their freedoms and restricting them through eavesdropping on their communications and calls.

• Eleventh: Recommend assigning a special rapporteur on Bahrain.

• Twelfth: Stop the discrimination between citizens with regard to their sectarian, racial and political status; this discrimination is harmful for the rights of citizenship that are constitutionally ratified.

Finally, we are in solidarity with all the activists who have witnessed violations for their support for the righteous demands of the people.

The high committee of the conference values the participation of the conferrers and considers their efforts a form of solidarity which helps Bahrainis achieve their ambitions to have democracy and human rights.