According to government officials, the code prohibits the use of force "except when absolutely necessary." The Royal Police Academy has incorporated the code into its curriculum and provided recruits with copies in English and Arabic. Human rights organizations also reported that the authorities denied medical care to injured or sick detainees and prisoners. Local and international human rights groups reported that individuals were detained without being informed at the time of arrest of the legal authority of the person making the arrest, the reasons for the arrest, and the charges against them.
According to reports from local and international human rights groups, authorities held some detainees for weeks with limited access to outside resources. According to human rights organizations, the government continued to imprison members of the opposition, along with dozens of others arrested for what these organizations claim is peaceful political activity. In November 2018, Thai authorities arrested footballer Hakim al-Arabi due to an INTERPOL "red notice" that the government of Bahrain had filed for al-Arabi.
Respect for Civil Liberties, Including
The law requires the government to obtain a court order before monitoring phone calls, e-mail and personal correspondence. Reports also indicated that the government used computer programs to monitor political activists and members of the opposition inside and outside the country. Press and media, including online media: The government did not own any print media, but the Ministry of Information Affairs and other government entities exercised considerable control over privately owned domestic print media.
The Press and Publications Act prohibits anti-Islam content in the media and provides for a prison sentence for "exposing the official state religion to insult and criticism". The law says: “Any publication that harms the ruling system. Defamation/Defamation Laws: The government has enacted libel and national security laws that limit freedom of the press. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the government had punished or imprisoned 172 individuals for "defamation", "defamation" or "revealing secrets".
On March 13, former senior opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif was given a six-month suspended sentence and a 500 dinar ($1,300) fine by the Lower Criminal Court for defaming then-President of Sudan Omar al Bashir in a tweet by referring to him as a "despot." The government insisted that Sharif's case was about an illegal act, not a restriction on freedom of expression. Several reports claimed that the government monitored the social media accounts and electronic communications of political and human rights activists. The government did not allow individuals to use mosques, maatams (Shia religious community centers), or other religious locations for political gatherings.
The government required all groups to register, civil society groups and unions with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and political associations with the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs. Based on its proposed statute, the government decided whether the group was social or political in nature. Exile: There were no reports of the government barring the return of individuals it considered citizens.
The government did not announce how many people had their citizenship revoked during the year; international human rights NGOs have estimated the total number of such cases at more than 700 since 2012.
Freedom to Participate in the Political Process
On January 21, the Court of Cassation rejected a final appeal by Wa'ad, officially dissolving the political society. To apply for registration, a political association must submit its articles of association, signed by all founding members, a list of all members and copies of their residence cards, and a financial statement identifying the association's sources of funding and bank. The principles, objectives and programs of the society should not conflict with Sharia or national interest as interpreted by the judiciary, nor should the society base itself on sectarian, geographical or class identity.
The government authorized registered political associations to nominate candidates for office and participate in other political activities. In 2018, the government adopted an amendment to the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights, which prohibits “active” members of political associations that have been dissolved by court order from standing for election. Although the law allows former members of these associations to ask a court to determine their status, none of them were allowed to run for office.
Political corporations are required to coordinate their contacts with foreign diplomatic or consular missions, foreign governmental organizations or representatives of foreign governments with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which may choose to send a representative to the meeting. Although this requirement was enforced earlier, there were no reports of the government enforcing the order during the year. Participation of women and minorities: No laws restrict the participation of women or members of minorities in the political process, and women did participate.
In the November 2018 elections, six women won seats in the 40-member Council of Representatives, doubling the number of women. During the year, the royal court appointed nine women to the Shura Council, the appointed 40-member upper house, and the prime minister appointed a woman to the 26-seat cabinet.
Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government
Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights
Domestic human rights groups have experienced significant difficulties in operating freely and communicating with international human rights organizations. Activists reported abandoning travel, particularly to international human rights events, for fear of reimposing international travel bans. Government human rights bodies: A 2016 amendment to a royal decree re-established the country's National Human Rights Organisation, now called the NIHR.
During the year, NIHR conducted numerous human rights workshops, seminars and training sessions as well as prison visits and referred numerous complaints to the PPO. It also operated a hotline for citizens and residents to file human rights-related complaints and offered a personal walk-in facility for filing complaints. The ministry organized various human rights training courses for its employees, including a year-long human rights curriculum and diploma at the Police Academy.
The academy continued to include a unit on human rights in international law as part of the curriculum for its master's degree in Security Administration and Criminal Forensics. However, local activists and human rights organizations reported that security forces' demographics were still not representative. Many human rights groups claimed that investigations into police abuses were slow and ineffective and questioned the independence and credibility of investigations by government-sponsored organizations.
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have reported that government-linked human rights institutions have not fully investigated or followed up on claims of abuse. Local and international observers and human rights organizations continued to express concern that the government had not fully implemented the BICI.
Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons Women
The government also retained the Office of the Ombudsman within the Ministry of Home Affairs, the SIU within the PPO and the PDRC. Although the government sometimes enforced the law, sexual harassment remained a widespread problem for women, especially foreign female domestic workers. Labor laws prohibit discrimination against women, but discrimination against women was systemic, especially in the workplace, although the law prohibits wage discrimination on the basis of sex.
According to community members, there were between 36 and 40 Jewish citizens (six families) in the country. The government led a committee for the provision of care for the disabled, which included representatives of all relevant ministries, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. During the year, the government did not prosecute any cases of violations against the disabled.
The law grants citizenship to ethnic Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 15 years and non-Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 25 years. Human rights and civil society groups said the government allowed foreign Sunni employees of the security services who had lived in the country for less than 15 years to apply for citizenship. According to Human Rights Watch, the government prosecuted acts such as organizing a "gay party" or cross-dressing under the penal code provisions against "indecency" and "immorality".
The government mandated screening of newly arrived migrant workers for infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS. In previous years, the government deported migrant workers found to be HIV/AIDS positive, but the status of the deportations during the year was unclear.
Worker Rights
Relations between the main federations and the Ministry of Labor and Social Development were sometimes publicly contentious. The government sometimes interfered in GFBTU activities, such as preventing public May Day celebrations, although the ministry supported GFBTU partnership with international NGOs for training workshops. During the year, the government reported that attempts at reinstatement, as reflected in the tripartite agreement, should be considered.
Human rights organizations and activists questioned the government's claims and reported ongoing, systematic job discrimination. During the year, the government shut down recruitment agencies and revoked the licenses of others for violations. The government administered a committee to monitor the provision of care for persons with disabilities and impairments.
The law requires the government to provide vocational training for persons with disabilities who wish to work. The law also requires employers of more than 100 people to hire at least 2 percent of their employees from the government's list of disabled workers. The Ministry of Labor continued to fund a center that provides employment and training services for citizens with disabilities.
Although the government claimed that the private sector labor code applies to all workers, the ILO and international NGOs noted that foreign workers faced discrimination in the workplace. While the minimum wage for Bahrainis is generally considered a living wage, there is no minimum wage for foreign workers in the public sector; however, the government issued "guidelines" advising public and private sector employers to pay a monthly minimum wage. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing labor law and mandating acceptable working conditions.
The police referred 40 cases to the National Referral Mechanism in the first half of the year.
