Bahrain Mirror: The media manager of Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR), Baqer Darwish, said that the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affair, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, is attempting to deny the existence of sectarian discrimination against a large national component, the Shiites, stressing that these attempts are proven by numbers.

He indicated that in 2014 the Shiite employment was 0% in the higher posts related to security in ministries, as it was the case in the Ministry of Defence or the National Guard and Ministry of Foreign Affairs where Shiites were excluded.

Darwish pointed out that an accurate study has been conducted on the royal decrees and decisions as well as ministerial decisions issued in 2014, which concluded this percentage, stressing that the ethical and sectarian discrimination in Bahrain has dramatically taken an institutional pattern and doubled compared to previous years.

Darwish also stated that in 2014 a new committee, the Terror Crime Prosecution, was established pursuant to Royal Decree 64/2014. All the appointments made were from one sect and the Shiites excluded. This indicates that the government does not adopt international standards of equal employment opportunities without discrimination.

Darwish concluded that article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights", however, the discrimination that takes place as a result of government policies has already been disclosed by the Al-Bandar report. Discrimination is severely practiced in all government institutions, targeting complete and right to citizenship. Thus, social justice has to be provided for everyone according to the principles of freedom and equality.

Arabic Issue