Bahrain Mirror: Front Line Defenders said in a statement that Bahrain is not a credible candidate for the Presidency of the UN Human Rights Council. This statement came after the government of Bahrain has nominated Ambassador Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri as its candidate for the 2021 Presidency of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

The organization said that at a time much of the media coverage focuses on the efforts of Saudi Arabia, China and Russia to use this as a ploy to block effective human rights scrutiny and reform the UN body, it is paramount to highlight just how damaging it would be to appoint a Bahraini diplomat as the head of the HRC given the Bahraini Government's highly criticized human rights track record.

"As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the crushing of the movement for human rights and democracy in Bahrain, we must also remember distinguished Bahraini human rights defenders, such as Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Naji Fateel, who continue to be unjustly imprisoned," it noted.

It indicated that the BICI reported the use of systematic torture when conducting interrogations to extract information and, in some cases, confessions. The BICI recommended that those charged with offences related to non-violent political expression have their convictions reviewed and sentences commuted, or in certain cases, have outstanding charges against them dropped.

Front Line Defenders briefed in its statement how the Bahraini authorities dealt with UN experts and rapporteurs and stressed that "It is clear from the above that the appointment of a Bahraini Government representative to serve as President of the Human Rights Council would seriously damage the credibility of the institution and undermine global efforts to promote and defend human rights. "

The organizations urged all members of the Human Rights Council to indicate that a candidate from Bahrain is not acceptable at this time and to ensure that a credible candidate is elected as President of the HRC in 2021.

It is to mention that Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri is Bahrain's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

Arabic Version