Foreign Minister chairs Higher Coordination Committee for Human Rights meeting

Manama, May 6 (BNA): Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, today presided over a virtual meeting of the Higher Coordination Committee for Human Rights, with the participation of the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Abdulla bin Faisal bin Jabur Al Doseri. The Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the members of the committee, praising their efforts and remarkable contributions to enriching the work of the committee in the field of human rights protection to elevate the Kingdom's position in this field, at the local and global levels. The Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed the keenness of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to adhere to the principles and goals of the United Nations, respect human rights, and lay the foundations of a state of justice and law, adding that HM the King has launched, within his reform approach, several pioneering initiatives that stem from the comprehensive vision of respecting the political, civil, economic, social and cultural human rights. He also stated that the government, led by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and with the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, has taken many constructive measures to enhance the protection of human rights, and licensed many associations specialised in this field, in addition to adopting many pioneering legislation, including the alternative penalty, which represents an important shift in the field of reform and rehabilitation. Dr. Al-Zayani noted the achievements of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the field of protecting human rights, which led to its membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council. This reflects the distinguished position achieved by the Kingdom regarding its commitment to respecting the principles of human rights endorsed by the United Nations, he said, stressing the importance of enhancing cooperation and joint coordination with international human rights organisations. He commended the sincere efforts made by the High Coordination Committee for Human Rights in this field, stressing the importance of its interaction with all issues related to the protection of human rights, and proposing programmes and projects that would pave the way for more achievements, as well as build on what had already been achieved in this field. He stressed the need to pay attention to the periodic reports of the Kingdom of Bahrain submitted to the treaty bodies supervising the implementation of the basic human rights agreements which the Kingdom has joined. The committee discussed a number of topics and reports on its agenda, including the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on human rights, and took appropriate decisions.