Foreign Ministry's High Coordination Committee for Human Rights holds 22nd meeting

Manama, Feb. 19 (BNA): The Assistant Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Faisal bin Jabur Al-Doseri, stressed that the Kingdom of Bahrain attaches great importance to promoting legislation and laws that contribute to safeguarding the Kingdom's achievements in the field of human rights in accordance with the provisions of the Charter and the Constitution. He noted that the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the Reform Project of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, has made many achievements in the fields of political, civil, economic and social rights. These achievements include guaranteeing rights and freedoms, including the rights of women, children and people with special needs, education, communication, health and sustainable development. He also highlighted the success of the last elections in the Kingdom, with a turnout of 76% which is the highest percentage in the history of Bahrain, noting the win of Mrs. Fawziya Zainal as the first Bahraini woman to become a Speaker for the Representatives Council. This came as the Assistant Foreign Minister chaired the 22nd meeting of the High Coordination Committee for Human Rights, which was held today in the General Court of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of a number of representatives from various ministries and relevant authorities. The Committee discussed a number of topics on the agenda including the development of human rights work, based on the commitments of the Kingdom of Bahrain at the national and international levels, including cooperation with the United Nations and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the development of a draft national plan for human rights aimed at supporting and developing national efforts in the field of human rights to promote all civil, political, economic and social rights. The Committee also reviewed the results of a number of national reports that were submitted by the Kingdom in fulfillment of its obligations under international and regional human rights conventions, such as the report of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the 1st periodic report of the Kingdom to the Arab Human Rights Committee, among many others. The Committee praised the Kingdom of Bahrain's win of the membership of the Human Rights Council for the period from 2019 to 2021, after securing 165 votes from the group of countries of Asia and the Pacific, during the elections held in the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Committee also commended the discussion of the Kingdom's report on the Rights of the Child last January, lauding the efforts of the Minister of Labor and Social Development, Chairman of the National Childhood Committee, Jameel bin Mohammed Humaidan in this regard. The Committee also commended the success of the discussion of the 1st periodic national report of the Kingdom of Bahrain, submitted to the Arab Committee on Human Rights of the League of Arab States last January 2019 in Cairo. The High Coordination Committee for Human Rights concluded the meeting with specifying the steps and procedures to be taken in line with its responsibilities, stipulated in Edict No. 31 of 2017. The meeting was attended by the Executive Director of the National Communication Center, Ahmed Mohammed Abdul Karim Al-Mannai, Assistant Undersecretary for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Interior, Major General Mohammad Rashid Bouhamoud, Assistant Undersecretary for Community Development at the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Khalid Abdulrahman Ishaq Al-Kooheji, Assistant Undersecretary for Statistics, Planning and Communication at the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Danah Khamis Al-Zayani, Director General of Administrative Affairs and Information - Supreme Council for Women, Ezzeddine bin Khalil Al-Moayyed, Deputy Chairman of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Authority, Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Mijbil, Consultant Surgery Specialist at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Ministry of Health, Dr. Jassim Ibrahim Al-Mihza, Director of Curriculum Department, Ministry of Education, Dr. Fatima Ahmed Al-Buainain, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Information Affairs, Fawzan bin Khalifa Bu-Farsan, Head of prosecution in the Special Investigation Unit, Mohammed Khalid Al-Hazza, Chief Prosecutor of the Public Prosecution, Abdullah Isa Al-Doseri, Representative of the National Security Agency, Khalid bin Ali Abdullah Bukhwa, and Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ombudsman, Shaikh Mohammed bin Ali Al Khalifa.