NIHR’s Committee on Complaints, Monitoring and Follow-up Convenes its 23rd Regular Meeting via Teleconference
25 Feb 2021
The National institution for Human Rights (NIHR)’s Committee on Complaints, Monitoring and Follow-up convened its 23rd regular monthly meeting via teleconference under the chairpersonship of Ms. Maria Khoury and membership of Dr. Hameed Ahmed Husain, Mr. Ammar Ahmed Al-Bannai and Mrs. Rawdha Al-Aradi.
The Committee opened its meeting by discussing all its previous resolutions and recommendations and the actions taken thereupon. Then, it reviewed its statements related to the complaints received by the NIHR, legal aids provided by it and cases monitored via the media and the social media during the period from 27 January to 18 February 2021, where it dealt with (2) complaints, provided (53) legal aids, monitored (4) cases via the media and social media and received (126) calls via the NIHR toll-free hotline.
In a related context, the Committee also reviewed the periodic statement including the cases the applied to the NIHR for assistance and intervention with the competent authorities for implementation of the provisions of the Law (18) of 2017 on Alternative Sanctions and Measures, where the Committee intends to address the concerned authorities regarding these cases early next March, as the NIHR contributes through its humanitarian and human rights position to receiving and referring some applications to the authorities concerned with the implementation of alternative sanctions. The Committee also affirmed that it will continue to coordinate with the relevant authorities regarding these applications on a quarterly basis, taking into account that such cases fulfill the formal requirements stipulated by Article (13) of the aforesaid Law on the application of alternative sanctions, which are related to serving half of the sentence period and paying material fines, if any, leaving consideration of the substantive conditions to the discretion of the competent authority.
It is worth mentioning that the NIHR continues to support the alternative penalties and measures system, due to its lofty goals that harmonize with the principles of human rights, which aim to humanize the penalty and spread the spirit of tolerance, responsibility and community partnership among all spectrums of the community, as the NIHR is currently providing jobs to four convicts whose freedom deprivation sentences have been replaced by alternative sanctions that vary between community service, enrollment in rehabilitation programs and harm repair instead of imprisonment.
Under its supervisory role to monitor human rights violations, the Committee discussed the measures taken by the NIHR in light of monitoring the phenomenon of environmental pollution and the spread of yellow spots in some areas of Bahrain, and the damage to the property of a number of individuals as a result, which prompted the NIHR to communicate and cooperate with the relevant authorities in the State to find out the causes that led to this phenomenon and work to deal with it. The Committee also called on all citizens and residents affected by this pollution to communicate with the NIHR to monitor and document the harm and damage they were exposed to. The Committee emphasized that the right to enjoy a clean environment is an integral part of basic human rights guaranteed to citizens under the constitution and relevant national, regional and international laws.
Based on the powers granted to the NIHR under the provisions of Article (14) of its Establishment Law, the Committee discussed the procedures it intends to take with one of the parties not cooperating with the NIHR in providing it with the required information and data, and responding to its inquiries regarding allegations of violations of human rights of citizens and residents. The Committee will also communicate with the concerned parties in the Ministry of Health to inquire about the extent of compliance with the provisions of Resolution (59) of 2019 regarding defining hospital obligations in the National Aid Center's response system for emergency cases, in light of monitoring a number of allegations related to violations of the right to health.
The committee concluded its meeting by discussing the development of its perceptions and proposals for projects to monitor human rights violations and non-compliance with laws and regulations in force in the State, as part of its great interest in monitoring and following up any violations of human rights.
