NIHR Signs an MOU with the Commission for Human Rights of the Russian Federation
Eng. Ali Ahmed Al-Derazi, Chairman of the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR), has met at the Russian Human Rights Commission’s headquarters in Moscow with Prof. Tatiana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the distinguished bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, emphasizing the continuation of strengthening these relations in various fields, especially in areas of human rights.
Mr. Al-Derazi reviewed the NIHR’s role in the dissemination, promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with its Establishment Law No. (26) of 2014, amended by the Decree-Law No. (20) of 2016, and its powers in providing advisory opinions, making recommendations for amending national legislation on human rights for the concerned parties, following up on the human rights situation in Bahrain by receiving complaints, providing legal assistance and monitoring cases related to human rights through the media and social media, conducting declared and undeclared visits to the correction, rehabilitation and detention centres as well as health and social care centres and accommodation for expatriate workers, especially under Covid-19 conditions, and following up the precautionary measures taken by the State to prevent the spread thereof.
During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the NIHR in the Kingdom of Bahrain and its counterpart in the Russian Federation, with the aim of deepening cooperation in the field of the protection and follow-up of the rights of citizens of each country in the other one. The MOU provides for the exchange of information and technical cooperation between the two sides, holding joint events and organizing scientific and practical conferences, seminars, courses and training programs in order to introduce human rights concepts and principles at various local, national and regional levels. It is the first MOU signed between the NIHR and one of the national institution members to the European Network of National Institutions of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).
Prof. Moskalkova invited the NIHR to participate in monitoring the Russian parliamentary elections that will be held next month, where a number of qualified national institutions recognized for their serious human rights work are invited to observe the independence and impartiality of the electoral process and field track its progress, noting that the NIHR of the Kingdom of Bahrain has several experiences in monitoring elections, as it monitored the parliamentary and municipal elections that were held in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2014 and 2018, and participated in observing legislative elections in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and also in observing the regional elections in the Kingdom of Morocco that took place in 2015 within the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI) team.
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation also invited the NIHR to participate in the International Scientific and Practical Conference entitled: “Protection of Human Rights in Eurasia: Exchange of Best Practices by Ombudsmen”, which will be held in mid-October in Moscow, capital of Russia, which will provide a forum for the exchange of best practices between national human rights institutions, equality bodies, international government and non-government organizations operating in the area of human rights and representatives of academic and scientific community.
For his part, Eng. Ali Al-Derazi, expressed his gratitude and appreciation to HE Mr. Ahmed Al-Saati, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Russian Federation, for the visible efforts made by him and the Embassy staff in arranging this visit and making it a successful one.
