A Delegation of the NIHR Meets a Number of Ambassadors on the Sidelines of the Session of the Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain in Geneva
On the sidelines of the 27th session of the Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain, a delegation of the National Institution for Human Rights, under the chairpersonship of HE Mr. Saeed bin Mohamed Al-Faihani, Chairperson of the NIHR, met with Ambassador Mr. Valentin Zlweger, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations Office in Geneva.
At the beginning of the meeting, NIHR’s Chairperson referred to the elections that took place during the procedural meeting of the Council of Commissioners, under which the NIHR’s Chairperson and Vice Chairperson were elected for 4 years, pursuant to the Royal Decree No. (23) of 2017 that has been recently issued to form the members of the Council of Commissioners, in addition to the Decree – Law to modify some of the provisions of the NIHR’s Establishment Law, to comply with the feedback of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) as well as the Paris Principles organizing the action of the national human rights institutions. He further illustrated the importance of cooperation and exchanging expertise with the Swiss Center for Human Rights Experts, which will be core of Permanent National Human Rights Institution in Switzerland, pursuant to the Paris Principles. For his part, the Permanent Representative of Switzerland expressed his country’s readiness to provide training programs and work on building the capacity of the members and staff of the NIHR General Secretariat in order to promote and develop human rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The NIHR’s delegation met with Ambassador Mr. Mark Mathews, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom in Geneva, where he was briefed on the developments of the NIHR’s action and the powers granted to it under the recent amendment of its Establishment Law. The Deputy Ambassador expressed the desire to support the NIHR through holding a number of mutual training programs and cooperating with the UK national human rights institutions in England, Scotland and North Ireland.
The NIHR’s delegation also met with Mrs. Lone Thorup, the Danish Deputy Ambassador, and discussed together aspects of bilateral cooperation between the NIHR and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, which is one of the national human rights institutions that target the exchange of expertise and knowledge.
The NIHR’s delegation also met with Dr. Nizar Abdel-Kader, Director of the Geneva Institute for Human Rights, and discussed together means to enhance the cooperation between the two sides. The meetings were attended by Mr. Abdullah Al-Derazi, NIHR Vice Caitperson, Dr. Khalifa bin Ali Al-Fadel, NIHR’s Acting General Secretary and Chancellor Mr. Yasser Shahin, NIHR’s Assistant Secretary General.
