Kingdom of Bahrain

29 May, 2007;
Trafficking in Persons, a Global and a Local Perspective:
LEGISLATION combating human trafficking in Bahrain is set to become a law within a few months, said Social Development Minister Dr Fatima Al Balooshi. She revealed that the Cabinet was expected to ratify a bill within a few weeks. "Soon, Bahrain will have its own law for preventing human trafficking," said Dr Al Balooshi. "It has been drafted through local and international committees and is one of the most advanced pieces of legislation in the region."
Dr Al Balooshi was speaking at a symposium entitled Trafficking in Persons: A Global and a Local Perspective which was organized by the Ministry of Social Development in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Fatima acknowledged that human trafficking is a critical issue globally which must be approached in a social, cultural, legal, economic and cultural perspective. From a logistical and organizational angle, the Ministry of Social Development established Dar Al Aman, a center for abused women, opened last November. The following initiative was The Bahrain Center for Child Protection which was inaugurated this month. By conducting symposiums, conferences and campaigns they plan to further heighten awareness and propose solutions.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Nizar Al Baharna explained that the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain recognizes the importance of the human trafficking as a factor in political and economic development. While he did not think Bahrain had a major problem, the proposed new law would give the authorities more powers to stop the country becoming a destination for traffickers. Dr Al Baharna said Islam strictly upholds human rights and that international human rights agreements must be applied.
Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS) action committee head Marietta Dias, participating in the workshop, said migrant workers in Bahrain faced several problems including exploitation by unscrupulous recruiting agents in departure and arrival countries, as well as lack of labor laws to protect them. Ms Dias also called for stricter checks to be introduced by sending countries to ensure that employment contracts were genuine and that the companies hiring large numbers of workers were following accepted standards. "Exemplary punishment should be handed out to contracting companies that indulge in human trafficking and who profit from the ignorance and illiteracy of workers," she said.

17 May, 2007;
Completion of surveillance techniques course:
Today a surveillance techniques course was completed for 15 law enforcement officers from the Ministry of Interior, Coast Guard and the Ports authority. A graduation ceremony was held, for those who completed the training, at the Bahrain Police Academy attended by the Deputy Chief of Public Security Brigadier Tarik Bin Dayna and a number of high ranking officials from the Ministry of Interior and the Police Academy.
The training course was conducted with the technical assistance provided by the West Yorkshire Police from the UK. The training course comes as part of a comprehensive training programme aimed at strengthening the capacity of law enforcement officers under the Multi-sectoral drug control project between the Ministry of Interior and UNDP Bahrain and in cooperation with UNODC.

17 May 2007;
General Assembly President issues call for women’s rights in Middle East:
Shaikha Haya bint Rashid Al Khalifa , the President of the United Nations General Assembly, a lawyer and rights advocate from Bahrain, has issued a strong call for addressing the social, educational and other constraints impeding the equality of women in the Middle East.
“The concept of human rights is based on the notion that all human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms,” Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa noted in an address to a panel discussion Wednesday evening on Women and Human Rights in the Middle East at Rutgers University, New Jersey, United States.
“Yet, in the Middle East women face multi-layered and multi-dimensional discrimination that is embedded in our culture, government policies, educational systems and the legal framework.”
She said social structure plays a part, especially the concept of the family versus the individual as the nucleus of society. Politically, women remain under-represented in parliaments and at higher government positions.
Despite these circumstances, women have been active in influencing policy making and public opinion through other means, including the media, in petitions to Members of Parliament and government officials, and through their memberships in unions, political parties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“Stressing that the status of women must be examined in the light of the regional and international circumstances, she noted that the Middle East “continues to face the devastating effects of war, occupation, civil unrest, weak governance as well as the challenges of globalization, economic volatility, impoverishment, demographic changes and counter-terrorism measures which may negatively affect human rights and further constrain freedoms.”
Amid a prevailing determination within the Middle East to modernize and reform so that people can live without fear and want, “it is now, more than ever before, that the voices of women need to be heard,” declared the Assembly President. “We must not only hear these voices – we must listen to them, and then act. So much of our future depends on our response.”
Shaikha Haya was honored at the event sponsored by the University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies for her dedication to women and human rights in the Middle East.