On 24 June, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 47 during interactive debate with Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing:

Mr. Rapporteur, 

We would like to bring to your attention the situation of the Bidoon, a stateless community living in Kuwait. The Bidoon represent one of the biggest stateless groups in the world. Considered as illegal residents, they are routinely targeted by the Kuwaiti authorities and their human rights are systematically violated.

These human rights violations include, among others: access to education, housing, healthcare, and employment. Due to this discrimination, the Bidoon tend to live in poverty and to be socially segregated. Most Bidoon live in slum-like settlements on the outskirts of the Country’s main cities, where they lack adequate housing. There is a clear policy by the Kuwaiti government to legally punish landlords who sign any rental agreement with any Bidoon family, making much more difficult for a Bidoon family to find adequate housing.

These discriminations lead to a very high suicide rate among the youngest of the community. The 26-year-old Yaqub Abdullah, the 11-year-old Jaled Alshamari, and the 12-year-old Ali Jaled, are just some of the young that committed suicide since the beginning of 2021, showing the physical and mental distress arising from these systemic discriminations.

Given the housing discrimination practices implemented by the Kuwaiti government against the Bidoon community; what policy steps would you recommend to the Kuwaiti government to end these discriminatory policies?

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26 June 2021 – On 26th June, the United Nations will observe International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, raising awareness about the continued scourge of torture throughout the world. On this solemn day, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) stand in solidarity with torture survivors and call upon the international community to work to put an end to the systematic use of torture in Bahrain and the culture of impunity which prevails in the country and allows perpetrators of abuses to evade justice.

Despite supposedly committing to reforms, Bahrain’s human rights record has continued to deteriorate in recent years. In 2017, the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) strongly criticised the systematic abuse of individuals held in police custody, but three years later torture remains deeply ingrained in the Bahraini justice system and abuses are widely and consistently reported across detention centres.

Bahrain’s judiciary continues to rely heavily on coerced confessions to prosecute defendants and perpetrators of abuses are seldom held accountable. As Human Rights Watch noted last year, the few prosecutions that have been pursued against Bahraini officers accused of human rights abuses have “almost exclusively involved low-ranking officers and have – without exception – resulted in acquittals or disproportionately light sentences.”

Furthermore, research by rights groups has found that institutions in Bahrain backed by the UK government – most notably human rights oversight bodies including the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman, the Special Investigations Unit and the National Institute of Human Rights – have consistently failed to adequately investigate human rights abuses and even actively concealed evidence of abuse. Indeed, in 2017, the UN Committee Against Torture deemed these bodies to be not “not independent” and “not effective,” whilst earlier this year, Amnesty International declared that they “remained ineffective in safeguarding human rights and punishing violations.”
Continued use of torture and death penalty against dissidents

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Mujtaba Sadeq Isa was only a 19-year-old student when he was arrested upon his return from Iraq. Mujtaba’s due process and fair trial rights were violated, and he was tortured into providing a confession. Mujtaba contracted the COVID-19 virus after its breakout in Jau Prison, where he is currently held.

On 15 November 2017, Mujtaba was arrested without a warrant at the Bahrain International Airport upon his return from Iraq. A friend who witnessed the arrest informed his family of the arrest on the evening of the same day. Mujtaba was only allowed to meet his family a week after his arrest. In the absence of legal representation, Mujtaba was interrogated for three days. During his interrogation, Mujtaba was tortured and confessed to the charge of illegal assembly as a result.

Mujtaba was convicted in two cases of assaulting a policeman and planting explosives. The charges directed against him also involved 1) deliberate destruction 2) illegal assembly and rioting 3) possession and use of flammable and explosive devices 4) criminal arson 5) possession of a device resembling an explosive. Mujtaba, who was denied access to his attorney, was sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison, which was upheld in the Appeals Court.

In prison, Mujtaba was subjected to several human rights violations and punishments. Mujtaba was transferred to solitary confinement for allegedly raising his voice at an officer after the officer had forcibly closed an opening Mujtaba was looking through. He was then moved to a cell where he was the only political prisoner and was also deprived of calls and visits. In addition, Mujtaba suffers from alopecia areata. Despite not being taken to the medical appointment advised by his doctor to carry out a blood test, the website of the Health Ministry showed that he did attend the appointment. Mujtaba was later only given a topical cream to be applied externally.

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Authorities deny reports that inmates were beaten after a 10-day sit-in over concerns about virus spread and lack of medical care. In early April, inmates at Bahrain’s Jau prison crowded into the corridors to protest. They were angry about a lack of medical treatment and fearing for their lives after the death of another inmate. Their sit-in at building 13 lasted 10 days, and spread to other blocks in Jau, an infamous prison complex in the south of the kingdom. Inmates claim authorities regularly delay or deny vital medical care to prisoners – especially prisoners of conscience. The concern has grown since late March when Covid-19 began to tear through the prison system.

- Saudi Arabia releases two prominent women's rights activists (Al Jazeera)

Saudi Arabia has released two prominent women’s rights activists held in detention for nearly three years, a rights group has confirmed.