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(Add comment via Bahrain spokesperson)
by Emma Farge
GENEVA, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Bahrain will not stand for election to the UN’s most sensible human rights framework later this month, the UN said, after a complaint drew attention to alleged human rights violations.
A U. N. said Bahrain withdrew its bid on Sept. 26 to run for a three-year seat at the Geneva-based body, without giving details.
A Bahraini government spokesman told Reuters the postponement of the Persian Gulf state’s candidacy “is the result of an ongoing consultation with its geographic group,” describing it as a popular practice.
“Bahrain continues to fully serve on the Human Rights Council, to which it has been elected three times, and will continue to collaborate with other UN member states to promote global best practices in human rights,” the spokesperson added.
Bahrain, home of the U. S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, is home to the U. S. Navy. The U. S. government has jailed thousands of protesters, journalists and activists, some on mass trials, since an anti-government uprising in 2011. It says it prosecutes those who commit crimes in accordance with foreign law, and rejects complaints from the United Nations and others about the conduct of trials and detention situations.
A memo circulated among board members through the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) drew attention to allegations of arbitrary detention as reprisals opposed to individuals, as cited in a UN report last month.
The nonprofit also held a series of meetings with UN officials and diplomats in August to urge states not to go to Bahrain. Director of Advocacy at BIRD.
A scoreboard through the International Service for Human Rights gave Bahrain a green tick on only 3 of the 16 criteria, one of the lowest scores among candidate countries.
States with poor human rights records are rarely elected to the 47-member council, they can be suspended for abuse, as was the case with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February. Moscow says it has gone off the fence and denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.
The Rights Council does not make legally binding decisions, but it carries political weight and can authorize investigations that aid trials abroad. The elections will be held later this month at the UN General Assembly in New York. (Reporting by Emma Farge and Ghaida Ghantous; Editing through Frank Jack Daniel)