London Parliamentary Event on Bahrain Inserts

On Tuesday 11 February 2014, a Bahrain delegation alongside UK based activists met at the House of Lords in recognition of the 3rd anniversary of the February 14th uprising in Bahrain. The discussion was chaired by the Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group; Lord Eric Avebury

The panel highlighted the continuing human rights abuses of the Bahrain government in various areas of governance; as well as identifying an operational framework for future lobbying through NGOs, the United Nations Special Procedures, the European Union, the UK Parliament and other specialised unions and interest groups. Experts Dr. Abdulhadi Khalaf, Mrs. Jalila Al Salman, Dr. Rula Al-Saffar, Dr. Salah Al-Bandar and Mr. Hussain Jawad Parweez were invited to speak about their experiences on the ground and the situation of human rights in Bahrain since 2011.

The panel demanded the release of all prisoners of conscience; requested Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit Bahrain and address the issue of human rights; requested Catherine Ashton, Foreign Representative of the EU, to visit Bahrain and also discuss human rights abuses; and requested the UK parliament to pressure the Bahraini government and bring an end to the widespread systematic human rights violations against Bahraini citizens.