The Bahrain Independent Commission for Inquiry (BICI) was created by King
Hamad to investigate human rights violations in the months following the
start of unrest on 14 February last year. The Commission’s report, released
on 23 November, was met with scepticism from activists and members of civil
society. I went to Bahrain for the report’s launch, hoping it would prove
more than an elaborate PR exercise. Although government officials are quick
to point to the number of committees established and the long list of
international experts enlisted in helping the regime move past the problems
of last year, there has been no real progress. Not a single senior figure
has been held to account.
Bahrain should be congratulated for recognising the appalling human rights
violations committed during last year’s crackdown and for proposing reforms
but it now needs to make good on those proposals. Words are yet to be put
into actions.
Promises of reform carry little weight when the Bahrain Center for Human
Rights (BCHR) reports that approximately 600 political prisoners have yet to
be freed, despite the commission’s call for their release.
Maryam Alkhawaja, head of the Foreign Relations Office at BCHR, has warned
that without the international community holding Bahrain accountable for
human rights violations, the country will see “the same kind of excessive
force, systematic torture, and daily human rights violations” documented by
the organisation during the past year. Alkhawaja added that if international
bodies do take action, activists “might be lucky enough to see a different
approach for Bahrain”.
Bahrain has been given the space and time to take implementation seriously,
and the international community must place pressure on the government to
reform where it counts. This means that we shouldn’t be doing business with
the regime, and we most certainly should not be selling them arms or
inviting them to lunch.
Sara Yasin works for Index
on Censorship. She tweets at @missyasin.