- Target:
- UN, EU, US, ICC, HRW, Amnesty Int'l, FIDH
- Region:
- Bahrain
On February 14th, the youth of Bahrain started a peaceful movement demanding constitutional reform & more participation in the running of the country’s affairs under the umbrella of a constitutional monarchy.
However, over the span of one month, this movement was faced with a brutal crackdown by the Bahrain regime, culminating into a full-blown attack by the Bahrain police, army and national guard aided by the GCC joint forces led by Saudi Arabia, on the very basic human rights of the people of Bahrain.
This led to grave systematic human rights violations encompassing:
• Over two-dozen extrajudicial deaths; including 4 dying in custody, with clear marks of torture, in the span of 10 days,
• Hundreds wounded, and not consulting any medical facility in fear of arrest,
• Close to 800 arbitrary detainees, including 40 women, all held incommunicado,
• Around 40 cases of enforced disappearances,
• Close to 2,000 registered cases of job dismissals from around 30 government-run institutions/companies
• The demolishing of 15 licensed & registered places of worship belonging to only one religious sect and the prevention of religious practices, and
• The dismissal of a number of students from elementary education and the ending of government-sponsored higher education for many students locally & abroad.
This is of course added to the systematic crackdown on the right to “freedom of opinion & expression”, “freedom of assembly & association”, and the “freedom of movement” (as many are denied the right to leave the country). This has culminated in what is a clear “sectarian cleansing” process against a majority religious sect in the country. All this has been in an effort to silence any further dissent.
It is important to note that Bahrain has ratified all International Human Rights Treaties, and is a current member of the UN Human Rights Council. However, in spite of the blunt and systematic violations, the international community has remained silent.
To:
- Mr. Ban Ki-moon
Secretary General, United Nations
- Mr. Barack Obama
President, United States of America
- Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State, United States of America
- Ms. Maria Otero
Under Secretary of State for Democracy & Global Affairs, United States of America
- Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow
President, UN Human Rights Council
- Ms. Navanethem Pillay
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Ms. Catherine Ashton
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
- Mr. Jerzy Buzek
President of the European Parliament
- Ms. Heidi Hautala
Chair, EU Parliament Subcommittee for Human Rights
- Mr. Frank R. Wolf & Mr. James P. McGovern
Co-Chairs, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, United States Congress
- Judge Sang-Hyun SONG
President, International Criminal Court
- Mr. James F. Hoge, Jr.
Chairman, Human Rights Watch
- Mr. Salil Shetty
Secretary General, Amnesty International
- Ms. Souhayr Belhassen
President, International Federation for Human Rights
We, the undersigned,
Believe that the movement started by the Bahrain youth on the 14th of February was locally-initiated and driven, and do not believe that any external forces/countries had any part to play in the development of events, except for the interference of the GCC joint forces, which led to the on-going events of today.
Therefore, we ask all the countries of the free world to stop the on-going disregard of the Bahrain government, backed by the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, to the very basic human rights of its citizens.
Based on the aforementioned events, what has started as a political unrest, has quickly descended into a humanitarian crisis. Moreover, the silence of the international community only emboldens the Bahrain regime to carry on with its systematic violations against its people.
We demand the immediate interference of the international community to stop the grave Human Rights violations in Bahrain, as the silence the community and its failure in issuing a mere condemnation goes against its moral and humanitarian obligations towards the people of Bahrain.
Yours truly,
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The STOP the Grave Human Rights Violations in Bahrain petition to UN, EU, US, ICC, HRW, Amnesty Int'l, FIDH was written by Bahraini and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.