E/CN.4/2002/77/Add.2
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The delegation met Government figures on various occasions. In Manama, it met the
Foreign Minister, the Interior Minister, the governor of the capital (Manama), the Director of
Legal Affairs, the Chairman and members of the Shura (Consultative) Council’s Human Rights
Committee, members of the committee responsible for giving effect to the National Action
Charter, judicial officers and officials of the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, the
Director-General of Prisons and members of the Ministry of the Interior’s commission on human
rights. As regards non-governmental sources, the delegation had working meetings with the
President of the Bar association, several representatives of female civil society and a delegation
from the Bahraini Human Rights Society.
The Working Group considers this visit to be one of the most encouraging it has
undertaken, as regards both the letter and the spirit of its mandate. The release of all the
prisoners, including those on whose circumstances the Group had commented, set the seal on a
successful mission.
In its report, the Working Group makes the following recommendations:
(a)
The Government should see to it that account is taken of insolvent debtors’ good
faith; it should arrange to have the laws permitting incarceration for failure to pay civil debts
repealed;
(b)
The Working Group recommends better safeguards for the rights of foreigners
subject to the “free visas” scheme, and that the Government give effect to articles 198
and 302 bis of the Criminal Code and bring to justice those “sponsors” who break the rules and
abuse the scheme;
(c)
The Government should review the legislation governing courts martial and bring
it into line with universal standards;
(d)
The Working Group recommends the Government to extend the jurisdiction of
the Juvenile Court to cover minors aged between 15 and 18, and amend the existing law to
require that minors in this category are assisted by counsel, to allow for rehabilitative measures
appropriate to their age and needs, and to have them held separately from adults in prisons;
(e)
officers;
The Working Group invites the Government to allow women to become judicial
(f)
The Working Group also recommends effective legal provision to prevent and
punish violence against women, especially domestic violence;
(g)
High priority should be assigned to the passage of the bills now in preparation to
replace the Societies and Clubs Act of 1987 and the Press and Publication Act of 1978; and,
lastly,
(h)
The authorities should take steps to facilitate contact between detainees and the
local consular services of their countries of origin, and encourage the countries concerned to
provide the best possible response to requests for consular assistance.