30th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC30): Joint Open Letter to various member states: RE: Human Rights situation in Bahrain

Tothe Governments of: Albania, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada,Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Republic ofKorea, Serbia, Slovak Republic, and Spain

24 September 2015

Excellencies,

We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations, write to voice our supportfor the joint statement on the human rights situation in Bahrain delivered bySwitzerland at the 30th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC).

Sincethe last joint statement on Bahrain in June 2014, the government has continuedto curtail the rights to freedom of expression, association and peacefulassembly. Human rights defenders, political opposition leaders, members of themedia, and youth have faced intimidation, arrest, arbitrary detention, unfairtrials and acts of reprisal by the authorities. Furthermore, negotiations ofthe Office of the High Commissioner for human Rights’ (OHCHR) for a program oftechnical capacity building in Bahrain have stalled in the period since theJune 2014 joint statement.

Weurge your government, therefore, to sign the joint statement on Bahraindelivered by Switzerland at the HRC’s 30th session in order to refocus internationalattention on human rights in Bahrain and encourage the government of Bahrain toconstructively address its ongoing violations.

Internationalpressure on Bahrain continues to assist in addressing human rights violationsin Bahrain, as reflected by the decision of the King of Bahrain to release prominenthuman rights defender Nabeel Rajab under a royal pardon after he spent over fourmonths in prison for a tweet criticizing the government.

Itis critical, therefore, to take action now to reaffirm the high level ofinternational concern over human rights conditions in Bahrain. To abandoncollective pressure on Bahrain at a time when the situation is continuing todeteriorate would send an entirely wrong message to the Bahraini government,and undermine both internal and external efforts to foster genuine reform.

Switzerlandhas indicated that this joint statement will be open for additional signatoriesthroughout the session. We therefore call on your government to recommit tosupporting human rights in Bahrain, and to add your endorsement to this jointstatement.

Sincerely,

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain(ADHRB)

Amnesty International

ARTICLE 19

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR)

Bahrain Institute of Rights and Democracy (BIRD)

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

English Pen

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)

European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)

Human Rights Watch

Index on Censorship

International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)

Pen International

Rafto Foundation

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)