Geneva - Arab Today
The Permanent Representative of the Kingdom, Ambassador Dr. Yousef Abdul Karim Bucheeri spoke in the general debate session under item (4) of the thirty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council held currently at the Palais des Nations in Geneva about the right to respond to the statements of the Swiss Confederation, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, and France.
The Ambassador expressed his displeasure to the use of the Council, specifically under this item which was initiated to debate urgent cases, to attack the Kingdom of Bahrain and its human rights record with a high degree of selectivity, bias and politicization, without taking into account all clarifications and explanations provided by Bahrain on many occasions.
He stressed Bahrain's commitment to and respect for the rules of participation of civil society and its contribution to the work of the United Nations, in particular the Human Rights Council and not to expose participants to any kind of intimidation or reprisal, as a civil society, freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest is protected by the Constitution and national laws in accordance with international standards.
He added that the Kingdom of Bahrain has provided a wide and unprecedented space in the region to exercise the right to peaceful demonstration, and confirm the number and facts of authorized demonstrations at this space, but the deviation of these demonstrations from peaceful means and drifting into an arena of violence, vandalism and damage to public and private interests call for intervention to adjust according to the law and to preserve the general system as applicable in all countries of the civilized world.
In response to allegations of arbitrary arrests, the Permanent Representative stressed its falseness, since the commission of terrorist acts that threaten the security and safety of the community are dangerous.
The violent extremism, incitement to violence in public speeches, possession and smuggling of weapons and explosives, communicating with foreign countries, threatening the stability of the country and participation in hostilities and armed conflict in the region, are all criminal acts of that are against the law, and it is unfair to force any government to exempt any person from the application of the law for fame, as there's no individual who is above the law.
This cannot in any way be reduced or interpreted to people making legitimate voices of political expression, especially at a time when the region has witnessed a spread of violent extremism as an instrument to achieve political goals.
As for what was said on the implementation of the recent death penalty in Saudi Arabia, the Ambassador said that the application of the death penalty in certain serious crimes is stipulated in the criminal law, and the number of death sentences are extremely limited and are implemented with all the judicial guarantees including the right of defense and the right of veto.
Dr. Bucheeri concluded with calling on the States mentioned in the statement to address these letters of intolerance, hatred and Islamophobia that has become a disturbing and growing phenomenon in their communities based on race, religion and belief, and to respect the human rights, fundamental cultural rights and freedoms of minorities through the adoption of more positive measures to ensure cultural diversity and equality between people.
Source: BNA