HM the King patronizes international conference on ACHR

Manama, Apr 23 (BNA) -- Under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) will organize on 25-26 May 2014 an international conference on (Arab Court for Human Rights (ACHR), with the support of Representatives and Shura Councils, in collaboration with Arab Network for Human Rights Institutions and Qatar's National Commission for Human Rights. NIHR's Secretary-General, Advisor Dr. Ahmad Farhan Abdullah, told Bahrain News Agency (BNA), the Royal patronage has been widely received, which reflects the importance of the event. He said regional and international agencies have showed an immediate response to participate in the conference, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), similar regional courts (American, European and African), Arab League, Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States (GCC), a group of experts in International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law and Arab and international civil society organizations. He underlined HM the King's initiative calling on the establishment of the Arab Court for Human Rights is a decisive evidence that clearly shows the Bahraini leadership's keenness to promote and develop human rights. He explained the conference will discuss a number of topics, among them the constituent steps completed for the establishment of the ACHR, Arab League's reforms process in the field of human rights, OHCHR's role in making the work of the ACHR successful, Arab Parliament's role in supporting the ACHR, paper works of legal experts tasked with formulating the draft statute of the ACHR, as well as the experiences of equivalent courts (American, European and African) in the field of teh protection of human rights. He added that a number of workshops will be held on the sidelines of the conference on the ACHR's statute, role of the government human rights institutions and civil society organisations in supporting the work of the Court and evaluation and follow-up the recommendations of the Arab Forum on the development of the human rights system in the Arab League for the year of 2013. The 25th Arab League summit agreed in principle to the ACHR's draft statute, providing that a high-level committee to continue its efforts to finalize the draft before it is submitted before the next Ministerial Council meeting. MJ