Bahrain rejects Joint Statement

Geneva, Sept. 14 (BNA): The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain has rejected the joint statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of the Swiss Federation on behalf of a group of states under agenda item (2) of the 30th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Ambassador Dr. Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri, Bahrain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organisations, in the Mission’s right of reply, rejected the statement on procedural grounds. The agenda item is reserved for an interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner's opening statement and his periodic report on human rights in the world, and neither made any reference to Bahrain. Bucheeri called on countries supporting the statement to seek information from impartial and credible resources, through diplomatic channels instead of naming-and-shaming. The ambassador also expressed Bahrain's rejection of the joint statement for sending contradictory messages that hamper productive international relations and fail to truly reflect the human rights developments in Bahrain, while ignoring the information in the up-to-date demarches sent to the missions and embassies of the countries supporting the joint statement. These countries fail to understand the effects of such statements on the ground and how they can be misused to justify violence and terrorism, which has recently led to the death of five on-duty policemen, Bucheeri added The ambassador reaffirmed Bahrain's commitment to the principles and application of human rights, despite the continuing attempts to disparage its efforts. He insisted that such attempts and tactics will not discourage Bahrain in its endeavours to move ahead with its drive for the protection and promotion of human rights, and will not quell the momentum of Bahrain's reforms and initiatives in all areas of development in the country.