On World Press Freedom Day, the Gulf Countries Remain Areas of Grave Concern

Today marks the United Nation’s 25th World Press Freedom Day – celebrating the fundamental principles of press freedom and evaluating its status around the world. As Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) participates in the 25th United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) commemoration of the event in Accra, Ghana –[…]

HRC Written Statement: GCC Free Expression and the Qatar Crisis

On the occasion of the 37th session of the Human Rights Council, ADHRB submitted a written statement to the Council marking increased attacks on free expression throughout the Arab Gulf states following the outbreak of the diplomatic crisis surrounding Qatar. GCC Free Expression and the Qatar Crisis Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)[…]

GCC Cases Raised in the HRC 37 Special Procedures Joint Communications Report

Bahrain BHR 11/2017 JUA 31 Oct 2017 Mandates: arbitrary detention, freedom of opinion and expression, human rights defenders, torture Alleged victims: 1 Information received concerning allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of Mr. Ibrahim Jawad ‘Abd Ullah Sarhan, a Bahraini lawyer, as well as threats of prosecution against him for charges related to the expression[…]

ADHRB Calls for GCC Labor Reform on International Migrants Day

18 December 2017 – The six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman – rely heavily on migrant labor and are noted for widespread and systematic migrant rights abuses. These violations largely stem from the GCC-wide use of the kafala system of labor[…]

Swiss Journalists detained in the GCC

On Thursday 9 November, two journalists working for a Swiss news outlet were detained and forcibly disappeared in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Serge Enderlin and Jon Bjorgvinsson were in Abu Dhabi to cover the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and interview the museum’s architect, Jean Nouvel. The pair claims that they were accredited[…]