United Nations Special Procedures Complaint Program

Background Information In October 2013, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) began a program to help raise awareness for cases of individuals who have been victims of human rights abuses in Bahrain or the broader Gulf region. Through this program, ADHRB is able to complain on behalf of the individual victims to[…]

UN Experts: Mass Trial in Bahrain Violated Human Rights – Torture, Enforced Disappearances, and Unfair Trials

On 5 November 2018, five UN rights experts published an allegation letter concerning the unfair mass trial of 138 Bahraini citizens for their alleged involvement in a terror cell, named the Zulfiqar Brigades by the government. In the letter, the experts, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges[…]

Saudi Arabia Dishes Out Aid to Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen as PR Stunt

On 30 October 2018, documents concerning an agreement made between the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and Saudi Arabia regarding humanitarian aid were leaked. The Guardian reported that foreign aid from Saudi Arabia came with so many strings attached that it could be considered ‘paid publicity’. While all states[…]

Special Procedures Joint Communication on Human Rights Defenders in Yemen to Saudi Arabia

From June through August 2018, United Nations (UN) Special Procedures sent five separate joint communications to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expressing concerns over a myriad of human rights violations ranging from the targeting of women’s and human rights defenders, reprisals, the conflict in Yemen, arbitrary detention and more. This blog series highlights these joint[…]

Open Letter to Ministry of Interior Ombudsman, National Institution for Human Rights, and Prisoner and Detainee’s Rights Commission

To view a PDF version of this letter, click here. 15 November 2018 Ms. Maria Khoury Chairperson, National Institution for Human Rights Mr. Nawaf Mohamed Al Moawdah Ministry of Interior Ombudsman Prisoner and Detainee’s Rights Commission Dear Ms. Khoury, Mr. AlMoawdah, and Members of the Commission: Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)[…]