[The following report was issued by Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, and Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violoence Organization on 20 November 2012.]
The BICI Reforms: Promises of Progress, A Worsening Reality
Summary
This report evaluates the progress that has been made by the Government of Bahrain towards reforming its record of human rights violations, and marks the one year anniversary of the recommendations presented by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI).
The BICI report was a scathing critique of the authority’s behavior in the months following the start of the pro-democracy demonstrations in February 2011. It found that torture, extrajudicial killings, and warrantless arrests were common practice in Bahrain. Specifically in regards to the raids on homes and arbitrary arrests, the BICI report found that these operations involved “unnecessary excessive force, accompanied by terror-inspiring behaviour on the part of the security forces in addition to unnecessary damage to property” and that “the very fact that a systematic pattern of behaviour existed indicates that this is how these security forces were trained and how they were expected to act. This could not have happened without the knowledge of higher echelons of the command structure of the MoI and NSA.”1 It was never clearer that human rights abuses were a deeply rooted problem within the government.
The King’s promise that he would implement sweeping reforms to address these violations was initially met with a cautious degree of optimism by the authors of this report and many governments and NGOs around the world. Swift and earnest reforms could have represented a strong step forwards towards national reconciliation. One year later, the government has had ample time to act, but has, in general, only made superficial progress. Today, we look at Bahrain and see a government that puts its efforts into presenting the image of reforms, while continuing to commit the same human rights violations; in certain respects, the situation has grown worse.
In the following pages, the government’s response to each recommendation is considered along with the research and documentation efforts of the above mentioned NGOs. We have attempted to present a well-documented picture of the reality that the people of Bahrain must face every day in order to balance the government’s claims to progress and reform. It would be true to say that this report uses a strict standard when measuring the government’s progress, and the results are perhaps more critical than other similar evaluations. It is our hope that the international community will find the necessary approach to hold the government accountable for its actions, and bring about real reforms which will recognize the people of Bahrain’s right to freedom of expression and democracy.
[Click here to download the full report.]