Civil Society BAHRAIN. 1- The status of the civil society institutions and the extent of their impact:

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1 Civil Society BAHRAIN 1- The status of the civil society institutions and the extent of their impact: There are 15 political organizations in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) registered at the Ministry of Justice and Social Affairs has reached since the beginning of the political openness drive to more than 300 local and foreign organizations. The most important organizations working in the field of human rights are: The Bahraini Organization for Human Rights, the Women Petition Committee, the Bahraini Center for Human Rights and the Bahraini Transparency Association. In the summer of 2001 the Bahrain Women Union and the Bahrain Women Association were established. 65 NGOs were founded in 2002 including 11 political associations and 13 associations for free professions. Professionals and social activists hurried to register associations concerned with the various social, political and professional affairs after the political openness drive in The Bahraini government also formed a human rights committee in 1999 within the Shura (consultation) Council. The increase of the NGOs demonstrated the vitality of the Bahraini society and its fast response to the requirements of the reform process. Bahrain guarantees the right to found unions, NGOs and scientific, cultural and professional associations on national basics, for legitimate purposes and by peaceful means according to the conditions and positions stated by the law. Nobody may be forced to join any association, syndicate or trade union or compelled to keep his membership with them. With the rise of the number of associations the various leanings inside the society started to breathe and express their views and ambitions. With it also emerged the conflicts for power and influence inside this or that association. Despite the concerns of some people regarding the rise of the number of the NGOs these organizations have given Bahrain a different climate full of vitality, dialogue, communication and alliances among the various parties. However, the movement of the civil society is still facing certain difficulties resulting from the lack of defining the red lines democratically. The most outstanding political organizations are four organizations which announced their boycott of the parliament elections in a joint communiqué in which they affirmed their commitment to the reform drive. They cited a number of demands the most important of which is the demand that the authorities should withdraw the constitutional amendment equaling between the legislative power accorded to the elected House of Representatives and that granted to the appointed Shura (consultation) Council. They said that this situation has led to the misdistribution of the 1

2 current parliament's seats where Sunni Muslims garnered 27 seats in the recent municipal elections while the Shiite Muslims obtained 23 seats. These organizations are: - The Islamic National Harmony Association headed by Sheikh Ali Salman. It represents the center Shiite movement. It contributes effectively to the Bahraini political scene. It is classified as a Shiite moderate association both in its demands and in its method of work. - The Democratic National Assembly Association: It is a Baathist leaning association led by Rasoul Abdel Alie Algeshi - The Democratic National Action Association: It is led by Abdul Rahman Al No'aimi who is a leftist associated with the opposition. He spent more than 30 years in exile in Damascus. The Association is an alliance of leftists, nationalists and independents. - The Islamic Action Association led by Sheikh Ali Al Mahfouz. A Shiite association. During 2003 the opposition trend of these political associations was activated. Six of them announced on March 2, 2003 a charter to support reforms. The charter contained 11 points the most important of which are expanding the political and public freedoms and fighting administrative and financial corruption. The charter was signed by The Democratic National Action Association and the Islamic National Harmony Association which are the greatest political organization in Bahrain. Those signed also are the Democratic National Assembly Association, the Islamic Arabic Wasat (central) Association, the Democratic Progressive Forum and the Islamic Action Association. The charter also called for preserving and developing the gains provided in the 1973 Constitution and the National Action Charter particularly the provision on the sovereignty of the legislative authority, the supervision role of the elected council and the principle of the separation of powers. It further called for putting the Constitution issue on top of the national action priorities. The coordination charter also calls for working on reforming the economic conditions through fighting administrative and financial corruption and wasting the State's resources, achieving sustainable development, terminating the spread of the foreign labor in the Bahraini labor market through speeding up the implementation of programs to replace foreign labor with the nationals in the jobs and diversifying economic activities. The coordination charter further called for legalizing the right to form political parties, syndicates, unions and mass organizations free of patronage and restrictions, adhering to the national unity, fighting sectarian, tribal and factional discrimination and working for activating the role of the woman politically, economically and socially. 2

3 Other Details: Some political organization have committed some infractions against the citizens' rights represented in their insistence to mingle political action with religious activity from one side and using the mosques and Elhosienat (Shiite mosques) as places of propaganda for their programs or expressing their political views towards the raised issues. Some organizations even exploited these religious platforms to bring up their differences with other organizations and attack those who oppose them. The duality between the political action and the religious activity has emerged because some of the men of religion combine between their leading of the Friday prayers, their membership or leadership of a political organization and their activity in the House of Representatives. As a result those people have been able to obstruct the enactment of important laws vital to the society such as the personal status act and other laws. Some political organizations also follow the direction of the men of religion at the expense of their public organizations by holding stances on the public issues, such as the subject of the issuance of a unified law on the personal status of the Sunni and Shiite doctrines. 2- What are the most important legal provisions and articles that take care of the activities of the civil society institutions (the constitution, the laws, regulatory procedures) and to what extent these provisions guarantee the freedom of the activities of these organizations in the public affairs field and the reform of the State and the public institutions? The Associations' Act, decree No. (21) issued in 1989, decree No. (1) issued in 1990, the NGOs By-laws and their relationships with the State and their activities in raising donations. The King issued a directive on May 28, 2001 calling for working out a framework for the independent trade unions with the assistance of the "Bahrain Workers General Committee". The King accorded the right to form unions pursuant to the National Action Charter. Act 33/2002 on the trade unions was issued which supplemented the democratic reform project in the Kingdom of Bahrain. May 1 became an official holiday on the occasion of the Labor Day for the Bahraini workers to celebrate it with the world labors. It was a historical demand for the Bahraini labor movement. The right to form unions came in Article No. (27) of the 1973 Constitution and was reaffirmed in the 3002 Constitution and ratified by the King. In this open climate the Bahraini General Workers Union submitted a draft law through which it can be named the General Federation of Trade Unions. The government has approved it an the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has issued the Bahraini General Federation for Trade Unions Act. In the light of this the Federation's constituent assembly was held on January 1, The assembly was supervised by regional and 3

4 international organizations in addition to the Bahraini Human Rights Association and the Bahraini Association for Transparency. It is noted in general that there is a climate of freedom enjoyed by the NGOs, which even surpasses the restrictions provided in the Associations and Clubs Act No. 21/1989. However, the presence of this act which goes back to the emergency and state security period constitutes an impediment to the activities of the associations whenever the authority wishes to activate its articles restricting the freedom of the work of the these associations. The NGOs demand to issue a separate associations' act without the clubs to be more developed to cope with the openness stage. In paragraph (2) which was added to Article (3) of the Associations Act issued under the decree law 44/2002 the right of forming federation was limited to associations or trade unions which opened the way for establishing the General Federation of the Bahraini Trade Unions. But it hindered the establishment of the Bahraini women federation due to the difference in the nature of the two organizations, a matter which hindered the application of the same law on both of them. 3- What are the most important methods and means practically used by the country in its relationship with the civil society associations: (license and its terms, forms of control, funding sources and forms of encouragement...?) Despite the vast reforms undertaken by the King of Bahrain to secure a relative open environment, restrictive measures and reservations emerge from time to time on the activity of the associations from the part of the government. For example, the notices sent to these associations by the Ministry of Information with regard to the subjects contained in their information leaflets which the authorities do not approve. Many times the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs warns these associations and sends notices in objection of meetings they call for, which criticizes the Constitution or the government policies. The government exercises a certain type of supervision and control over the civil society institutions from time to time through warnings one time or repression of the movement of these institutions other times. But it winks at other activities sometimes. In early May 2003 the Bahraini Minister of Information, Ya'qoub Al Homor slammed the press at a meeting he held with the chief editors of the local newspapers. He said that he refused the exploitation of the media to destroy what he termed the reform project. "What is required is that the press and the media will not be transferred into a daily instigator inciting unrest in the society." He said it was a mistake to leave the press and the rest of the media to mobilize the street, stir up the feelings of citizens against each other and return to square one by raising outdated issues that have been surpassed by the current stage. 4

5 A number of associations issued a statement under the title "A blow to public freedoms" in which they called on the minister to reconsider his statements. The associations said that the minister's statements came as a reminiscent to the state security era and "an attempt to return to square one where there was political repression and confiscation of public freedoms on top of which is the freedom of the press and expression." In contrast, when the country witnessed massive demonstrations, marches, assemblies and peaceful gatherings the Interior Ministry did not come to repress them although the great majority of these demonstrations did not get permission in advance from the ministry. The security forces interfered to disperse the demonstrations only when they turned into riots. An example of this are the cases mentioned before. No case of unjustified violence was recorded to disperse the demonstrations by the police. When the Islamic National Harmony Association was refused to hold its general meeting at the Exhibitions Center the King intervened and permitted the holding of the meeting at the center. 4- What are the ministries and other official agencies concerned with the activity of the civil society associations that are active in the public affairs? The Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. 5- What are the most important initiatives, campaigns and activities undertaken by the civil society associations during the last five years in the field of reforming the State, the public administration and the public institutions? During the last decade, members of the Bahraini civil society submitted a great number of demands for political openness and to conduct elections. These demands reached its apex between the years 1994 and The People's Petition Committee of the Bahrain Freemen Movement was active in organizing protests. These associations were the essential cause behind the democratization process witnessed by the Kingdom during the last few years. On June 27, 2003 these associations encouraged the Bahrainis to demonstrate against the royal decree law No. 56 issued on October 2002 which provided for granting amnesty to some employees in governmental bodies accused of committing torture crimes. The associations issued a statement distributed during a demonstration organized by them in which they asserted that "insistence on equaling the victim with the executioner in the claim of general amnesty does not cure the wounds, does not contribute to national reconciliation and does not push forward the reform project, but it leads to the contrary absolutely." 5

6 On December 16, 2003 the Bahraini opposition held a conference in Britain to demand reinstating of the 1973 Constitution and to stop human rights violations it claimed the Bahraini citizens were exposed to. On December 18, 2003 four persons were arrested in riots during the opposition march in Manama called for by the National Martyrs and Victims of Torture Committee. The aim of the march was to revive what the opposition called "the martyrs' day" in remembrance of those who died at the hands of the security forces since the country's independence in Thousands took part in the march denouncing the violations against human rights in Bahrain. They renewed their rejection of the amnesty of the persons accused of torture crimes on top of whom Colonel Adel Fleifil. The vast opposition continued against the royal decree law 56/2002 which confirmed Act 10/2001 that granted immunity against prosecution for the official employees entrusted with the law enforcement and who were accused of committing torture crimes and killing outside the power of the law during the post political openness era. The Bahraini Human Rights Association firmly expressed its rejection of the act in several occasions. It also adopted two petitions to the King; the first signed by the NGOs and the second a people's petition demanding the abolishment of Act 56, referring the perpetrators of the torture crimes to the court, rehabilitating and compensating the victims of torture and the families of the martyrs and conduct a national reconciliation similar to the experiment of Morocco and South Africa. But they didn't receive any response in this regard. On the other hand the National Martyrs and Victims of Torture Committee submitted a similar people's petition in this regard to the King. The official point of view in this respect was manifest in the statement of the Cabinet Affairs Minister in which he said that calling the past to account was against the King's national project and would harm the reform march. The efforts of a number of professional societies led by the engineers, doctors and lawyers associations continued in order to establish professional associations. A coordinating committee has been formed to push for the issuance of the professional associations act to get the professional associations out of the control of the Associations and Clubs Act of 1989 which regulates the associations' affairs in all their kinds. The draft law is still waiting the issuance of the awaited act by the Ministry of Labor and Social affairs. 6- To what extent do the people in their dealing with the State turn to the various civil society associations to solve their problems, secure their demands and offer their proposals for reform? The wide complaint of the Bahraini women against the personal status act has urged the NGOs and women associations to move and organize conferences and activities which led at the end to reconsidering 6

7 the law. On October 11, 2003 the Women Petition Committee launched a sit-in in front of Cano Mosque in the Hamad City which was covered by the local press and attended by a big crowd of women and children wronged by the judgments of some Sharia judges. The committee sought to expose the flaws of the Sharia courts and the harms these flaws cause to litigators. As a reaction to that sit-in, a debate on the new personal status act began on December 11, 203 by the Bahraini House of Representatives. The sessions were marked by considerable arguments between advocators and antagonists of the act. The council's speaker was obliged to return the report to the legislative and legal affairs committee to restudy it upon the request of the committee's rapporteur and its chairman. The council also decided to postpone the debate on the report of the services committee on the proposal concerning women's early voluntary retirement upon the request of the government. The Council's office returned the report to the services committee on December 3, 2003 to prepare a joint report with the financial and economic affairs committee on the two proposals concerning the women's early retirement. Since the beginning of 200, the NGOs have been busy to have a say on every issue related to the public affair. The tempo rose with regard to these organizations' drive to participate in the local, regional and international events taking advantage of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs condoning of the condition that these organizations should obtain permission in advance from the concerned authorities to hold their activities. In this context it is worth noting that these associations have joined the regional and international organizations and networks and that they made attempts to establish alliances and national networks to include onespecialty or similar associations, such as the nongovernmental environment committee, the network of the associations concerned with development and the nongovernmental committee on the preparation of the shadow report on the CEDAW (UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women). (B) Consultation between the State's institutions and the civil society: 1- What are the most important patterns and forms the State uses to consult with and listen to the civil society forces and institutions and the private sector? In 1992 the Shura (consultation) Council was established. Its formation developed during the past eight years. Various society groups and the Bahraini women entered the Council. The Council continued till Hence, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain was enacted on February 14, The Constitution provided that the National Council shall be composed of two councils: the Shura Council and the House of Representatives. 7

8 The Shura Council is composed of 40 members appointed by a royal order. The House of Representatives is composed of 40 members elected by direct secret general vote. The two councils started to convene for the first time on Saturday, December 14, The House of Representative has played a pivotal role in raising the demand of the government sector's workers for establishing their independent and free trade union. A number of deputies submitted a proposal to amend Act 33/2002 on the trade unions to add a genuine provision on the right of government sector's workers to establish their own union. The proposal was supported by all the members of the House and was unanimously voted. It was then raised to the government which supported the amendment. It is expected to send it to the House of Representatives to approve it, then to the Shura Council which will support and approve it. A royal decree is going to be issued ratifying the amendment. Concerning the case of the provident fund and the general authority for social insurance, the House of Representatives formed a provisional investigation committee to study the violations of each of the General Authority of Social Insurance and the General Authority for Provident Fund. The committee prepared a detailed report on these violations as well as the flaws in the board of directors of the two authorities. The government demanded to return the rights of the two authorities. The government also responded to the demand to pay compensations to the two authorities. But it didn't respond to the request to prosecute the officials responsible for these violations, a matter which made a number of deputies demand interpellation of those officials. The government appealed the request and the issue is still outstanding. 2- What are the most important consultative initiatives the State or the government have taken in the last five years (national conferences, round table meetings, national committees or others), and how it is possible to evaluate the contribution and effect of the private sector and the civil society in these initiatives? The reform workshop inaugurated by King Hamad Ben Isa Al Khalifa is one of the most important initiatives in this field which introduced a legitimate scope of Sunni-Shiite dialogue under the State's umbrella. The recent referendum on the reforms conducted on February 2001 and included demands to dissolve the state security courts, declare general amnesty and release political prisoners led to the emergence of a new era recognizing the legitimacy of the Sunni royal rule and the need to introduce radical reforms in the political life that can surpass the sectarian state latent in the Bahraini political life. The new political and social scene has started to be formulated gradually. Some names of the opposition parties outside the country began to atrophy and disappear to be replaced by new names and new mechanisms in the political action in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 8

9 Concerning the subject of the rights of women the King formed the Higher Council for Women under his spouse as a giant institution with several committees aiming to give counseling to the State's organs on issues related to women's affairs. The King had met with the members of the general committee for the Bahraini workers and urged them to raise the workers trade union project. The Minister of Labor also insisted to open the door before registering the various groups of NGOs including the associations concerned with political affairs. The King moved forward to solve the problem of unemployment by allocating 25 million dinars to help unemployed persons and employ them. He ordered to reduce university fees and established a committee to take care of orphans. Among the positive developments also is the participation of the associations in conferences and symposiums organized by governmental institutions, which also seek the participation of the association's representatives in drafting the national reports such as the one to be presented to the CEDAW committee under preparation by the Higher Council for Women in conjunction with representatives of some NGOs. 3- Are there any initiatives to get the reactions and evaluations of the concerned public, the beneficiaries or the public sector on the projects and services provided by the public sector (such as evaluating the public projects by those concerned, conducting public polls for the beneficiaries of the public services or surveying the opinions of the private institutions on the business environment and services provided by the State? There are many obstacles standing in the way of effective interaction between the political associations and the people and in order to create a real democratic system, the most important of which are: - Inappropriate constitutional and legal frame to the requisites of activating the process of democratization due to the lack of equilibrium between the legislative and executive authorities. This leads to the weakness of the role and prestige of the legislative authority in the political system due to fact that power balance is t tilting in favor of the executive authority on the one hand, and the nature of the legislation and control mechanisms over the government on the other hand. - The political movements are still deprived from their right in forming their own political parties. Although Bahrain has associations and movements practicing a clear political role, these associations and movements have limited impact and lack the mechanisms of party institutions which can enable them to take care of the interests of the people and design parallel work programs competing with the solutions offered by the government. 9

10 - The continuation of the strained relation between the State and certain basic movements in society. We refer here as an example to the Bahraini Shiite and leftist movements. - Although there is a margin of the freedom of expression in the media, the State monopolizes the greatest part of the mass media. - The traditional tribal structure which impedes the effectiveness of the civil political culture. This situation dedicates the absence of modern political ties in favor of the existing structure on traditional bases. - Despite the limit scope of the political openness process in Bahrain and the chronic impediments that it confronts we can say that there are several factors that push forward in the direction of democratic openness. Among these encouraging factors are the openness tendencies of the ruling family in Bahrain and the Gulf states in general which require good time and effort to mature. 4- Are there institutions or administrative units to assist the people and project owners in their relationship with the State? To what extent they are effective? None References: 1. http/ 2. Dr Ali Khalifa Al-Kawari, Temporal interludes to enhance democracy in Bahrain. 3. Mansour Mohamed Sarhan The development of the political and democratic movement in Bahrain in the period Mansour Al-Jemary, Options of democracy in Bahrain. 5. Abdul Hadi Khalaf, the Reform project in Bahrain, a state of labor or abortion? 6. Ali Elhadad Where is the unionist flaw lies? 9 August http/ww.rezgar.com/debat/show.art.asp 8. HYPERLINKhttp:// 10