Brussels, 04/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 1 March, the EU again called on Bahrain to implement the outstanding recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). Replying to a question from EUROPE, Michael Mann, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, said that “the Bahraini authorities must immediately prioritise the implementation of the outstanding recommendations that constitute the reference framework accepted by the King, as by the opposition movements”. He reiterated that the EU has spoken on several occasions about its concern over the pace of implementing the recommendations, while he at the same time hailed “some undeniable progress”. The day before, the NGO Human Rights Watch said that “no progress has been made to put the promised key reforms into place”.
With regard to the Human Rights Watch concerns about campaigners who remain in prison, Mann said that the EU continues to “encourage leniency towards the activists who were not engaged in violent actions, as well as with respect to the rights of assembly and expression, while respecting the independence of judicial decisions made in Bahrain”.
Call for continuation of national dialogue. The EU also called for the continuation of the national dialogue, which resumed on 10 February (see EUROPE 10783). “We are calling on the parties present to stay committed to participating, without pre-condition, in the national dialogue so as to create the necessary conditions for a true national reconciliation and for sustainable reforms enabling a response in particular to the socio-economic demands of Bahraini citizens”, Mann added. In his view, in order to reach a real national reconciliation, both moderation and concrete measures for appeasement and for re-establishing mutual trust are needed, so as to relieve the polarisation of the political climate.
On 28 February, 44 countries - including the 27 EU member states - signed a joint declaration on Bahrain, as part of the 22nd United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, in which they express their serious concern with regard to the human rights situation. They call on the government to investigate the violations of these rights and they urge it to accelerate the implementation of the BICI recommendations. The declaration calls on the government to respect the right to freedom of assembly and the freedom of association, and to show restraint during public demonstrations. The 44 countries encourage the continuation of the national dialogue. (CG/transl.fl)