The world celebrates the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on the twenty-sixth of June every year, emphasizing on the continuation of work to end torture and all forms of ill-treatment that undermine human dignity. The commemoration of this anniversary is an urgent reminder from the international community that the promotion of human rights in the world can only be achieved by the complete elimination of all manifestations of torture to which people are subjected, regardless of the reasons, whether within official institutions or in non governmental institutions, entities, gatherings and societies.

On this occasion, Bahrain Interfaith expresses its solidarity with all victims of torture around the globe, and alludes its voice to the continuous calls for vigorous work and cooperation between the state and civil society organizations (CSO’s) in order to contain all factors that lead to the continuation of torture in all its forms and locations, provided that there is a great, serious and continuous endeavor to work towards criminalizing torture and holding its perpetrators accountable, whatever the circumstances and reasons leading to it, in compliance with international covenants and covenants in this regard.

Bahrain Interfaith (BI) stresses on the importance of supporting national dialogue initiatives in reaching formulas of national consensus to resolve the crisis; noting that supporting the victims of torture will boost reconciliation efforts and promote security and stability in the country, reviving an atmosphere of social harmony, and paving the way for initiating a broad national program comprehensive social and political reconciliation.

The Center believes that the challenges facing the world today due to the Corona pandemic; are motivating factors to embark on national reconciliation initiatives.

In this context, the Center renews its call for action on the following proposals:

1- Developing the competence of national institutions concerned with monitoring the performance of the police and security services, and activating an effective system of accountability in cooperation with the judicial system.
2- Reforming the legal structure in Bahrain to keep pace with international conventions against torture and criminalizing it absolutely and decisively, including signing the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture.
3- Establishing a national institution specialized in eliminating the phenomenon of torture, following up on the affairs of the victims and providing them with moral, health and economic redress, and putting in place practical treatments to prevent the recurrence of this phenomenon.
4- Strengthening cooperation between the government and civil society organizations(CSO’s) to raise awareness against torture and its destructive repercussions, and working on exchanging experiences and consultations in the field of supporting the victims of torture.

Bahrain Interfaith
Kingdom of Bahrain

June 26, 2021