I am aware of the person in question, and of reports of both her most recent interrogation and previous interrogations, and of the travel ban imposed on her last year that prevented her from attending the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The deterioration of the human rights situation in Bahrain has been the subject of several Questions in this House recently, and continues to be of considerable concern. Despite repeatedly stating its commitment to improving its human rights record, the Bahraini Government appears to be targeting those who express disagreement with or criticism of the Government. A number of worrying developments in the last month alone suggest an increasingly restrictive attitude to those opposing or challenging the Government in any way. Statements from the Bahraini Government on its commitment to safeguarding human rights enshrined in the Bahraini Constitution ring hollow when there are so many examples of violations of the most fundamental freedoms, including those of opinion and expression (which includes the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas), thought, conscience and religion, and movement.
Ireland attaches a high priority to safeguarding human rights defenders such as the person referenced by the Deputy. My Department continually advocates for freedom for civil society actors to operate in a safe and enabling environment, without repression. Ireland’s concerns about human rights issues and restrictions of civil liberties in Bahrain is regularly conveyed to the Bahraini authorities, including through the Bahraini Embassy in London and through Ireland’s (non-resident) Ambassador to Bahrain.
Officials from my Department also raised ongoing human rights concerns with Bahrain in the context of its Universal Periodic Review, which took place in Geneva in May. In advance of this review, the Irish Mission to the UN in Geneva supported an event by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, where human rights concerns in the Kingdom were discussed. Ireland also made specific reference to Bahrain in our Item 4 (Human Rights situations that require the Council's attention) Statement at the Human Rights Council in Geneva last September, expressing concern about “restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association aimed at silencing the voice of civil society and human rights defenders in countries including… Bahrain”.
Given my Department’s limited resources, it is not always possible to raise individual cases with other countries, and as such the Department often focusses on issues, not individuals. My Department will therefore continue to monitor the human rights situation in Bahrain, and will utilise every opportunity to raise Ireland’s concern with this situation with the Bahraini authorities.
