US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1726

UNCLAS MANAMA 001726 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KDEM, BA 
SUBJECT: GOB IN FINAL STAGES OF APPROVING NEW HUMAN RIGHTS 
NGO 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified (deliberative process); please 
protect accordingly.  Not for Internet distribution. 
 
1.  (SBU) After a four month wait, the Bahraini Ministry of 
Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) is expected to approve the 
establishment of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society 
within the next ten days.  The board of the group, led by 
Shura Council member Faisal Foulad, includes women, 
unionists, Shias, Sunnis, a Christian, and a Jew.  Foulad 
told PolOff November 17 that the group will operate 
independently of the government and will monitor human rights 
violations in the country and advocate reforms that support 
human rights.  Al Ayam newspaper incorrectly reported that 
MOLSA had already approved the establishment of the society. 
 
2.  (SBU) Foulad said that the society will focus on 
monitoring the rights of women, children, and foreign 
workers, and will report on discrimination in all forms, 
especially religious discrimination.  The society will seek 
to develop laws that support international agreements on 
human rights, particularly the UN Declaration on Human 
Rights.  Foulad said his group has good relations with 
international and local NGOs and hoped that the GOB allows 
the Bahrain Center for Human Rights to re-open soon.  Despite 
its name, the new organization has no formal association with 
Human Rights Watch. 
 
3.  (SBU) Comment: Foulad is an outspoken advocate for human 
rights who will work within the system to promote individual 
rights and prevent discrimination.  As a member of the 
(appointed) Shura Council, he is in a position to influence 
government policy; however, others view him as too close to 
the regime to play an effective role.  His organization is 
not intended to replace the closed and dissolved Bahrain 
Center for Human Rights, which was willing to push the 
envelope and, at times, provoked the ire of the GOB.  But the 
Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society is a welcome addition to 
the Kingdom's civil society scene. 
MONROE