US embassy cable - 05MANAMA780

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000780 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KMPI, PHUM, PGOV, BA 
SUBJECT: MFA TO INVOLVE CIVIL SOCIETY IN FORUM FOR THE 
FUTURE PREPARATIONS 
 
REF: MANAMA 705 
 
Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  MFA Assistant Under Secretary Shaikh Abdul 
Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa told Pol/Econ chief May 25 that 
the MFA plans to invite Bahraini NGOs involved in politics, 
human rights, women's issues, and youth to a briefing on the 
Forum for the Future (FfF) conference.  According to a list 
of the proposed invitees, the MFA would include a wide range 
of groups in the briefing, including groups such as Al Wifaq 
and the National Democratic Action Society that represent 
trends in the opposition.  Shaikh Abdul Aziz wondered if 
there could be time at the FfF conference in November 
dedicated specifically to Bahraini NGOs so there could be 
some "local flavor" for participating delegations.  Press 
reports have confirmed what contacts have been telling us for 
some time, that Bahraini NGOs are planning to organize a 
"shadow" forum to take place at the same time as the real 
event to highlight their concerns in front of an 
international audience.  The MFA's outreach to local civil 
society organizations could help to limit participation in 
the "shadow" meeting and maintain NGO focus on the Forum. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) MFA Assistant Under Secretary for Coordination and 
Follow-Up Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa told P/E 
chief May 25 that either he or Minister of Foreign Affairs 
Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa would soon brief 
Bahraini NGOs on preparations for the November 11-12 Forum 
for the Future conference in Manama.  The MFA plans to invite 
the heads of 43 political, human rights, women's, and youth 
civil society organizations to a session to describe the role 
they can play in the FfF process. 
 
3.  (SBU) Shaikh Abdul Aziz passed P/E chief the list of NGOs 
to be invited and noted they include a wide range of 
organizations, including the most prominent opposition 
societies.  While political societies Al Minbar, Al Asalah, 
and Al Mithaq, who are to varying degrees friendly to the 
government, will be invited, opposition societies Al Wifaq 
and National Democratic Action Society will also be included. 
 From the human rights field, the Bahrain Human Rights 
Society, Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, and Bahrain 
Transparency Society will be invited.  The women's groups to 
be invited include the Mother and Child Welfare Society and 
the Future Women's Society, which is close to Al Wifaq.  The 
youth groups include the Bahraini Youth Society and the 
Bahrain Youth Forum. 
 
4.  (SBU) While recognizing that the FfF Steering Committee 
(reftel) had not addressed the issue, Shaikh Abdul Aziz 
wondered if a few representatives of Bahraini NGOs could 
speak at the November conference.  Bahraini civil society was 
anxious to take part in the conference and allowing a few to 
speak could provide some "local flavor" for the participating 
delegations. 
 
5.  (SBU) Shaikh Abdul Aziz said that Bahrain was responsible 
for taking the lead on the "women's empowerment" civil 
society dialogue in the lead-up to the conference.  The MFA 
would discuss the issue soon with the Bahraini Supreme 
Council for Women to get its ideas and input, and would 
likely partner with either the Arab International Women's 
Forum or Women in Business International to organize the NGO 
meetings. 
 
6.  (SBU) Shaikh Abdul Aziz said that the government wanted 
to encourage Bahraini NGOs to participate in all four of the 
thematic civil society dialogues, on transparency, rule of 
law, human rights, and women's empowerment.  The GOB would 
consider funding the travel of a few Bahraini NGO 
representatives to the thematic meetings to encourage their 
participation and to ensure that their views were well 
represented in the reports and recommendations the NGOs will 
deliver at the FfF. 
 
7.  (SBU) Press reports on May 24 and 25 confirmed what 
contacts have been telling us for several weeks:  Bahraini 
civil society organizations intend to hold a "shadow" Forum 
for the Future conference in Bahrain at the same time as the 
real Forum.  Two parliamentary deputies, two opposition 
politicians, and a human rights activist announced in the 
press May 24 their intention to "explain their views" on 
important national issues to Forum participants.  They 
consider the Forum to be a good opportunity to put pressure 
on the government to "meet the demands and hopes of the 
people" on reforms. 
 
8.  (C)  Comment:  We expect some type of parallel "Forum" to 
take place in Bahrain at the same time as the real 
conference.  How the government works with domestic civil 
society in the run-up to the Forum will likely determine the 
extent of participation in the parallel event, but the usual 
group of entrenched oppositionists will almost certainly use 
the opportunity to trumpet their views and pressure the 
government.  The MFA's plan of outreach to civil society is 
not business-as-usual here and signals the GOB's seriousness 
about engaging civil society in the FfF process. 
 
MONROE