Overview of Human Rights in Bahrain

Bahrain is a monarchy which has been ruled by the Al-Khalifa family since the late 18th century. In 2002, the government passed a constitution that called for a legislative body with one elected chamber, the Council of Representatives (COR), and one appointed chamber, the Shura Council. This allowed for the 2002 election of representatives to the COR by citizens in free and fair multiparty elections. The constitution also states that the king is head of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government. In April 2005, the first woman government minister was appointed. While these are steps in a more democratic and representative direction, the government still has many human rights issues to resolve.

Civil liberties -- such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion, association, movement, and press -- are restricted by the government. Privacy rights are compromised in cases of opposition to the government. There have been numerous complaints of discrimination based on ethnicity and gender. There is much corruption in the judiciary, As well, lengthy pretrial detention affects even those accused of minor crimes. Human trafficking is also a growing problem in the region.  That said, as compared with other countries in the region, Bahrain enjoys a somewhat better human rights record.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

39th out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.