NIHR Secretary-General Dr. Ahmed Farhan, who unveiled its executive strategy and work plan for the year 2014, shed a light on the events planned for the year 2014.
He announced that the periodic annual NIHR Report would soon be submitted to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. Copies of the periodic survey will also be submitted to the Parliament and the Shura Council.
The foundation has also embarked on preliminary preparations to host the first international in May marking the establishment of the Arab Human Rights Court. The pan-Arab rights tribunal, whose headquarters would be based in Bahrain, followed the initiative of HM the King.
Bahrain’s watchdog has also sealed a series of memoranda of understandings with key international organisations providing free services, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Bar Association (IBA), the world’s leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies.
Three intensive training programmes targeting lawyers, journalists and doctors will also be launched soon. International Bar Association (IBA) lecturers will also conduct a training course as part of NIHR2014 programme.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is set to conduct a course on the principles underlying the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Two others courses have been scheduled – with the first highlighting NIHR-led role in fostering and protecting human rights in Bahrain, while the second will focus complaints procedures, monitoring and report writing.
NIHR Deputy President Dr. Abdulla Al-Diraz said that the number of complaints filed with the foundation topped 124 since January 2013. The watchdog also reported 9 complaints and 13 legal counseling demands for last month (January2014). NIHR officials paid five prison visits last year (2013) in coordination with competent authorities.