BAHRAIN has been urged by the United Nations to do more to combat racial discrimination in the country. The government’s claim that there is no racial discrimination in the country is too good to be true, say UN watchdogs. Bahrain’s laws do not do enough to combat racism, says the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
It has given the government a year to come up with a detailed report on action it has taken to combat the problem
This is in response to a report submitted by Bahrain to the committee on March 3 and 4, at its 66th meeting in Geneva.
Bahrain was obliged to present the report, having signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination in 1990.
The country’s delegation was headed by Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi, who presented two periodic reports that were originally due on April 26, 2001 and 2003 respectively.
The CERD expressed its concern “over the representations made by the State party that there is no racial discrimination in Bahrain”.
