The General Secretariat in Al Wefaq National Islamic Society discussed local, regional and international developments in its regular meeting at the Society’s headquarters and highlighted on the following points:

1. Marking the International Anti-Corruption Day which is observed on the 9^th of December of every year, the General Secretariat in Al Wefaq highlighted the increasing pace of various forms of financial administrative corruption in different ministries and governmental bodies as has been documented in 12 consecutive reports by the National Audit Office in Bahrain. We, in Al Wefaq, stress that fighting corruption and securing public funds makes necessary a national agreement that produces an effective government to represents popular will and national participation. This goes hand in hand with a parliament that is fully-powered with legislative and monitoring authorizations, and the independency of judicial and monitoring bodies. Austerity policies that impose a direct effect on citizens, amid the absence of firm measures to transparently address issues of corruption and accountability of public-fund-looters, will be a big failure and could bring on more anger from the people as the authorities continue to ignore the current four-year political crisis.
2. On International Human Rights Day (10^th December), member states in the United Nations with a record of rights violations, including Bahrain, are urged to respect human rights. However, Bahrain has been seeing widening and unprecedented human rights violations, especially after February 2011. This has been documented by international human rights organizations as well as the UN Human Rights Council that issued 176 recommendations in May 2012 on the human rights situation in Bahrain. This is besides the authorities’ unjustifiable delay to respond to the country visit requests of a number of UN Special Rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
3. The General Secretariat in Al Wefaq came across the amendments to the decree of law to protect the society from terror. This law is a setback that takes Bahrain a decade back into history as the amendments contradict international standards, especially the two international rights covenants which Bahrain is signatory of making them essential bases for national legislation. Furthermore, they do not go in line with the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) which revealed serious human rights violations in its report. Legislations that give such power lead to further deterioration in security and human rights.
4. The General Secretariat in Al Wefaq also discussed the decision to raise national debt ceiling from 7 billion to 10 billion. This decision carries a heavy burden on each and every Bahraini family and on the future generations. It is a clear infringement to the National Assembly’s decision to maintain national debt at 60% of GDP. We believe that the adopted debt policy will deepen the crisis and drain the state, this is especially after the National Audit Office reported that the government allocated 95% of funds from development bonds to pay loan installments in 2014. Clearly, the government is borrowing to pay its debts, instead of using these funds for development projects.
5. The General Secretariat stresses that the impunity that is protecting torturers and officials from accountability remains to be a systematic policy of serious concern. This appalling situation carries further encouragement of torture. At the same time, state establishments formed to address the human rights situation have played a shameful role in the entrenchment of the “culture of impunity” and the continuation of systematic torture in Bahrain.
6. As to the new law that forbids clerics, who are a category of citizens, from exercising their constitutional right to association, we stress that clerics, like all other citizens, must enjoy all political and civil rights. Depriving them of their rights opens doors to deprive other categories on the row, and comes within the tightening policies to expropriate the right to the freedom of political activism in Bahrain, a right already caught in an iron fist.
7. The continued detention on Al Wefaq’s Secretary General, Sheikh Ali Salman, despite the fact that all accusations against him have collapsed with the absence of real evidence leaves no justification for the detention. Along with the international calls to release Sheikh Ali Salman, Al Wefaq renews its demand for his release immediately.
8. Bahrain will very soon complete one whole year on the ban of peaceful protest and demonstration. The government continues to illegally ban this right in attempt to hide the nationwide political movement demanding democratic transition.

Wednesday 10^th, December 2015