Bahrain really isn’t making ‘progress’ on human rights

Earlier this year Bahrain finally made it onto the “Priority Countries” list compiled by Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) human rights project. The island state had managed to dodge inclusion in previous years, leading to strong criticism from MPs and activists who suspected — probably correctly — that establishment ties between Bahrain and Britain were preventing a sober, honest assessment of the appalling human rights abuses that have continued since early 2011.

When the FCO’s Human Rights Report 2015 was launched in April, Philip Hammond — the then Foreign Secretary under David Cameron who is now Theresa May’s Chancellor of the Exchequer — claimed that he and his Conservative predecessors have “mainstreamed” human rights, saying that it is “a core part of the everyday work of British diplomats.” This is fantasy; with the exception of some work around women’s rights and crime specialisms like piracy, counter-terrorism and narcotics, the FCO is in danger of becoming little more than a trade promotion body.

Indeed, last October, Sir Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant in the department, told the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Select Committee something quite different to what the former foreign secretary had claimed. The “prosperity agenda,” McDonald revealed, is now “further up the list” than human rights, which he said no longer had the “profile” they had once enjoyed.

“Overall, there was progress on human rights in Bahrain throughout 2015, although challenges remain,” the FCO report said. This mimicked the curt responses which any MPs asking about one of Britain’s closest allies in the Middle East get each time they raise concerns about human rights in Bahrain: “Progress is being made,” the minister will reply dutifully. “We are raising our concerns.” This and other assorted standard cop-outs characterise the manner in which the government responds to any questions about most of the UK’s more despicable allies.

To be on the list of “Priority Countries” is not something that any self-respecting nation wants. Other unfortunates featured range from nominal democracies to communist dictatorships to war-torn failed and semi-failed states. All share one thing in common: if you are a human being there, that alone doesn’t guarantee your rights. That Bahrain is included in the list is progress of a sorts although, unfortunately, the report seems to have been written about a different country. I suspect that this wasn’t a giant typo, but more of a whitewash.

So what does “progress” look like in Bahrain? According to the latest weekly report by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, there were seventeen arrests recently; five out of sixty-two protests outside Manama were suppressed using tear gas and shot gun pellets; the first trial of Bahrain’s Shia spiritual leader Shaikh Isa Qassim has taken place; the Criminal Court upheld a one-year prison sentence for Shaikh Mohammed Al-Mansi, a cleric who spoke out about human rights violations; a further three clerics were arrested and fifteen more were “summoned”. Worst of all, on 5 July, 35 year-old Hasan Al-Kayki died in custody. His family claim that he was tortured to death. An investigation has been launched by the Ministry of the Interior’s ombudsman; the findings will be key to understanding how comprehensive Britain’s idea of “raising concerns” and “progress” really is, because lawyers and British government-appointed experts are currently training staff in that very department.

Critics claim that torture and malfeasance by prison guards is hidden well away whenever the UK-trained ombudsman visits, although Britain continues to use such support as a fig-leaf for tacit tolerance of abuse. Cameras in cells, said one former inmate, are installed at the behest of Britain and Bahrain’s other Western allies, but are said to be turned off by local interrogators when abuses are in progress.

If what is going on behind prison walls and the dissident show trials is not really “progress”, there are other more positive signs. Seventy Bahraini police officers have been charged with assault against dissidents, and the Special Investigations Unit has appealed against some of their more lenient sentences.

The problem here is that British policy is designed to tolerate torture, executions, arrests, tear gassing and shotgun shooting. Indeed, it is seen as being in British interests for the human rights abuses to continue.

The claim that the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain is yet another manifestation of Iranian meddling is believed widely in Westminster. This is often a half-truth put about by personal friends of the ruling Al-Khalifa family who sit in the parliament in Manama; I have written about this before. I have also detailed how the Iran theory is unlikely to be true (or that true), and is therefore more likely to be malicious propaganda.

That said, the Iranian meddling theory is working domestically in terms of divide and rule. One former ally of Al-Wefaq, the Shia Islamist political association, spoke with me last week when he visited London.

“I used to support Wefaq,” the Sunni politician told me. “I stood shoulder to shoulder with them. Now they just stage protests and work with the Iranians.” Hi party, Al-Menbar, is a conservative Muslim association modelled on the Muslim Brotherhood. Key to his apparently newfound opposition was the increasingly firm belief that Iran is directly involved, and that to support the revolution would be to support traitors. Al-Menbar has long taken a generally pro-government line, however, so I was left with the impression that I and other journalists that the MP spoke to on his trip had been the target of cannily-delivered propaganda.

The same pro-government politician also complained of bullying tactics being used by Al-Wefaq supporters in their efforts to draw attention to abuses being perpetrated against them, and organising flash protests to bait the police. Given that many of the police raids have been at night— and these have resulted in protests — it is hard to see how this is the case. The usual excuse made when I asked if he was concerned about human rights groups’ criticism, was that such organisations, including transnationals like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty, are simply making up the catalogue of abuse. This is the sort of conspiracy theory that we see peddled by autocracies across the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and Egypt, for example) and perverted democracies (Iran, Israel) whenever concerns are raised. “They’re making it up” or, as the spin doctors’ grim saying goes, “Never underestimate the power of a denial.”

Bahrain isn’t making progress on human rights. It just isn’t. Even the United States is slowly distancing itself from the kingdom as it becomes clear that the post-2011 revolution period is widening the deep divisions in Bahraini society which ultimately threaten the physical security of the US Fifth Fleet hosted in Manama harbour. In stark contrast, Britain’s Conservative government has very enthusiastically ordered a brand new British naval base to be built there, paid for by the Bahrainis. This is part of a three-track deal including further strands on civil society building and — you guessed it — favourable trade promotion.

As long as Bahrain remains an important defence and trade partner, Britain’s indifference to torture and abuses will almost certainly continue. The FCO is right to put it on the “Priority Countries” list, but this looks like window-dressing; Bahrain really isn’t making any significant progress on human rights at all.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.