The British Ambassador: We Support Reforms in Bahrain

British Ambassador to Bahrain, Iain Lindsay said:-

“Over the last 3 years, the UK has played an important role, as Bahrain’s strategic partner of choice, in helping to support the reform visions of His Majesty King Hamad and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. We have done so because, as a close friend, we recognised, like the Bahraini authorities, that there were significant capacity and capability issues for them in implementing the specific and major reforms recommended by the landmark Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry.

Given the scale of the task which Bahrain confronted in 2011, the British government believes that Bahrain has, with UK support, made good progress and is on the right track. We have provided judicial, human rights, prisons and security sector reform assistance to key ministries and institutions, including capacity building and training.

UK support has played an important role in the establishment of the Police Ombudsman, the first in the region; and the restructuring of the National Institution for Human Rights, which issued a hard-hitting report just a few months ago.

It is really encouraging to see this level of attention being paid by the Bahraini authorities to the topic of Youth Justice, which is a vital part of Bahrain’s judicial reform programme and to which the United Kingdom is giving much support. The main objective of this workshop is to share experiences of juvenile justice and practices in Bahrain and the UK and to promote discussion with other GCC jurisdictions about best practice and reform.”