Whereas it might just be too little too late, but it’s traction nonetheless?

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – October 6, 2011
Mr. MCGOVERN introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 80

Limiting the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to a certain proposed sale of defense articles and defense services to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Whereas the Kingdom of Bahrain is a party to several international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted December 16, 1966, and entered into force March 23, 1976, and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 1984;

Whereas the Government of Bahrain had made several notable human rights reforms during the 2000s;

Whereas, despite those reforms, significant human rights concerns remained in early 2011, including the alleged mistreatment of detained persons and the discrimination against certain Bahraini citizens in the political, economic, and professional spheres of Bahrain;

Whereas this discrimination has included the banning of particular religious groups from holding specific government positions, including the military and security services, without reasonable justification;

Whereas hundreds of thousands of protesters in the Kingdom of Bahrain have significantly intensified their calls for government reform and respect for human rights starting in February 2011;

Whereas independent observers, including the Department of State, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Amnesty International, and Freedom House, found that the majority of protesters have been peaceful in their demands, and that acts of violence by protesters have been rare;

Whereas the Government of Bahrain has systematically suppressed the protests through a wide range of acts constituting serious and grave violations of human rights;

Whereas, according to the Project of Middle East Democracy, at least 32 people have been killed by the Government of Bahrain’s security forces since February 2011;

Whereas at least three deaths occurred while the individuals were in detention, according to the Ministry of Interior of the Government of Bahrain;

Whereas there have been credible reports from Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights of severe mistreatment of detainees, including acts rising to the level of torture;

Whereas the Government of Bahrain has investigated and prosecuted individuals who were only peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, political opinion, and assembly;

Whereas the Government of Bahrain has continued to prosecute civilians, including medical professionals, in military-security courts;

Whereas cases continued to be tried in the military-security courts despite promises by the Government of Bahrain to transfer those cases to civilian venues;

Whereas the military-security courts’ procedures and actions severely limited due process rights or complied with due process formally rather than substantively;

Whereas the Government of Bahrain’s recent promises to have civilian courts hear the appeals from military-security courts are insufficient to rectify the due process violations that occurred at the trial stage;

Whereas the Government of Bahrain has moved quickly to prosecute and sentence political opponents to lengthy prison terms, while at the same time slowly investigating, or failing to investigate at all, government and security officials who appear to have committed or assisted in human rights violations against political opponents;

Whereas Physicians for Human Rights has documented that the Government of Bahrain’s security forces have targeted medical personnel by abducting medical workers, abusing patients, intimidating wounded protesters from accessing medical treatment, and sentencing medical professionals to lengthy prison terms in the military-security courts for protesting the government’s interference in treating injured protesters; …more