Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) participated in the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), held from 16 June to 9 July 2025.
During this session, ADHRB delivered four oral interventions highlighting human rights violations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, particularly Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Under Item 3, ADHRB presented two interventions: the first addressed systemic failures in occupational safety, corporate accountability, and workers’ rights, while the second focused on the kafala system and its role in fueling labor trafficking, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. ADHRB also delivered an intervention during the annual discussion on women’s rights, highlighting discrimination in Bahrain’s nationality and family laws. Additionally, it intervened in the annual discussion on technical cooperation and capacity building, condemning the systematic persecution of civil society organizations and activists.
Item 3
ADHRB delivered two interventions under Item 3 of the Council’s agenda, on 19 and 23 June 2025, during the interactive dialogues with the Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
On 19 June 2025, ADHRB, together with partner human rights organizations, delivered an intervention highlighting Bahrain’s systemic failures in occupational safety, corporate accountability, and workers’ rights, following a gas leak at a Bapco refining complex that killed three employees. The intervention underscored the lack of transparency in investigations and the recurrence of industrial accidents resulting from weak oversight and insufficient accountability. It concluded with a question to the Working Group on Business and Human Rights regarding measures needed to ensure transparency and accountability in cases of corporate human rights violations, particularly when investigations fail to meet independent international standards.
On 23 June 2025, ADHRB, together with partner human rights organizations, delivered an intervention highlighting the structural impact of the kafala system in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and its role in facilitating labor trafficking, particularly of domestic workers. The intervention addressed recurring abuses, including passport confiscation, denial of freedom of movement, and the lack of legal protection, especially for single mothers and their children. It concluded with a question to the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons regarding effective steps to pressure these countries to dismantle the kafala system and ensure genuine legal protections for migrant workers.
Annual Discussions
During the annual discussions, ADHRB delivered two interventions: one during the annual discussion on women’s rights, and another during the annual thematic discussion on technical cooperation and capacity building.
On 24 June 2025, ADHRB, together with other organizations, participated in the annual discussion on women’s rights, highlighting legal discrimination against women in Bahrain, particularly in nationality and family laws. The intervention criticized the Bahraini Nationality Law of 1963, which prevents Bahraini women from passing their nationality to their children, exposing them to the risk of statelessness and social and economic marginalization. It also noted that the Family Law deprives mothers of legal guardianship, putting them at risk of losing their children in the event of family disputes. The intervention emphasized that these laws contradict the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and called on Bahrain to implement comprehensive legal reforms to guarantee equality and accountability.
On 4 July 2025, ADHRB’s intervention focused on the absence of independent civil society in GCC countries, despite the presence of OHCHR missions. It highlighted ongoing violations against activists both in their home countries and in exile, including sentences issued in absentia, citizenship revocation, digital surveillance, and pressure on their families. The intervention also criticized local oversight bodies for serving as tools to whitewash authorities’ image rather than hold perpetrators accountable. ADHRB called for ensuring the participation of independent civil society, including exiled activists, in any future UN programs to promote transparency and combat impunity.
Through its participation in the 59th session of the Human Rights Council, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) helped highlight systematic human rights violations in Bahrain and GCC countries.
The interventions addressed key issues, including the marginalization of civil society, suppression of dissent, human trafficking, discrimination against women, and poor occupational safety. They carefully documented the impact of these policies on the most vulnerable groups, such as civil society activists, women denied citizenship rights, and female migrant workers.
These interventions serve as an urgent call for the international community to reassess the effectiveness of technical cooperation, strengthen accountability mechanisms, promote transparency, and ensure genuine civil society engagement — all essential steps toward achieving justice and respect for human rights.
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