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U.S. Must Maintain a Consistent Support for Human Rights in the Middle East

4-30-2011

By Marc Jayson Climaco
Program and Communications Assistant
for Human Rights Defenders Program
U.S. Must Maintain a Consistent Support for Human Rights in the Middle East [ 7 min 43 s | 10.59 MB ] Play in Popup | Download (271)

Sign the petition: Demand to free Bahraini activists, medical workers and athletes!

The democracy movements in the Middle East have received strong pushback from their governments, resulting in human rights abuses that have left countless pro-democracy activists detained, injured, or dead. While it is admirable that the U.S. takes into account the different sociopolitical histories of each country, its support for democracy in the region falls short with its inconsistent approach.

 

The U.S., for example has been silent about Bahrain and, in fact, the State Department announced recently that “the U.S. supports the Bahraini leadership’s own embrace of the principles of reform and the respect for rule of law and coexistence.” Nothing about widespread torture, nothing about the estimated 600 plus people in detention, nothing about athletes and medical and legal professionals being targeted for supporting the pro-democracy activists.

Listen to this week’s podcast for analysis on the inconsistencies of U.S. response to human rights abuses in the Middle East and what Human Rights First is doing to support human rights defenders in Bahrain and Egypt, including Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad and former Head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.

Podcast produced by Stephen Brownell.


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Posted in Blog | 6 Comments »

  • Umhamad

    Human rights in Bahrain and Nabeel his credibility is not an an ugly sectarian and based on lies and distorted facts and deliberately abuse of Bahrain in order to repeat the Iraqi scenario.They are incompetence for the job and falsified the facts.Western media & external organizations are looking for bad news and sedition to achieve their own interests.

  • Mohamed

    Thank you for your future initivies regarding showing the reality in Bahrain, we are in great needs for your help and endavours to uplift the human right abuses in Bahrain.

    I feel that the Human Right organisation do understand the damages and brutality that the regime is expressing on pro-democracy people in Bahrain, but I just want to send personal message that the fear of being arrested, tortured to death is in everyone in Bahrain who has participated in any protest, its the island of fear… we seek urgent helpppppppppppppppppppppp

  • May Pim

    I totally agree. Well done for all your goood work.

  • bahraini woman

    Bahrain need to be treated in the same manner to other countries despite of US and Saudia intertabtion. I am sure that sh. Salman was welling to put his hand with the people asking for freedom but it was a big dorce was put on him. what is happeinnig in Bahrain require an attention to the human rights being attacked.

  • Richard

    Yes, I do totally agree with you.

    But, the question now is how to change the US and the EU toward more understanding, similar to the one showed by the EU Parliment

  • annelize barnard

    when is the USA gonna get Army troops out of middle east Iraq?