Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Bahrain Human Rights Society, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) have expressed deep concern over the agreement and urged the United Kingdom to reconsider establishing a base in a country with severe human rights violations.
Nabeel Rajab, Director of BCHR said: "The £15 million project, which will largely be paid for by the Bahraini government, is clearly a reward for the UK’s silence on human rights abuses in Bahrain."
Following the announcement, protesters took to the streets in Bahrain to criticise British Ambassador Iain Lindsay and ask for his resignation.
Sayed Alwadaei, Advocacy Director at BIRD said: "This agreement signals to the Bahrain people that the UK does not take into consideration severe human rights abuses when deciding foreign policy."
In London, nine Members of Parliament signed an Early Day Motion opposing the new defence agreement. Earlier this year, the Parliaments Arms Export Committee listed Bahrain as a country of concern. In 2013, Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) recommended that the FCO designate Bahrain as a “Country of Concern” in its 2014 Human Rights Report. The FAC also noted that British support for Bahrain, both in diplomatic and military terms, should not be conditioned on respect for human rights.
Husain Abdulla, Executive Director at ADHRB said: "This agreement signals to the Bahrain people that the UK does not take into consideration severe human rights abuses when deciding foreign policy.
In its 2014 assessment of the FCOs human rights work, the FAC condemned the decision not to list Bahrain as a country of concern arguing: “We see little or no evidence that Bahrain has made enough progress in implementing political reform and safeguarding human rights, and we believe that the FCO should have bitten the bullet and designated Bahrain as a country of concern”.
Sarah Waldron of CAAT said: "This is a clear example of arms sales and the UK’s military relationships being prioritised ahead of human rights and democracy. There needs to be an embargo on all arms sales to the regime and an end to the extensive political support it receives."
The aforementioned organisations call on to the UK Ministry of Defence to suspend its defence agreement with Bahrain until violations of human rights in Bahrain are addressed and substantive political reform is accomplished.
