The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) has approved the establishment of three new consultative working groups to strengthen cooperation with civil society organisations, based on the outcomes of consultative meetings held over the past two years.

The working groups will focus on business and human rights, the rights of women and children, and the right to health, with the aim of enhancing coordination between civil society stakeholders and official entities concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights.

Ali Ahmed Al Derazi, Chairman of NIHR, said that the initiative seeks to improve practical cooperation, address challenges facing civil society work, and support the development of a coherent national human rights framework, while maintaining the principles of neutrality and independence.

He added that the working groups will promote the exchange of expertise and data, propose human rights initiatives, support capacity-building efforts, review the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain, organise awareness and training programmes, and prepare legislative studies and recommendations, in addition to conducting national surveys to assess public awareness of human rights.