PDRC convenes, approves annual report

Manama, Aug. 2 (BNA): The Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) convened here today under the chairmanship of Nawaf Al-Ma’awda, and approved its first annual report (2014-2015). Highlighting the commission’s efforts and activities, and including its proposals and recommendations, as well as the best practices and obstacles that have faced its work, the report will be submitted to the cabinet. The panel said that it had conducted nine unannounced field visits to remand and detention centres in 2014 and 2015. The first was a visit to the remand centre in the Dry Dock from April 21 to 24. The results of that field visit and the following ones were published in detailed reports. During the visits, the commission’s teams record their observations on three main issues, namely (1) humanitarian treatment and the condition of the place, the (2) rights and guarantors and (3) health care. Members of the team then make recommendations on the conditions of inmates and detainees and the necessary preventive measures to improve them. Those recommendations are in accordance with the UN standards related to the prevention of torture and all forms of ill-treatment and international norms on human rights. The commission also highlighted its report on its unannounced visit to the women detention and remand centre from January 18 to 20, 2015. It included a number of remarks and recommendations. The full text of the report is available on the website: http://www.pdrc.bh/reports/.