Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the human rights situation and (b) prison conditions in Bahrain.

We support the reforms underway in Bahrain and commend the steps taken by the Bahraini government to implement the recommendations set out in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry and UN Universal Periodic Review. While progress has been made in a number of areas, we are clear that more needs to be done. The Bahraini Ministry of Interior Ombudsman, National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR) and Prisoners’ and Detainees’ Right Commission (PDRC) have released a number of reports detailing prison conditions in Bahrain and have made important recommendations to the Bahraini authorities. We encourage the Government of Bahrain to move swiftly to implement all their recommendations. We are also providing a range of technical assistance to support the government of Bahrain in its broader reform programme, aimed at strengthening human rights and the rule of law.