Manama: Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on Monday said that Bahrain would not respond to any attempt to blackmail the country.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain does not care about any voice that seeks to blackmail it from abroad, and particularly the Human Rights Council,” Shaikh Khalid said as he criticised the levels of politicisation at the United Nations body.
The minister said during a press conference in the Bahraini capital with the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmad Abul Gheit that the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights should deal with Bahrain in a serious manner and to distance itself from political stances that do not serve any situation in any way.
“The Human Rights Council has lately politicised several issues, and this does not affect us in anyway. What we do care about is the commitment to international agreements and covenants and to the right mechanism and to build on that,” Shaikh Khalid said.
He added that Bahrain was among the top countries to cooperate with the Human Rights Council.
Shaikh Khalid said that his talks with Abul Gheit focused on shared Arab action, the situations in Syria and Yemen, relations with neighbouring countries, and terrorism and the existence of a clear vision on how to deal with it, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.
The minister added that Bahrain would not spare efforts in supporting the Arab League and the efforts of its secretary-general to strengthen common Arab capabilities, describing it as “the foundation for the stability of the Arab world at such critical times.”
Abul Gheit said the Arab league fully supported Bahrain and its stances in defending security and stability.
“As secretary-general of the Arab League, I stand strongly with Bahrain against any external threats, and there are resolutions adopted by the Arab league to support Bahrain,” he said.
“We will always stand by you, and I am confident that Bahrain will be on the right track that ensures progress and prosperity.”
Regarding the issue of the three UAE islands occupied by Iran, the Arab League chief said there have been statements that support the UAE position and the call to end the occupation by Iran of the islands.
“In the last few weeks, there has been a reinvigoration of the meetings of the experts’ commission to activate the resolutions adopted by Arab summits,” he said.
“The commission is made up of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt and the experts are working on a mechanism to confront any foreign threats. They have prepared a report that they will present at the next meeting and I hope that Arab League will continue to deal with the issue,” he said.
