UN must take action on Bahrain

The UN Human Rights Council will discuss Bahrain's human rights record in its upcoming Universal Periodic Review on May 21st in Geneva. Press TV has interviewed Paul Wolf, human rights and international lawyer from Washington about the authority of the UN Human Rights Council and how the UN can help resolve the Bahrain crisis. What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview. Press TV: From a legal point of view how significant is any UPR review (Universal Periodic Review) of Bahrain? And looking at the past as well, another Press TV guest has pointed out that Bahrain's review in the past has always been positive because of US pressure - How much of an influence will that as well have on the proceedings? Wolf: Of course the UN does not really have much enforcement authority. The only enforcement the UN can do is really through the Security Council or occasionally UN member states can organize some things like that, but essentially the Human rights Council, it has a moral authority and the credibility is what it brings to bear not its ability to enforce any kind of a legal judgment. I think that is actually a good role for the UN. I think the UN is playing a positive in Syria and I think it also can in Bahrain by being a referee and facilitating negotiations. I think that other states such as the US and Saudi Arabia are trying to support a very unpopular rule in Bahrain and it's really interfering in the internal affairs because Bahrain is a people it's a country - it's not the al-Khalifa government. So for foreign countries to be seen supporting this very unpopular government is interference and the correct thing to do is to involve a fairly neutral group such as the UN and really I would like to see the UN doing something more like what it's doing in Syria where it's trying to enforce a ceasefire by using observers. But at least if we have the Human rights Council trying to keep that aspect of the situation under control in Bahrain, I think that's very positive. Press TV: In the case that the UPR does review Bahrain in an unbiased manner and finds that it is guilty of human rights violations, what can the Council in fact actually do then? Wolf: No, the Council can't do anything. The UN is often criticized because it doesn't have any ability to enforce its decisions and what we normally see is a situation deteriorates to the point where they have to step in. So, that is obviously a disaster whenever it does occur. So what we would like see - we like to see observers come and look at things like human rights violation and then try to get a dialogue going in terms of not just stopping the human rights violations, but also a ceasefire between the parties. I think that is the solution in all of these countries including Bahrain, is actually a ceasefire. So in answer to your question the UN really doesn't have the authority - the Human Rights Council particularly - to do anything. It simply has its credibility and its moral authority and hopefully people will respect the UN and the UN will be able to play that role. Press TV: You are a human rights and law expert. From your point of view what can be done in a legal sense to hold the Bahraini monarchy accountable? Wolf: I should have checked, but presuming that Bahrain is a member of the International Criminal Court, you know, anyone that commits war crimes can be held in the International Criminal Court. Most countries are members, the US is not. The ICC will try to exercise universal jurisdiction. That means if someone who committed war crimes in Bahrain goes into one of those member countries like England or Germany or Belgium where they believe in the ICC and will bring in those kinds of case. But it's difficult really because Bahrain is a sovereign government, so the officials of the Bahraini government have sovereignty and it's a principle of international law really that you can't put another nation's citizens on trial so we have very limited ways we can do that and the main one is through the International Criminal Court. But I think if you follow the ICC, they're having difficulty even bringing the most obvious cases, the biggest human rights cases and cases that are really old and well-recognized so I think enforcement is difficult to be honest with you.