Our Mission:
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) fosters awareness of and support for democracy and human rights in Bahrain and the Middle East.
Our Work:
In our communities, we raise awareness of key issues by hosting events with an emphasis on bringing speakers from the Bahraini-American community and from Bahrain to the US to meet with lawmakers, US government officials, and other non-profit organizations.
In the non-profit sector, we work closely with other leading human rights organizations in the US, Bahrain, and Europe to strengthen advocacy efforts.
In Congress and the executive branch, we develop relationships with key legislative representatives and government officials to create sustainable improvements in US foreign policy that support and strengthen human rights in Bahrain.
Internationally, we work with activists and non-governmental organizations to raise awareness of the human rights situation in Bahrain among UN officials, state representatives to the UN, and European parliament leaders.
In the media, we work to increase awareness of the human rights situation in Bahrain by promoting and distributing news and information regarding events taking place within Bahrain, and by serving as a source of expertise in interviews and in written publications.
In Bahrain, we support the work of leaders in the democracy and human rights movement by facilitating connections between them and US policymakers, other government officials, and leading non-profit organizations in the US.
Our History:
ADHRB was initially formed in 2002 through the culmination of a series of six conferences that helped to unite the Bahraini-American community in the United States. ADHRB was formally incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2008, and received its IRS tax-exempt status in 2009.
ADHRB has built relationships with many pro-democracy and human rights NGOs, including Amnesty International, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), among others. Through its advocacy, ADHRB has also developed relationships with congressional offices and executive branch agencies. Since 2009, ADHRB has been influential in securing several congressional briefings and hearings on human rights abuses in Bahrain.
ADHRB has increased the general public’s engagement on Bahrain-related issues by sponsoring delegations of pro-democracy and human rights advocates from Bahrain–including Nabeel Rajab, Dr. Nabeel Hameed, Jalila al-Salman, and Abdulkhadi al-Khawaja, among others–to allow them to share their firsthand experiences with the public, US lawmakers, and other government and NGO leaders. ADHRB also sponsored delegations of Bahraini-Americans to meet with their legislators in Washington, D.C. to encourage greater engagement on the part of Members of Congress on the human rights situation in Bahrain.
Memberships:
ADHRB is a member of the CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation and IFEX Global Network for Defending and Promoting Free Expression. We are an accredited non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC).
