National Institution for Human Rights – Kingdom of Bahrain 7. The right to peaceful assembly should be available to all individuals, groups or legal entities, without any discrimination. The State has a positive obligation to take reasonable and appropriate measures to enable the participants in peaceful gatherings to exercise this right, and to provide the necessary protection for them. In any case, the organizers of peaceful gatherings should take this obligation for protection into account. In addition, the State is committed to enable the various media outlets to transmit information and ideas and cover and have access to peaceful gatherings, in order to achieve the envisaged goals of these gatherings. 8. On the other hand, the negative obligation of the State toward the right of peaceful assembly is embodied when unjustified measures that affect the essence of the right and its exercise are imposed. The best practices that comply with the relevant international standards consist of avoiding comprehensive prohibition on the place and time of peaceful assembly. The right to peaceful assembly should not be subject to the permission of the public authorities. Instead, prior notice should be the maximum measure to enable the State to facilitate exercising the right to peaceful assembly, and to take measures to safeguard public safety, maintain public order, and protect the rights and freedoms of others. Such notice should not be subject to excessive bureaucracy. 9. As regards the practical exercise of the right to peaceful assembly, and following the amendment, which was brought by Decree-Law No. 22 of 2013 on the Prohibition of Organizing Demonstrations, Marches, Rallies or Sit-Ins in Manama, the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by the Ministry of Human Rights has made it clear that: “The rationalization of preventing sit-ins, marches or rallies in the capital, Manama, is an approach that complies with the international instruments and is adopted in the countries which are considered a model in the realization of rights and freedoms ... on account of the need to protect national security, public order, morals, public health or the rights and freedoms of others”3 . 10. The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and the Right to Freedom of Association, in paragraph 61 of his report to the United Nations General Assembly, issued for the period from May 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013, considers that “peaceful assemblies have been prohibited or suppressed, because their mission has raised the ire of the authorities, as the case in the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Iran, Bahrain……”. In paragraph 63 of this report, it is stated that: “The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned about the comprehensive prohibition imposed by several countries, such as Azerbaijan and Bahrain, for reasons primarily related to the maintenance of national security, public safety or public order. He firmly believes that comprehensive prohibition is essentially discriminatory and disproportionate measure, as it affects all citizens who wish to exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly”4 . 11. NIHR is of the opinion that the right to peaceful assembly, though an inherent right of individuals, groups, or legal entities that must be exercised freely, may be subject to controls that constitute the minimum limit that may be exercised without infringing on its essence, taking into account that these controls are exception to the rule, i.e. the freedom of peaceful assembly. Therefore, it is not possible to expand or draw analogy on these controls, and they should be always interpreted within the narrowest scope. 3. Bahrain News Agency (BNA) - Statement of the Ministry of Human Rights released on October 12, 2013 entitled “Organizing demonstrations and rallies in Bahrain in line with the international standards”. 4. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and the Right to Freedom of Association (Maina Kiai), dated May 21, 2012 - submitted to the United Nations General Assembly - Document No. (A / HRC / 20/27) - p 14. 66