1.9
In its statement, NIHR noted that it - pursuant to the provisions of the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, to which the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain
acceded under Decree No. (8) of 1990 - affirms the necessity of
prohibiting and ending any racial discrimination on the basis of race,
colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, including discrimination,
exclusion, restriction, or preference based on citizen or non-citizen
status.
1.10
Although paragraph (2) of Article (1) of the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination can be taken to mean that any distinction,
exclusion, restriction or preference between citizens or noncitizens is outside the scope of its application, the (CERD)
Committee, entrusted with interpreting the provisions of this
Convention, has expressly recognized that the discrimination,
exclusion or preference permitted by the provision aims at
differentiating between citizens and non-citizens, for example:
The state issues identity cards to citizens in a specific color or
shape, while other non-citizens are issued identity cards of
different color or shape. The purpose of this procedure is to
differentiate between the two groups, rather than discrimination,
exclusion, or preference of either group.
1.11
Based on the foregoing, NIHR considered that the proposal for a
law to amend some provisions of Traffic Law No. (23) of 2014,
which proposed imposing fees on every foreigner-owned vehicle
in return for using public roads, equivalent to double the fee set
for the issuance of its registration certificate, despite that this fee
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