and its remarkable leadership. Proposed amendments of the Law were submitted affirming that the Kingdom of Bahrain is going forward in providing everything needed to protect and enhance the status of human rights by supporting the NIHR to attain an advanced position among its counterparts in the international community. 11. The essence of the recommendations put forward by the SCA is drawn upon the importance of incorporating a stipulation in the NIHR’s Establishment Law whereby the building shall be made accessible to and usable by, persons with disabilities. In addition, a provision should be incorporated whereby the members of the legislative authority do not constitute the majority or that their membership can affect the independence of the NIHR to avoid any conflict of interest. Moreover, the NIHR’s consultation and appointment processes must be broad and transparent, and include clear and standardized criteria for assessing the merit of all eligible candidates, as the SCA considers it essential to formalize the selection and appointment processes of the decision-making body of the NIHR. 12. The SCA emphasized in its recommendations that the NIHR’s Establishment Law provides that full-time members should be among the members of its decision-making body as this helps the independence of the Institution without actual or perceived conflicts of interest, achieves stability during the members’ tenure, attains systematic and appropriate guidance of its workers, and guarantees consistent and effective implementation of the functions of the NIHR. 13.  Concerning the NIHR’s competence in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights, the SCA recommended that the NIHR’s Establishment Law should provide for conducting unannounced visits to detention centers or any other similar place to monitor, investigate, and submit reports on human rights conditions in an effective and timely manner, and to carry out regular follow-up activities. 14. The SCA, while recognizing the NIHR’s efforts and interaction with civil society organizations, recommended that the NIHR should cooperate with these organizations through regular and constructive interaction with all the relevant stakeholders. The SCA stressed the need to incorporate a provision on dealing with the competent ministries and parliamentary committees, as well as to clarify the process of submitting and approving the NIHR’s budget while affirming that financial control over it does not limit its independence. Regarding the NIHR’s annual reports, the SCA recommended that the reports include a statement on the human rights situation in the Kingdom, as this has a direct impact on the promotion and protection of human rights in the State’s system. 15. On 9 October 2016, Decree-Law No. (20) of 2016 was issued amending certain provisions of the Law on the Establishment of the National Institution for Human Rights in accordance with the recommendations of the SCA of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), to strengthen the NIHR and grant it additional powers to achieve the objectives 16