UAE Summons Swiss Envoy over Remarks on Bahrain

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has summoned the Swiss ambassador over remarks made by the European country’s envoy to the UN over the human rights situation in Bahrain.

On Sunday, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the ambassador that “it was better if such issues were resolved through established bilateral channels between Bahrain and Switzerland.”

It also claimed that Switzerland had failed to recognize that the Al Khalifah regime had taken steps to improve the human rights situation in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, Press TV reported.

Last week, Switzerland’s UN ambassador Valentin Zellweger called on Manama to cooperate with the Human Rights Council, while also voicing his dismay over Bahrain’s “repression of civil society.”

“The use of torture, inadequate fair trial guarantees and excessive use of force during peaceful demonstrations, as well as reprisals against victims of human rights violations or those who cooperate with the United Nations, are of concern,” he said.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch voiced its deep concerns over the United Nations Human Rights Council’s failure to address the situation in Bahrain.