Bahrain Defers Ratification of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Bahrain's parliament yesterday refused to ratify the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which has already been adopted by 146 other nations. Today's Gulf Daily News says that instead, Parliament referred the matter to its Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee to include reservations stemming from conflicts between the Convention and Islamic Sharia law. Among the concerns expressed by members of Parliament is the Convention's protection of the right to convert to another religion and the right of women to marry without their fathers' consent.