POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS IN BAHRAIN

That this House welcomes the meeting held on 16 January 2014 between Bahrain's Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Bahraini opposition leaders, including Ali Salman Ahmed Salman, Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq; hopes that this meeting signals the willingness of the Bahraini government to engage in meaningful negotiations leading to substantive political reform; believes that ultimately such negotiations should result in greater and fairer political representation, the rule of law and an end to discrimination; urges the Bahraini government to carry out confidence-building measures, including the implementation of all the recommendations of the report by the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry and the UN Universal Periodic Review, as well as the release of all political prisoners; calls on the Bahraini government to stop sending out mixed messages to, and persecuting, those committed to peaceful political change; and calls on the international community to build on the momentum generated by the meeting by encouraging all sides to adopt a road map and timetable for subsequent negotiations to resolve the ongoing political crisis in that country.