URU, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 81: Henvendelse af 20. marts 2023 fra European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights om opfordring til handling til støtte for menneskerettighedsaktivisten Abdulhadi al-Khawaja

Udenrigsudvalget 2022-23 (2. samling)
URU Alm.del Bilag 81
Offentligt

Rue de la Linière , 11 • 1060, Brussels, Belgium • tel: +32 (0) 2 60 94 415 •

[email protected]

•

@ECDHRbxl

Dear Member of the Danish Parliament,

We at ECDHR are deeply concerned about the Government of Bahrain’s use of the 2023 Formula 1 (F1)

Grand Prix to whitewash the deteriorating human rights situation in the country. We would like to draw

your attention especially to the controversial implications of a Danish company sponsoring the event in a

country that has illegally detained and abused for over a decade a Danish-Bahraini human rights activist,

Mr. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

Since the violent crackdowns on the peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011, the Kingdom of Bahrain

has increasingly

turned

into a police state where activists and civil society actors can no longer freely

voice their opinions. It is in the wake of these protests that Mr. Al-Khawaja was arbitrarily

arrested

and

sentenced to life in prison on

unfounded,

terrorism-reltated charges. Throughout his incarceration, Mr.

Al-Khawaja

has been

subject to torture, beatings, verbal abuse, threats of sexual assault and long periods

of solitary confinement. This severe treatment has taken a toll on his health, forcing him to undergo

medical surgery multiple times. He protested the denial of

proper medical

care and

restrictions on family

visits

by undertaking

six hunger strikes.

One of the main sponsors of F1 and Bahrain’s International Circuit is the Danish company

DSV A/S:

Global Transport and Logistics.

As Qatar’s World Cup

has already proven,

hosting such prestigious

international competitions like the F1 Grand Prix in countries where human rights are systematically

violated is at least highly controversial. By sponsoring Bahrain’s 2023 Grand Prix, DSV A/S is indirectly

facilitating the Bahraini government in covering the abuses faced by Danish citizen Mr. Al-Khawaja and

its negative international reputation.

This not only contrasts with DSV’s own commitments to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as expressed in their

Code of

Conduct.

It also acts in disregard of

The Danish Action Plan on the implementation of the UN Guiding

Principles of Human Rights,

which establishes the State duty to protect human rights and sets out

expectations to all businesses within Denmark’s territory and/or jurisdiction to “take responsibility to

respect human rights when operating abroad- especially in developing countries where there can be an

increased risk of having an adverse impact on human rights.”

The

obligation

for all large, state-owned Danish companies to report on human rights

has not been

followed

thoroughly according to the Danish Institute for Human Rights. Moreover, the

motion

for a

legislation on mandatory human rights due diligence and corporate liability has not proceeded further

URU, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 81: Henvendelse af 20. marts 2023 fra European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights om opfordring til handling til støtte for menneskerettighedsaktivisten Abdulhadi al-Khawaja

Rue de la Linière , 11 • 1060, Brussels, Belgium • tel: +32 (0) 2 60 94 415 •

[email protected]

•

@ECDHRbxl

since its proposal in 2019. Finally, despite claims about the adoption of a legal framework concerning

corporate human rights due diligence at the end of 2021, no such proposal

has been presented

yet.

While commending Denmark for such efforts, we have to acknowledge that they have proven to be

insufficient. This is why we call on you in your capacity as a MP to build upon them and, in accordance

with the principles and obligations contained in both the Danish Action Plan and

the renewed EU Strategy

2011–14 for Corporate Social Responsibility,

to:

●

Call on the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the EU Delegation to and

Member States’ representations in Bahrain to request a visit to Al-Khawaja and ensure consular

protection is applied to him;

●

Call on

DSV A/S: Global Transport and Logistics

to raise concerns about the conditions of

Danish-Bahraini citizen Mr. Al-Khawaja with its F1 partners;

Call on

DSV A/S: Global Transport and Logistics

to comply with the human rights commitments

contained in its Code of Conduct and in the Danish National Plan, especially with respect to its

business relations involving countries implicated in serious human rights violations;

●

Call on

DSV A/S: Global Transport and Logistics

to publish an official statement assessing its

potential negative impact on human rights in Bahrain;

Call on

DSV A/S: Global Transport and Logistics

to expand its Code of Conduct as to

conditionalize any business partnerships upon a thorough and independent evaluation of the

human rights situation of the countries that would be involved by those relationships;

●

Call on the Danish government to ensure appropriate measures are taken in case

DSV A/S

does

not comply with the existing human rights due diligence requirements as well as the

aforementioned requests;

●

Demand the Danish government that human rights reporting requirements are properly

implemented within large, state-owned Danish companies, and that such requirements are

extended to all Danish companies, especially those operating in developing countries, preferably

by adopting adequate legislations.

We thank you for your consideration and remain available to provide you with any further information

you may need.

Sincerely,

European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights staff.