Observation on submission to competent authorities (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Bahrain

Serious failure to submit. The Committee recalls that, since 2002, following the establishment of a National Assembly – composed of the Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura) and the Council of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwab)– the Government has repeatedly been requested to establish a new mechanism to submit the instruments adopted by the International Labour Conference to the National Assembly, in compliance with its obligation of submission under article 19 of the ILO Constitution.

Against this background, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its communication of 22 July 2025, in which it reiterates that it considers that: (i) Bahrain has complied with its constitutional obligation by submitting all the instruments adopted by the Conference between 2000 and 2019 to its Council of Ministers, as the authority considered competent for the purpose of article 19 of the ILO Constitution; and (ii) a new mechanism for submission of the instruments adopted by the Conference would require the revision of the Constitution of Bahrain and of a number of laws which regulate this aspect and which specify the mandate and powers of the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly. The Government further reiterates that the international labour standards adopted by the Conference are brought to the knowledge of the public through: (i) the Council of Ministers which issues a general statement clarifying the decisions that it has taken with regard to the matters in its agenda; and (ii) the representatives of the employers” and workers” organizations participating in the Conference, who are responsible for informing all stakeholders at the domestic level. Lastly, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the instruments adopted by the Conference in 2023 were submitted to the Council of Ministers, namely the Safe and Healthy Working Environment (Consequential Amendments) Convention (No. 191) and Recommendation (No. 207), 2023, and the Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, 2023 (No. 208). 

The Committee understands that, in Bahrain, the Council of Ministers is considered by the Government as the competent authority for the purpose of article 19 of the ILO Constitution due to the fact that this body is the competent authority to ratify a ILO Conventions and Protocols, as well as to decide on any other action which it may deem appropriate in respect of the instruments adopted by the Conference. The Committee also understands that, pursuant to the Constitution of Bahrain, the Council of Representatives is the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly. While acknowledging this specificity, the Committee emphasizes once again that the Memorandum concerning the obligation to submit Conventions and Recommendations to the competent authority adopted by the ILO Governing Body in 2005, has duly taken into account the fact that in certain Member States the competence regarding international treaties is vested with the executive branch of Government. Nonetheless, even in such cases, the Memorandum provides that discussion in a deliberative assembly – or at a minimum transmission to a deliberative assembly of information concerning the instruments adopted by the Conference – is an essential component of the constitutional obligation to submit. This obligation is applicable even in cases where legislative power is vested in the executive by virtue of the Constitution of the Member State (2005 Memorandum, Part II(c)). The Committee wishes to stress that the obligation of ILO Member States to submit the instruments adopted by the Conference does not imply any obligation to propose ratification or application of the instruments in question, or to take any other specific action. Pursuant to article 19 of the ILO Constitution, Member States indeed have complete freedom as to the nature of the proposals to be made, if any, when submitting the instruments (2005 Memorandum, Part III(b)). As to the objective of submission, it is twofold: (1) to encourage ratification or application of instruments adopted by the Conference through submission to the competent authority empowered to consider ratification; and (2) to bring the instruments adopted by the Conference to the knowledge of the public through their submission to a parliamentary or deliberative body.

In this context, the Committee recalls its previous comments, acknowledging the constitutional reasons that require the Government to regard the Council of Ministers as the competent authority for the purposes of article 19 of the ILO Constitution. However, it had also suggested that, in order to fully comply with Bahrain’s submission obligations as per article 19 of the ILO Constitution and in accordance with the 2005Memorandum, the Government could consider favourably transmitting the instruments – once reviewed by the Council of Ministers – to the Council of Representatives for information. The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s position has remained unchanged. It therefore requests the Government to reconsider, as a matter of priority, introducing a new stage in the national treatment of submissions that would involve the transmission of the instruments reviewed by the Council of Ministers to a deliberative body such as the Council of Representatives for information, to ensure full compliance with its constitutional obligation to submit, established in article 19 of the ILO Constitution.

In view of the above, the Committee once again expresses the hope that the Government will as soon as possible be in a position to report not only on the submission to the Council of Ministers of the 28 instruments adopted by the Conference at 15 sessions held between 2000 and 2019 (88th Session, 89th Session, 90th Session, 91st Session, 92nd Session, 94th Session, 95th Session, 96th Session, 99th Session, 100th Session, 101st Session, 103rd Session, 104th Session, 108th Session and 111th Session), but also on their transmission to a deliberative assembly such as the Council of Representatives.

The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the possibility to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office for this purpose.