Bahrein - Trade unions’ delegation banned from participating in the International Labour Conference (ILC)

On 3 June 2017 the authorities at the Bahrain International Airport prevented a delegation from the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) from traveling to Geneva to participate in the work of 106^th session of International Labour Conference. Although GFBTU had communicated the names of its delegates to the Ministry of Labour in line with the customary procedure, the authorities refused access to boarding but did not give any reason behind this arbitrary decision. Subsequently, on 6 November and 26 November 2017, the GFBTU Deputy Secretary-General was banned from traveling to an international trade union meeting in Muscat, Oman, and to the Building and Wood Worker’s International (BWI) Conference in South Africa. No justification was given by the authorities. The government also denied entry visas to ILO specialists and representatives of foreign trade unions, effectively preventing them from participating in GFBTU activities.