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Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry j. Ascertain any involvement of foreign forces and foreign actors in the events.

Consequently, the Commission is bound by what is included in the above mandate and the investigations reflected in this Report are within the scope of that mandate.

3. His Majesty selected the five members of the Commission and appointed a Chair to whom he entrusted the direction of the work of the Commission. They are: Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, Chair (USA/Egypt); Judge Philippe Kirsch QC (Belgium/Canada); Professor Sir Nigel Simon Rodley (UK); Dr Mahnoush H. Arsanjani (Iran); and Dr Badria A. Al Awadhi (Kuwait).

4. Royal Order No. 29 of 2011, dated 7 July 2011, which was issued by HM King Hamad, gave the Commissioners and its staff the same privileges and immunities as United Nations Experts on mission, in accordance with the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations dated 13 February 1946.

B. Organisation of the Commission's Staff

5. The Commissioners selected the staff, which consisted of an investigating team headed by a Chief Investigator supported by a staff of investigators, investigative assistants and other administrative support staff. Cumulatively, the staff consisted of 51 persons who worked for various periods of time, including 12 investigators, 12 assistants to the investigators, five administrators, four administrative assistants and 18 technical and scientific consultants. All staff and consultants were under contract with the Commission, and their contracts contain a confidentiality clause. Some of the staff commenced their employment in the first week of July.

C. Overview and Methodology of the Commission's Work

6. The Commission began its investigation on 20 July 2011 and received 8,110 complaints and statements of various human rights abuses relevant to its mandate. These complaints and allegations came in the following forms: