F1 starts recognizing human rights prior to Bahrain Grand Prix

Formula 1 will make a concerted effort to recognize the human rights of citizens, following an approval by F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone.

The announcement comes just a few days before F1 makes it annual stop to Bahrain - a country which has seen significant uprising by locals during the recent years. The 2011 edition of the race was cancelled and the following races were held amidst incidents of violence.

Despite the mess surrounding the event, Ecclestone had maintained that F1 had nothing to do with politics.

Hence, this announcement suggests a sharp U-turn in the approach taken by the 84 year old.

Althought it is worth noting that F1's calendar features events like China, Russia and from next year Azerbaijan. Three countries whose records as far as human rights is concerned have hardly been considered exemplary.

The wording of the proposal suggested that both current F1 venues as well as future venues would be scrutinized before being added to a draft calendar that is then finalized.

It remains to be seen though if the fallout of the initiative leads to any current venues being dropped.

It should also be noted that while F1 gets the lion's share of the attention for racing in locations considered suspect by human rights watchdogs, the erstwhile GT World Series as well as the World Endurance Championship have raced in locations like Azerbaijan, Bahrain and China.