Theresa May is visiting Bahrain to meet with leaders of Gulf states, who are in the country for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

She will attend a dinner with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman on Tuesday, before addressing the plenary session of the summit on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister will use the visit to announce a new working group with regional nations to combat the financing of terrorists. The UK will provide three specialist cyber experts to the Gulf states to help deal with extremism.

She will also unveil a new permanent British defence staff in Dubai to co-ordinate regional activities, and a dedicated military officer embedded with Bahrain's Ministry of Interior bomb disposal unit to provide management support and training.

One thing that unites the region’s countries are their terrible human rights records.

Bahrain

Bahraini police after dispersing protesters earlier this year (Getty Images)

Police fired live ammunition into crowds during the Arab Spring protests

Authorities have shut down newspapers and TV stations that air criticism of the Government

Security services used torture in response to protests – with methods so extreme they resulted in deaths

Saudi Arabia

Saudi troops pictured atop their tank on the Saudi Arabian-Yemeni border

Accused of committing war crimes in its on-going military campaign in Yemen

Women’s rights severely curtailed

Death penalty by beheading followed by crucifixion of bodies in use

Oman

Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, an absolute monarch (Getty Images)

Hereditary monarchy with no democratic institutions

Tight restrictions on protesting and freedom of assembly

Reporters of journalists and activists critical of government ‘disappearing’

Qatar

Builders at work on the construction of a new office site in Qatar (Getty)

Forced labour of migrant workers with hundreds of deaths reported on major projects

Flogging enforceable as a punishment under Sharia law for drinking alcohol or ‘illicit sexual relations’

Death penalty or prison sentences for gay people

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates' Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Reuters)

No democratically elected government

Has not signed international human rights and workers’ rights treaties

Death penalty or prison for gay people

Kuwait

Kuwait City's skyline (Getty Images)

Stateless minority groups lack citizenship rights

All citizens must provide DNA samples to government