+ A
A -
Maneesh Bakshi
Doha
The blockade imposed on Qatar by some members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is arbitrary and negatively affecting the people of the region, a new United Nations investigation has revealed.
The report of the United Nations' Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) technical mission described the action of the blockading countries as unilateral and coercive against Qatar, leading to the violation of human rights of its citizens.
At the same time, the report praised the Qatar government for not taking any retaliatory measures against the citizens of blockading countries residing in Qatar.
In November 2017, representatives from the OHCHR visited Qatar where they met with some 20 governmental and civil society groups, as well as people who had been affected by the unjust blockade.
After the visit, OHCHR compiled a report and also sent a copy to Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC).
At a press conference in Doha on Monday, NHRC Chairman Dr Ali bin Smaikh al Marri said,"This report is a first of its kind issued by an international organisation like the United Nations, condemning the decisions and measures taken by the blockading countries and documenting the worst violations."
The NHRC chief said the report was proof that the blockade is illegal."The report is an important legal reference which will reflect the diplomatic and legal moves, regionally and internationally. It also demonstrates the siege countries' lack of intention to alleviate the suffering of the victims, and the intransigence on the part of those countries to aggravate the humanitarian situation."
Dr Marri called on the OHCHR to take further steps at all levels of international human rights mechanisms and urged the UN Human Rights Council to raise the issue of the siege's repercussions in the general report of the Secretary-General of the UN, and the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the next session of the UNHRC.
Continued on page 2 f1'eef0
