QNA
Doha
The two-day regional dialogue forum on ‘Human rights: promoting equality and combating discrimination in the context of migration’ commenced in Doha on Monday.
The forum is organised by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) in cooperation with the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Human Rights Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA), and the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI).
With the participation of experts from Qatar and several countries around the world, the forum aims to come up with international human rights methods to promote equality and non-discrimination, address racism and racial discrimination, and raise understanding of the challenges and practices in addressing racism and discrimination and promoting the rights of immigrants.
In her opening speech, Chairperson of the NHRC Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah underlined that promoting equality and combating discrimination are part of the priorities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that are seeing notable transformations when it comes to equality and non-discrimination and increasing care for the rights of expatriate workers.
Attiyah said that all measures taken by countries are welcomed, just as developments related to achieving equality and eliminating discrimination taken by Qatar were welcomed, which included legislative reforms that guarantee and protect the rights of expatriate workers based on the Permanent Constitution of Qatar which stipulates equality as one of the components and basic pillars of Qatari society and in fulfilment of the international obligations in the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and other related treaties.
Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 contributed to strengthening this path and the NHRC will continue to work with all its national, regional and international partners to achieve further progress, she added.
She also stressed that the forum will provide a good opportunity to exchange experiences, best practices and challenges facing its topic, expressing her hope that its recommendations will contribute to drawing a road map for the future and her aspiration to continue joint work to promote human rights and move forward in developing regional and international standards of equality and non-discrimination.
Attiyah called on national human rights institutions in the region to continue their efforts to achieve further progress including increasing awareness and education programs in the field of human rights in general and in the field of equality and non-discrimination in particular. She thanked all parties involved in organising the forum.
On his part, Secretary-General of the ANNHRI Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali said that ANNHRI has a strategic plan that includes a set of goals and activities in partnership with the UN Development Programme, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, League of Arab States, Arab Charter Committee on Human Rights, Arab Institute for Human Rights, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and other stakeholders from civil society organisations and international organisations.
Jamali DDED that ANNHRI has worked over the past 13 years to promote and protect human rights in the Arab region through hundreds of awareness-raising, educational, coordination and training activities.
He said the ANNHRI’s objective was to deal with discrimination by limiting and fighting it off, to ultimately create a generation imbued with a culture of human rights. He urged active parties to take part in enhancing knowledge of international standards and mechanisms for combating racism and racial discrimination, exchanging best practices and experiences of governments and NHRIs in this regard.
Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Mazen Shaqoura said that fighting discrimination and racism is crucial to achieving a just and equitable society where all individuals can enjoy their rights without discrimination or bias, as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Shaqoura praised the significant progress made by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in relation to human rights, as they have all ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and made significant progress in its implementation.
Shaqoura called on all relevant parties to continue cooperation and joint work to enhance human rights in the region, achieve further progress and success in protecting human rights, and combating all forms of discrimination, expressing confidence that joint efforts will lead to positive and sustainable results for the benefit of all individuals in the GCC countries, looking forward to constructive and fruitful discussions that contribute to enhancing human rights and achieving equality in the region.