QNA
Doha
Chairperson of Qatar National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah has described the convention of the regional dialogue forum on ‘Human rights: promoting equality and combating discrimination in the context of migration’ as one of the most consequential and best practices at the level of the Gulf human rights work.
She added that, through the presented working papers, the forum discussed all aspects through which expatriates could be exposed to discrimination and racism, chiefly their inclusion in the society, sports, figuring out human rights mechanisms and their relationship with sports, identifying the shared interests and raising sport-related issues, as well as exchanging expertise and ideas about combating racism in sport.
The forum shed light on the current policies and regulations that could be thoroughly ineffective in combating racism in sport, along with the role of media in addressing racism in sport, the successful experiences and best practices derived from a range of experiences that effectively address racism in sport, Attiyah highlighted.
She pointed out that the forum on focused on the possibility of enhancing education and awareness about combating racism among the sports community, as well as the measures that could be taken to support athletes who are exposed to racism and the potential role the fans can perform in combating racism in sport.
The forum also discussed promoting diversity and inclusiveness in sport governance bodies, how social media platforms can be leveraged as a combating tool, identifying appropriate punishments for teams or individuals who engage in racial acts, in addition to rigorously optimising data collection and analysis to further track cases of racism in sport, she added.
The NHRC chairperson outlined that the event highlighted the programmes that can be implemented to encourage children and young people from all spectrums to engage in sporting activities, along with the role of sponsor companies in backing anti-racism efforts and capitalising on international experiences to strengthen anti-racism efforts domestically.
She held two separate meetings with Chairperson of National Human Rights Institution of the United Arab Emirates Maqsoud Kruse and Member of the Human Rights Commission of Saudi Arabia Dr Amal Al Habdan on the margins of the forum.
During the two meetings, they discussed avenues of cooperation, organising joint activities at the national, regional and global levels and sharing expertise and best practices in protecting and promoting human rights.
Organised by NHRC, in collaboration with the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI), and the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the two-day forum concluded on Wednesday with recommendation on the importance of constantly working to promote the levels of human rights awareness and notions related to the issue of fostering equality and repudiating all forms of racial discrimination.
The event called for utilising the field of education and culture to address youth, pertaining to the elimination of racial discrimination and spreading the notions of tolerance and co-existence.
