GENEVA: A delegation from the State of Qatar discussed Qatar's initial report before the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in Geneva over two days as part of the 74th session of the committee.
In her opening remarks during the discussion, the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Office in Geneva HE Dr Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah said that the preparation of Qatar's initial report was the result of collective and consultative efforts. This report was facilitated by a government committee established by a decision of the Cabinet during its 31st meeting in 2018, she added.
She emphasized Qatar's strong belief in the interconnected and complementary nature of economic, social, cultural, civil, and political human rights, as well as the right to development. These rights should be considered on an equal footing. She pointed out that economic, social, and cultural rights have a unique dimension when it comes to implementation. She stressed the importance of taking into account each country's specific characteristics when considering the application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
Furthermore, she added that there is no one-size-fits-all model for human rights that can be applied universally and that Qatar's perspective on the universality of human rights is primarily based on sharing positive experiences and benefiting from good practices that can be gleaned from such meetings.
For his part, the Director of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Dr Turki bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud said that after Qatar's accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, it gained full force of law under Article 68 of its constitution. It became an integral part of Qatar's national legislation as a constitutional principle. She noted that, in recent years, Qatar has pursued a strategic approach to implementing the Covenant's provisions and integrating them into the national legal system in accordance with Islamic law.
He also mentioned that Qatar established a committee to study the alignment of national legislation with the international covenants pertaining to economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights. This committee was established by a Cabinet decision during its 27th meeting in 2018.