Ministry of Foreign Affairs Organizes Workshop on National Mechanism for Reporting and Follow-up
Doha / Information Office / March 29
A virtual workshop began Monday on "strengthening support for the establishment of the national mechanism for reporting and follow-up in the State of Qatar", organized by the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the UN Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region, and the Treaty Body Capacity Building Programme in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Beirut.
The workshop was attended by HE Acting Director of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Turki bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud; Regional Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa Ruwaida Al Hajj; and representatives of a number of relevant government agencies in the State of Qatar.
During the first day of the workshop, several presentations were made, most notably the presentation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the experience of the State of Qatar in cooperating with the United Nations human rights mechanisms, and a briefing on the latest developments on the establishment of the national mechanism for reporting and follow-up, lessons learned and observations reached by the State of Qatar during its dealings with the various United Nations human rights mechanisms.
Furthermore, the presentation noted the status of ratifications of international treaties and universal periodic review reports, including mid-term reports, permanent invitation to holders of special procedures, and their visits, as well as submission of reports to treaty bodies, in addition to introducing how effective cooperation and communication with international human rights mechanisms can be achieved - in the context of preparing reports, interactive dialogue or facilitating the visit - steps for writing reports, roles and responsibilities, and introducing how to organize and facilitate reporting, responding to communications and following up on questions from these mechanisms.
In his opening speech, HE Dr. Turki bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud said that the organization of this workshop comes within the framework of the follow-up to the first workshop that was organized in March 2020, stressing the growing importance attached by the State of Qatar to the issue of promoting and protecting human rights, as it represents a strategic choice for the country and forms the backbone of its comprehensive reform policy, where human development and the protection and promotion of human rights are at the top of Qatar's priorities.
He explained that one of the most important and prominent developments that the State of Qatar has recently taken in promoting and protecting human rights is its accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and thus Qatar has become a party to seven of the human rights conventions.
In the same context, HE the Acting Director of Department of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Turki bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud referred to the issuance of Amiri Decision No. 47 of 2019 establishing and forming the Supreme Committee to prepare for the election of the Shura Council and define its terms of reference, so that it undertakes all active tasks in preparation for the Council elections, and in particular supervising the preparation of the necessary legislative tools projects, for the Shura Council elections, and to propose a schedule for the election process.
HE added that according to what HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani announced in his speech during the opening of the 49th regular session of the Shura Council, the first elections for the Council will be held in October 2021.
HE Dr. Al Mahmoud stressed that the State of Qatar has extended an open invitation since 2010 to holders of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, in addition to its full cooperation and interaction with the universal periodic review mechanism, and pointed out that the State of Qatar obtained an advanced rating of 100% for the countries that submit their reports to the international mechanisms according to the statistical indicators issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
One of the most important and prominent developments that the State of Qatar has recently taken in the promotion and protection of human rights is the formation of a committee to study the legislation in force in the country and the extent of its compatibility with the provisions and articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, HE pointed out.
His Excellency also referred to the establishment of the National Committee for Women, Children, Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Affairs, which comes within the framework of compliance with the recommendations of the monitoring committees to establish an independent central government mechanism concerned with the rights of women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities, HE said the committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs and membership of several different government agencies, in addition to civil society organizations and the National Human Rights Committee, noting that work is also underway to form a permanent committee to prepare state reports for international regional mechanisms, and that there is a permanent committee to prepare reports for the universal periodic review mechanism and follow up on recommendations since 2010.
His Excellency explained that one of the most important and prominent developments taken by the State of Qatar in the promotion and protection of human rights is the formation of a working group to study the recommendation of the National Human Rights Committee to join the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adding that the work team submitted its recommendations to join the concerned authorities.
At the end of his speech, HE Acting Director of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Turki bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud said that the organization of this workshop comes within the framework of continuous cooperation between the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region and the Treaty Body Capacity Building Programme in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Beirut, while expressing hope for further strengthening of cooperation and coordination frameworks.