In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate
Mr. President of the Human Rights Council
Mr. High Commissioner for Human Rights
Dear Sirs / Heads of Delegation
Ladies and Gentlemen
Greeting,
At the beginning, I would like to greet all of you and take this opportunity to congratulate ambassador Choi Kyung-Lim on his assumption of the presidency of the Council, wishing him every success and success in the conduct of his work, as well as the efforts of His Excellency Ambassador Joachim Rücker and his staff during the previous session.
Mr. president,
This session is taking place while the challenges of human rights continue to increase in all parts of the world, despite the fact that nearly a decade has elapsed since the establishment of this Council. Hence, we must renew our resolve and develop new initiatives in the spirit of the International Declaration of Human Rights, this council was able to reach its noble aims which was created and elevated to the level of ambition.
Despite the efforts of the Council, the human rights situation today is no better than it was at the time of its establishment. The pervasive injustice of occupation, tyranny and racial discrimination continues to be the source of violations of human rights in their various forms and manifestations.
I stated last March in front of this distinguished Council that the addressing of human rights violations, by all parties and mechanisms involved, if not effective and decisive, will bring more violence, extremism and conflict. Today we reiterate that this Council alone will not be able to stop abuses and improve the human rights situation. In the absence of other mechanisms, which could have moved more seriously.
In this regard, the collective security system established by the Charter of the United Nations has failed to achieve international peace and security and the preservation of human rights in many regions of the world, because of the double standards in the Security Council's dealing with peoples' issues.
Mr. president,
The continued Israeli occupation of Arab territories is a disgrace to humanity.
Israel continues its unlawful policies and arbitrary arrests and continues to blockade the Gaza Strip since 2007 in a manner that prevents its residents from practicing decent human life, as well as the expansion of settlement building, the repeated and systematic attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque, the demolition of schools and the ill- treatment of prisoners and detainees, And above all these crimes are the major crime of stealing a homeland and the confiscation of land and identity, and the practice of non-stop policy of settlement and Judaization.
These illegal Israeli policies and practices are a flagrant challenge to the will of the international community and constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention.
I would like to point out that the State of Qatar is making continuous efforts to alleviate the suffering of Gaza Strip residents through the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
We call upon the international community, especially the Security Council, to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities by taking the necessary measures to end the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, to protect the Palestinian people, to force Israel to end its occupation of all Arab territories and to achieve a comprehensive and just peace. Not to mention the Arab peace and the decisions of international legitimacy and the establishment of the independent state of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of 1967.
Mr. president,
In most cases, civilians pay the price of wars and armed conflicts. Unfortunately, more than 300,000 Syrian people died, mostly women, children and the elderly, and nearly 12 million people displaced at home and abroad under harsh conditions and tragic living conditions, all through its use of weapons, including internationally prohibited weapons. However, that was not enough to mobilize the international community to bring those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity to international criminal justice. There are still those who arm this regime and those who stand with it morally.
What is going on in Syria is a genocide and what can be called the destruction of a society and the displacement and racial cleansing sectarian basis.
There is no doubt that the impunity of the perpetrators of these crimes has caused the loss of credibility of the international community as regards criminal justice and raises doubts about the effectiveness of mechanisms for the protection of civilians and the preservation of human rights.
It is also politically or morally unacceptable to compromise the Syrian people on their legitimate rights.
The extent of the crimes against them dictates that there should be no compromise on the existence of the regime, and the oppression of a people subjected to all this by the threat of using the policy of starvation and the unjust and suffocating blockade, and placing them before options such as accepting Assad's regime terrorism or the terror of an oppressive organization which is blackmailing the victim rather than criminalizing the offender.
Regarding this terrible tragedy, we emphasize the need for a peaceful solution that meets the legitimate demands of the Syrian people in accordance with the decisions of the Geneva Declaration "1" and the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers.
Mr. president,
The worsening of the phenomenon of terrorism is one of the serious challenges facing the international community in general, to its direct threat to international peace and security and to the violation of human rights, the undermining of the rule of law and the disruption of the sustainable development of peoples.
In this regard, we firmly believe that the use of armed force is temporary in the fight against immediate dangers, but will not solve the problems of terrorism. On the contrary, it has been historically proven that war and bombardment of populated areas exacerbate the violence. Therefore, the success of the international community in the fight against terrorism remains dependent on adopting a comprehensive approach based on addressing the real causes of terrorism, achieving social justice and economic development, ending the policy of marginalization and sectarian exclusion, resisting extremism, extremist ideology and hatred, ending the occupation and finding just political solutions to peoples' issues. Hope for the future, and enable them to participate in building their home and communities.
In this context, I refer to the success achieved by the Tunisian revolution without bloodshed. No one was killed by the security services, despite the huge popular demonstrations that lasted for weeks.
Tunisia, which offers a different model of pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power, targets terrorism with its successful democratic experiment.
Therefore, the international community must provide all forms of support to the Republic of Tunisia. The fight against terrorism will not achieved its desired objectives if peaceful models of pluralism are not supported and the paths of sustainable development of the brotherly Tunisian people must be supported.
I would like to point out that the State of Qatar is an active actor in the implementation of the United Nations counter-terrorism strategy and has always emphasized that a comprehensive treaty must be adopted that includes a specific definition of terrorism and does not relate to a particular religion, race or culture, with a clear distinction between terrorism and the legitimate right of peoples to struggle for freedom and independence.
Mr. president,
The international community faces another challenge in the field of human rights, which is hostility and hatred of the other. As the State of Qatar insists on the need to promote freedom of expression and the right to free media, it categorically rejects the use of this freedom and this right as a justification for inciting hatred.
In this context, the repeated and false linkage between Islam and the violation of human rights and terrorism is a major reason to distort the image of the Islamic religion, and it also harms the efforts of Islamic countries in the fight against extremism and violence.
Therefore, efforts to call for correcting wrong ideas are not only required from Islamic countries, but all are required to fight extremism, fanaticism and hatred that lead to conflict and terrorism.
What we truly hope for is an international community of tolerance and mutual respect among the embracers of all religions, which equally recognizes rights and responsibilities.
The Doha International Center for Interreligious Dialogue held its 12th conference this February, which represented an opportunity to discuss a number of important topics aimed at addressing the discourse of hatred, extremism in all its forms and sources, and to make the language of dialogue and tolerance replace the language of violence, hatred, intolerance and contempt along with various religions.
Mr. president,
The promotion and protection of human rights has become a strategic choice for the State of Qatar to achieve through its establishment at the national level and through regional and international efforts.
In this regard, the State of Qatar has adopted several legislative measures related to the promotion and protection of human rights, such as the promulgation of Law No. (1) of 2015 amending certain provisions of the Labor Law promulgated by Law No. 14 of 2004 and Law No. (21) of 2015 regulating entry and exit. This legislation strengthened the constitutional and legal protection of migrant workers' rights in accordance with international standards and obligations under the international conventions acceded to by the state.
I would like to pay tribute to the great role played by expatriate workers in the development of the State of Qatar. I would like to stress in this regard the keenness of the State of Qatar to promote and protect their rights and to provide them with a suitable working environment.
In order to strengthen the institutional framework for human rights in the country, Law No. (12) of the year 2015 gave the National Human Rights Commission more autonomy and surrounded its members with a hedge of immunity and legal guarantees stipulated in the Paris Principles to enable the Commission to carry out its work and tasks guaranteed by law, freely and transparently.
The State is currently preparing the national plan for human rights in accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers issued in 2014.
In the context of the State's keenness to contribute effectively to international efforts to promote human rights, security and peace, it has hosted several major international conferences and events of interest to the region, including the Regional Conference on "The role of the High Commissioner in the promotion and protection of human rights in the Arab region".
Mr. president,
The adoption of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 has recently represented a fundamental turning-point in international development efforts. Also, building on the close link between human rights and development, a human rights perspective in the implementation of the goals of sustainable development makes this Council the spearhead in efforts to enforce these goals by providing a platform to discuss and exchange best and constructive practices, identify challenges to overcome them and promote international cooperation through fair and equitable partnerships.
As part of its efforts to achieve development and to implement development goals, the State of Qatar attaches great importance to international cooperation and, in this regard, implements a number of programs that will enable many developing countries to catch up with development.
With regard to national development, the Qatari citizen is at the top of the country's priorities in accordance with the directives of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
This is what Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Strategy 2011-2016 are all about.
Qatar was ranked first in the Arab world and ranked 32rd in the Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in December 2015.
In conclusion, we reaffirm our commitment to continue to cooperate with this Council as the most appropriate mechanism for the promotion and protection of human rights and to support its efforts to carry out its mandate and role effectively and efficiently.
Thank you for listening,