Al-Attiyah: We condemn any decisions or measures that would consider occupied Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli occupation.

Dr. Al-Sulaiti: Katara works to promote human rights awareness and develop a spirit of cooperation and tolerance.

Abu Zuluf: Open invitation to join the international campaign for human rights.

Philharmonic Qatar: The audience enjoyed a concert of peace.

Katara visitors enjoyed watching 20 Qatari and expatriate artists creating artworks with Human Rights theme.

The National Human Rights Committee of Qatar called for the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the Human Rights Council on the Palestinian issue, as well as the inclusion of Jerusalem in the agenda of the next session of the Council, while condemning any decisions or measures that would regard the occupied city of Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli occupation and considered it a flagrant violation of international conventions and resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the International Court of Justice and UNESCO. It is also considered as a flagrant challenge to the international consensus on the status of Jerusalem and a direct threat to international peace and security. The event was attended by Dr. Khalid Bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Director General of the Cultural Foundation “Katara”, Ms. Maryam Bint Abdullah Al-Attiyah, Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, and Mr. George Abu Al-Zulf, Director of the United Nations Center for Training and Documentation for the Arab and South-West Region of Africa, as well as a number of ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions and a diverse audience of human rights activists and advocates.
Al-Attiyah said: The National Human Rights Commission joins the voice of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in Palestine and calls on all national institutions and international organizations to stand by the Palestinian people and end the occupation. Al Attiyah added “it is now 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been adopted, during which its principles proved to be able to maintain the stability and security of the world. In recent decades, however, we have witnessed a significant decline in the level of commitment to these principles and human values, especially in the Arab region, where most of the region has become a scene of disputes, wars and political conflicts that have overshadowed human rights and freedoms”. As for the Gulf crisis, Al-Attiyah said: ” We celebrate the International Human Rights day this year while we are going through a critical and sensitive phase. The National Human Rights Committee follows with deep concern the repercussions of the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar and its impact on the human rights of citizens and residents for a period of more than six months, through which a lot of Gulf families dispersed, social ties are cut off, students has been negatively affected and rights of thousands of people were violated including the rights to health, movement, property and religious rites; not to mention calls to violence and hate speech against the State of Qatar and its citizens. Allow me to use this forum to maintain our position, call for lifting the blockade on Qatar and stop violations of human rights guaranteed by the international law and human rights charters”. Al-Attiyah thanked to the Cultural Village Foundation- Katara, represented by Dr. Khaled Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, for organizing the celebration and contributing to the enrichment of the cultural process in the state, and the UN center for Training and Documentation, represented by Dr. Khaled Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, and all the parties that participated and contributed to this remarkable organization for celebrating this year’s International Human Rights Day.
Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti said that the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an opportunity to raise global awareness about human rights, as it is appropriate to renew the commitment to guarantee fundamental freedoms and protect human rights for all. Al-Sulaiti added that Katara always promotes human rights awareness, promotes the spirit of cooperation and tolerance, promotes the culture of law, peace and freedom among peoples, respects the cultural identity of each society, enriches diverse cultures, gives them human dimensions and unleashes their creative horizons, pointing out that Katara, through its diverse and continuous activities, opens up opportunities for fruitful dialogue and cultural interaction every day and provides a rich space for human communication among peoples in an atmosphere of freedom that is indispensable in cultural, artistic and creative activity.
Mr. George Abu Al-Zulf, Director of the United Nations Center for Training and Documentation in the field of Human Rights in the Arab Region and South West Africa, praised the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, noting the challenges that threaten these rights. Abu Al-Zulf called for the establishment of a lobbying movement of all activists and human rights defenders from all over the world and under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, whose mission is to remind the world’s Governments of their commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, the Katara Art Exhibition was opened with the participation of 20 artists, including 12 Qatari artists and 8 artists from Algeria, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Senegal and India. Their paintings call for the importance of protecting and promoting human rights within society. The audience also watched a short film prepared by the Qatar Foundation for Social Work on the services of the Shafallah Center in the field of integrating persons with disabilities in society.

the NHRC participated at the Doha International Book Fair in its 28th edition. The booth of the NHRC was visited by Mr. Salah Bin Ghanem Al Ali, Minister of Culture and Sports, in the presence of Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Sheikh Faisal bin Qasim Al Thani, a number of senior officials and a number of heads of diplomatic missions to the State of Qatar; who were received by Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs of the Committee. Mr. Abdullah Ali Al Mahmoud, Director of Public Relations at the Committee, said that the theme of this year’s exhibition is “Conscious Society”, which coincides with one of the most important objectives of the National Human Rights Committee in spreading awareness and education on human rights and freedoms and consolidating its principles in thought and practice. He said: “The Committee seeks to achieve this objective through many events organized or co-organized by NHRC and act as an important opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of human rights. He added: The Doha International Book Fair is one of the important platforms that the Committee is keen to participate in annually.
The book fair comes this year in exceptional circumstances related to the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar by the neighboring countries. Al Mahmoud said: “As for the current circumstances, the committee has allocated a special section at its booth which includes the reports monitoring this crisis. These reports include statistics of human violations resulting from the blockade imposed on citizens and residents of Qatar, and citizens of the GCC countries. Adding that there are many legal researchers available in the NHRC booth to explain the repercussions of the blockade crisis on human rights. Al Mahmoud pointed out that this section was developed with the aim of distributing these reports in a transparent manner after the committee handed them over to all relevant international and regional organizations. “It is the right of all people to be aware of all the details of these violations and to know the mechanisms of communication with the National Human Rights Committee in the face of any possible violations”.
The director of public relations and media added that the NHRC involved more than 60 titles for international books, treaties and tariff brochures. He pointed out that the Committee has managed, through its journey for 15 years, to establish a library of 1700 titles in both Arabic and English, which is an important factor in providing human rights to people at all levels, pointing out that the Library’s activity is not limited to the self-acquisition of books and references related to human rights issues, but also to cooperation with other libraries in order to exchange information in order to enrich their services. In the same context, Al Mahmoud stressed that the library has a flexible borrowing service in terms of research in catalogs, access to electronic sources, photocopying of documents and notification of the staff of the Commission with the available references to keep abreast of developments in the field of human rights.

Neutrality is unacceptable when it comes to human rights violations.

Dr. Ali bin Samih Al Marri, president of the National Human Rights Committee, extended thanks and gratitude to the Asia-Pacific Forum, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions for their great support and encouragement to the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar to further explore the impact of the blockade on the rights of citizens and residents of Qatar, and citizens of the GCC countries.This came during his speech the APF 22nd Annual General Meeting in Bangkok, during which Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission was chosen as the President of the Forum.
Dr. Al-Marri discussed in his speech the challenges faced by the National Human Rights Committee and the campaigns that were aimed at disrupting and sabotaging its efforts in uncovering the violations of the blockade since the beginning of the Gulf crisis on 5 June 2017; pointing out that attempts to obstruct the work of the Committee has been continuing through the media institutions and civil society organizations of the countries of the blockade, but the response always comes from the competent international institutions that the NHRC working in accordance with the Paris principles and there is no need to conduct any special accreditation review.
At the same context, Al-Marri called for the importance of cooperation of national institutions in humanitarian issues, to be independent and to avoid neutrality when it comes to violations of human rights; pointing out that It is our duty to uncover, monitor and condemn any behavior that would violate those rights guaranteed by all international conventions and treaties. Dr. Al Marri, during his speech on the violations against the Qatari citizens and residents of Qatar and citizens of the GCC countries talked about the right of families to enjoy protection and reunification and the prohibition of their dispersion, pointing out that many families are affected, especially women, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, where there are mothers and fathers who are forced to leave their children. He said: This violation is considered the most serious and the most terrible violation at all, because it affects and threatens the entity of the Gulf family, and threatens the most vulnerable groups in society, including women and children with disabilities and the elderly. Al-Marri also addressed the most prominent violations of the rights of students, investors, patients, and pilgrims. He said: All these violations are taking place amid the continuation of the course of hatred and incitement, which threatens the lives of people. Adding that the mechanisms and approach of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar in the process of monitoring these violations provide international organizations with reports containing statistics on the classification of complaints in accordance with its mandate and competencies.
Dr. Ali bin Samih Al-Marri, president of the National Human Rights Committee, met with Mr. Keiran Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Forum. The meeting dealt with ways of joint cooperation in the process of strengthening the capacities of NHRIs through organizing training courses and regional workshops, especially in the presence of the permanent headquarters of the sub-regional Office of the Asia-Pacific Forum in Doha, which is a close point of contact between national human rights institutions in the region.

Qatar National Human Rights Committee has noted with great concern the escalation of the discourse of hatred and incitement to violence against the State of Qatar and citizens and residents of Qatar by some media outlets, including social media sites in the countries of the blockade.
The National Human Rights Committee has monitored hundreds of incidents of hate speech and incitement to violence, some of which have resulted in incitement to target the State of Qatar with terrorist and subversive operations, incitement to attack the State of Qatar and its media, and incitement to violence in dramas and music videos, to intimidate citizens and residents of the State of Qatar in a precedent that is almost the first of its kind in the Arab region.

(The Statement)

The Committee also monitored a speech of racial discrimination aimed at the disdain of Qatari citizens, which escalated violently due to the involvement of some public figures, and some of the well-known media personalities in the countries of the blockade.
The Committee deeply regrets this misguided conduct and irresponsible behavior contravening the principles and charters of human rights, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and notes that all the present incitement to hatred and violence will undoubtedly generate extreme reactions that may lead to criminal and subversive acts against the State of Qatar and citizens and residents of Qatar, which in turn threatens peace, security and stability in the entire region, particularly the Gulf region.
The National Human Rights Committee holds all those who participate in these violations full legal and moral responsibility for any racist acts or acts of violence that might be committed against the State of Qatar and citizens or residents of Qatar.
The National Human Rights Committee calls upon the competent authorities in Qatar to take the necessary legal measures, including resorting to justice and prosecuting those responsible for the discourse of hatred and incitement to violence, and also calls on the international community, international and regional human rights organizations, and United Nations human rights mechanisms, in particular the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to act to stop these persistent violations of human rights that threaten peace, security and stability in the Arab region.

11 Rabi Al-Awwal 1439, 29 Nov 2017

Doha, Qatar

Amnesty conducted direct interviews with Hajj and Umrah campaign officials.

(Politicization of religious rites and the continued promotion of hate speech and the tragedies of mixed families).

Doha: 28 November 2017

The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) received today a delegation of Amnesty International, on their second visit since the beginning of the blockade to learn about the latest developments in the humanitarian situation resulting from the blockade on Qatar. The delegation is scheduled to meet with some of those affected in various humanitarian aspects including violations of the right to family reunification, the right to practice religious rites, education, health, movement, residence and work. During this visit, the delegation will meet with a number of Hajj and Umrah campaign officials to investigate the obstacles placed by the Saudi authorities in the face of the pilgrims of the State of Qatar and the difficulties resulting of the politicization of religious rites.
the officials of the National Human Rights Committee during the meeting with the delegation noted that the countries of the blockade continue to violate the rights of citizens and residents of Qatar and citizens of the GCC countries, Pointing out that there is a growing hate speech promoted by senior officials of various authorities in the countries of the blockade. Moreover, there are statements that spread terrorist contents threatening the stability and security of citizens and residents of Qatar, including the latest threat by some officials to bomb Al Jazeera channel.
The committee called for the urgent and practical action at the international level to put an end to these violations, which directly affected the lives of people in the Gulf region. The delegation was also provided with the latest statistics on violations of human rights due to the blockade and its developments, pointing out that these statistics are increasing continuously, which confirms that the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar directly targeted the peoples and violated their rights guaranteed by international human rights conventions.
Finally, The meeting discussed ways of cooperating in the promotion of human rights.

Qatar National Human Rights Committee expresses its deep concern at the persistence of putting obstacles by the Saudi authorities to restrict the right of residents and citizens of Qatar to perform religious rituals.

NHRC noted in the statement that the difficulties reported by The Hajj and Umrah campaigners in Qatar and facing pilgrims of Qatar, as well as the prohibition of remittance transactions by the authorities in Saudi Arabia between the Qatari campaigns and the Saudi Umrah agents who are authorized to grant Umrah permits, emphasize the continuation of politicizing the religious rituals by the Saudi authorities.

(The Statement)

In view of the continued land, sea and air blockade imposed on the state of Qatar and with reference to the arbitrary measures taken by the Saudi authorities restricting the right to freedom of belief and freedom to practice religious rites, including the prevention of the pilgrims of Qatar from entering Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah during the last month of Ramadan, and expelling residents and citizens of Qatar who were already there at that time, and with regard to the obstacles placed by the Saudi authorities restricting the right to perform Hajj “Fifth Pillar of Islam” of citizens and residents of Qatar.

Qatar National Human Rights Committee expresses its deep concern at the persistence in putting obstacles by the Saudi authorities to restrict the right to perform religious rituals by residents and citizens of Qatar, including the difficulties facing pilgrims of Qatar, reported by campaigners of Hajj and Umrah in Qatar, as well as the prohibition of remittance transactions by the Saudi authorities between the Qatari campaigns and the Saudi Umrah agents authorized to grant Umrah permits, which emphasizes the continuation of politicizing the religious rituals by the Saudi authorities, in violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 30 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 6 of the Gulf Cooperation Council Human Rights Declaration.

Accordingly, the National Human Rights Committee reiterates its call on the competent authorities in Saudi Arabia not to use religious rites as a political leverage in flagrant violation of international human rights conventions, and calls upon the international community, human rights organizations and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to promptly move to stop these persistent violations of the right to freedom of belief and freedom to practice religious rites to serve political interests.

The National Human Rights Committee also notes that it will raise the latest developments on this issue to all parliaments and international and regional human rights organizations and that it will resort to the Human Rights Enforcement Mechanisms of the United Nations to ensure the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religious practice as a fundamental human right.

Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al-Marri, president of Qatar National Human Rights Committee, met with the delegation of the technical mission of the High Commissioner for Human Rights which arrived in the state to gather information on the repercussions of the blockade imposed on citizens and residents of Qatar and citizens of the GCC countries. The meeting was its first meeting in a series of meetings with governmental and non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations, as well as some of the victims affected by the blockade on Qatar.
During the meeting, the mission briefed Dr. Al Marri on the nature of their mission, which will be concluded by a report to be submitted to the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Dr. Al-Marri briefed the delegation of the mission on the most important effects of by the blockade on the citizens of Qatar, residents and citizens of the GCC countries, in addition to the latest violations and developments in the humanitarian situation monitored by the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar.

British parliamentarians call on their prime minister to take urgent steps to stop the violations caused by the blockade imposed on Qatar.

Senior officials in the Kingdom of Bahrain show off Qatar’s blockade.

Amnesty International’s second visit to Doha by the end of this month.

Lynch: Gulf crisis affected all basic rights and freedoms.

Carmichael: The State of Qatar is an important partner of the British government.

British parliamentarians have informed the president of the National Human Rights Committee, Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al-Marri, that they have addressed the British prime minister to the necessity of taking urgent steps to stop the humanitarian violations resulting from the blockade on Qatar. After the intensive meeting conducted by Dr. Ali bin Smaikh with a number of British parliamentarians during his European tour last October, during which he handed over reports of human rights violations monitored by the National Committee for Human Rights in Qatar since the beginning of the crisis. Dr. Al-Marri revealed that the second visit of Amnesty International’s mission to Doha is at the end of this month to find out the latest developments in the human rights situation after six months of the blockade and monitor its repercussions.
Dr. Al-Marri expressed his thanks for the response of British parliamentarians and their rapid engagement with their government, and called for accountability to stop the increasing violations of the growing number of citizens and residents of the Gulf region. This came during a joint hearing session organized by the British Parliament to the National Committee for Human Rights in Qatar, represented by its president, Dr. Ali bin Samikh and Amnesty International represented by Mr. James Lynch. The meeting discussed the repercussions of the blockade on Qatar and the measures to be taken to alleviate the suffering of those affected. Dr. Al Marri in the hearing put a recommendation and demand the neutralization of civilians from political differences and conflicts. Al-Marri said: “You can ask the countries of the blockade why they are involving civilians in their dispute with the State of Qatar. They should be urged not to use peoples as human shields to achieve political goals”.
Al Marri said I have come here to convey the message of the victims after six months of blockade, they call on that the international community to put an end to their suffering. Al-Marri discussed the losses incurred by Qatari owners and investors whose rights are violated to dispose their properties in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The president of the National Human Rights Committee explained that Saudi Arabia still uses the right to practice religious rites as a political pressure tool. He said: We have received many complaints in recent days because of obstacles placed by the Saudi authorities to pilgrims from the State of Qatar. He added: Also confirmed several campaigns to promote the pilgrims and Umrah that the Saudi authorities have opened the electronic registration for the performance of Umrah for all Islamic countries except Qatar. Al-Marri noted that the National Human Rights Commission will send new reports to all parliaments and governments on this grave violation. It will also call for urgent action by all international mechanisms to prevent further obstacles to the religious practices of Qataris and residents of Qatar. He said: We will also organize hearings for a number of victims of the politicization of religious rites in some parliaments.
Dr. Ali bin Smaikh invited the members of the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committees of the British Parliament to visit Doha for the second time and to find out the latest repercussions of the blockade on human rights; members assured their willingness to visit Doha for the second time and to find out the latest repercussions of the siege on human rights as soon as possible.
Amnesty International representative, James Lynch said: “what has been taken in this crisis is arbitrary restrictions on movement and the most affected category are families, stressing the impact of the decisions of the countries of the blockade on individuals and civilians who are considered the main victims. “We visited the State of Qatar at the beginning of the crisis and after meeting with some of those affected, we stand on the extent to which these decisions affect all basic rights and freedoms,” Lynch said. In the same context, a number of members of parliament during their interventions stated that the categories affected are not limited to Qatari citizens and residents, but also include a large proportion of citizens of the countries of the blockade.
MP Alistair Carmichael, stated that It is necessary to discuss the humanitarian implications of the dispute not only from the political point of view, but also from the international human rights aspects.

The National Human Rights Committee of the State of Qatar welcomes the thrust of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, on the occasion of the opening of the 46th session of the Advisory (Shura) Council, and HH’s emphasis on continuing efforts to achieve Qatar’s National Vision 2030; the continuation of the State in its reform steps, and its economic and human development process, in spite of all the challenges and difficulties; and the emphasis on consolidating the pillars of the State of institutions, the rule of law and human rights.
The Committee commends what has been referred to in the speech of clear indications of violations of human rights caused by the unjust and inhuman blockade imposed on the State of Qatar.

(The Statement)

The National Human Rights Committee appreciates the reform steps outlined by His Highness in the historic speech, namely to support the status of Qatari women socially and politically, and the preparation for the Shura Council elections, including the necessary legislative instruments, to ensure that elections are conducted in a fair manner.
The Committee also appreciates HH’s emphasis on the importance of achieving justice and the keenness to update the judicial system and enhance its human, administrative and organizational capabilities, so as to ensure the independence of the judiciary, and not prolong litigation and to achieve unrestricted justice.
The National Committee stresses that these reform steps are consistent with the recommendations included in the committee’s annual reports and represent a strong response and support to the performance of its functions in the promotion and protection of human rights in the State of Qatar.
The National Human Rights Committee hopes that the competent authorities will expedite the implementation of the directives of His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar, especially the promulgation of the law governing the election of the Shura Council.
The Committee also urges the state institutions to continue to adopt the reform approach, thus contributing to the full and complete protection and promotion of human rights in the State of Qatar.

The National Human Rights Committee celebrated the Cultural Day as a celebration of the 15th Qatari Human Rights Day, which witnessed a great number of citizens and residents.
Mr. Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Head of the Public Relations and Media Unit, said in a press statement: “The National Human Rights Committee has dedicated recreational activities for children of an educational nature in terms of human rights principles. He noted that many institutions and centers in Qatar participated in the celebration, including Al-Shafallah Center and Nama Center, as well as the United Nations Training and Documentation Center, the Qatar Charity Association, the Traffic Department, the Ministry of Health, the Blood Donation Unit, the Qatar Voluntary Center, the Friends of Mental Health Association, Noor Institute for the Blind and Education above all Foundation. Al-Mahmoud said: These meetings confirmed the interdependence of state institutions and common denominators, pointing out that all the parties participating in the celebration are characterized by their goals and mission of important humanitarian issues summarizing the vision of the National Human Rights Committee in the dissemination and establishment of a culture of human rights in society.
In the last few years, the National Human Rights Commission has emphasized that the celebration should be held in open spaces so that participation is available to all groups of society, which is due to the positive interaction of the celebration. The National Human Rights Committee had set up a booth to distribute gifts and pamphlets identifying the most important principles of human rights as part of its mission for which it had been established.
Al-Mahmoud explained that the celebration of the Qatari Day for Human Rights aims to remind of the most important achievements of the Committee during its humanitarian path. It also aims to communicate directly with the community to inform the Committee’s mission and vision. The Head of the Public Relations and Media Unit thanked all the parties who participated in the annual celebration and said: “We hope that the cooperation between us and those participating in all the events organized by the National Human Rights Commission will continue in general and in particular the activities related to the public.