Doha, May 27 (QNA) – The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H.E. Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay inaugurated on Wednesday the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region in Doha according to the UN General Assembly resolution A/60/153 for 2005 which was adopted unanimously in the same year. H.E. the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs stressed in his speech at the official opening ceremony held on Doha Grand Hyatt Hotel on Wednesday that the opening of this center is the outcome of constructive negotiations between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of the State of Qatar.
"The State of Qatar has offered in 2004 to host the center in Doha. In 2005 The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to establish the centre, an incident that reflects the extent of support lent by the international community to the initiative.
Consequently, the December agreement of the year 2008 was concluded between the OHCHR and the Government of the State of Qatar to establish the centre," he said. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs emphasized as well that the hosting by the State of Qatar of this center is compatible with the reformist policy of the State and the increased importance it attaches to the promotion and protection of human rights, he added. He stressed as well the keenness of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on having the issue of human rights promotion and protection at the core of the constitutional, economic and cultural reform, adding that such interest was manifested in the development of human rights infrastructure at its legislative and institutional levels.
For her part, the UNHRC said “I am confident that the Centre will soon initiate many activities and as a regional resource and educational pole, become a one-stop venue.” She further revealed other planned enhancements to the Centre such as an on-line library and database which will provide links to UN documents and organizing at least two trainings a year.
Adjacent to the UNESCO’s Doha Office in West Bay, the newly inaugurated Centre is home to volumes of UN publications on human rights which will be accessible to government agencies, students, researchers and other people concerned from 25 countries in the region.
The two-storey centre will provide training on human rights to various segments of the society and work on more future useful publications.
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