NHRC received 3993 complaints from those affected by the blockade by the end of 2017
Doha on Saturday 3 March 2018


Mr. Nasser Al-Sultan, head of the investigation and legal consultation division of the National Human Rights Committee, confirmed that 3993 complaints were registered by those affected by the blockade until the end of 2017. He said that the Committee is continuing to pursue its efforts to redress those affected by the blockade imposed on Qatar. This came during a lecture entitled “The National Human Rights Committee and its Role in the Face of the blockade”, presented by Mr. Nasser Al Sultan to a group of 35 students at the Community College in a visit to the headquarters of the National Human Rights Committee.
Mr. Nasser Al-Sultan stressed that the establishment of the National Human Rights Committee in 2002 came in the light of the renaissance witnessed in Qatar, pointing out that it is an independent official institution of a special nature established in accordance with the Paris Principles. The committee was reorganized by an Emiri Decree No. 17 of 2010, The Qatari legislator has devoted the independence of the Committee to its reorganization and has added many competencies to the Committee, pointing out that The Committee’s mandate is to examine the violations of human rights in the State of Qatar, to provide advice and opinions on human rights issues, to submit proposals on existing legislation and draft laws and their harmonization to the provisions of international human rights conventions To which the State is a party.
Al-Sultan also discussed the role of the Committee in the face of the blockade and reviewed the most important efforts it has undertaken since the beginning of the crisis on 5 June to mobilize international support for the immediate lifting of the blockade, including the tours, visits and meetings of Dr. Ali Bin Smaikh Al Marri to a number of countries such as The United Kingdom, the European Parliament, the British and other international parliaments, as well as the correspondences made by the Committee to the Office of the High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteurs on the violations committed by the quartet against citizens and residents of Qatar.
Al-Sultan referred to the seminars held by Dr. Ali Bin Smaikh in a number of international academic institutions and universities, with the participation of a number of decision-makers and opinion leaders in European countries and the United States, and meetings with the President of the Human Rights Council in Switzerland, pointing out that these visits and meetings aimed to explain the violations suffered by Qatari citizens and residents in the territory of the State of Qatar and Gulf citizens in general. It also aimed to clarify the full picture of the crisis to the international community, to remove any misunderstandings, and to call for their intervention to remove violations and find ways to redress and compensate victims.
Al-Sultan briefed the students on the results of the visits of several parliamentary delegations to Qatar since the beginning of the blockade, as well as human rights organizations such as Freedom House, Amnesty International, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, referring to the consensus of all those delegations on the condemnation of the blockade and expressing their concern at the resulting violations, such as the right to education, health, movement, property, the performance of the religious rites and the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Al-Sultan pointed out that 3993 complaints were received by the NHRC from those affected by the blockade until the end of 2017 (2145 related to violations in Saudi Arabia, 1005 in the United Arab Emirates, 504 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, 330 in Egypt and 9 miscellaneous complaints). He also referred to the Committee’s other efforts at the local level, in terms of carrying out its humanitarian and legal duties, carrying out its legal responsibilities, exercising its competences in accordance with the law of its establishment and in accordance with the Paris Principles. Since the first day of the blockade, Processing and counseling, as well as creating a 24-hour Crisis Working Group to communicate with all international governmental and non-governmental human rights organizations to address violations and assist complainants.
The head of the investigations and legal consultations department of the National Human Rights Committee said that the committee has made many efforts to counter this inhumane blockade, reduce its negative impact on human rights and try to eliminate the damage that has affected the rights of the victims. Since the beginning of the blockade, the Committee has addressed many international human rights and legal bodies, informing them of the Committee’s updated reports and the statements it has issued, demanding immediate action to deal with the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade as well as many national institutions and human rights organizations around the world, The Committee addressed more than 300 human rights organizations on the violations caused by the blockade, pointing out that the committee issued several statements on many topics since the beginning of the crisis, along with a number of reports, and holding press conferences to put public opinion in the form of the repercussions of the blockade.
Al-Sultan pointed out that in light of these efforts by the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar and its role in uncovering the facts and clarifying the whole picture to the international community for the violations of the blockading countries, The International Accreditation Committee also rejected the complaint against the NHRC and confirmed that since the beginning of the crisis, the National Human Rights Committee had played its role in protecting and promoting human rights in accordance with the Paris Principles.
Al-Sultan stated that in order to redress those affected by the blockade, the National Human Rights Committee signed an agreement with a Geneva international law firm in 2017/07/01, under which the firm will work on the cases of human rights violations caused by the blockade by Qatari nationals, residents and citizens of the Gulf States who have lodged their complaints with the National Human Rights Committee, pointing out that The Committee also welcomed the establishment of the Commission on Compensation claims and considered it an important step in the redress of victims and the realization of the principle of reparation provided for in international and regional human rights conventions. There is permanent coordination and joint meetings between the NHRC and the Compensation Commission to redress and compensate victims of human rights violations. The students of the Community College showed a strong response to the lecture and stressed that the Committee’s moves were a deterrent to the progress of the blockading countries in their violations, thanks to the efforts made by the NHRC to address them.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.