Qatar Keen on Reinforcing Human Rights Legislations

Geneva, March 06 (QNA) -The State of Qatar has underlined that its national vision is based on the principles of the Constitution, and directives of the political leadership to establish a society based on justice, charity, and equality as well as the protection of public freedoms, moral values, religious traditions, and the achievement of equal opportunity, and consolidation of security and stability . This came during a discussion of the consolidated report of the State of Qatar of the thirteenth to sixteenth reports on the implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, during the 18th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the headquarters of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, which was introduced by the delegation of the State of Qatar. The report referred to the decision issued by HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in 2008 to adopt the comprehensive development vision (Qatar National Vision 2030 ) , which aims to transform Qatar into an advanced country able to achieve sustainable development, and fulfill the underlying vision State of Qatar. The report pointed out that since HH the Emir came to rule he had adopted the policy of comprehensive reform with human rights at the heart of constitutional political, economic, social and cultural reform, that reflected in developing and strengthening the infrastructure of human rights at the of legislative and institutional levels The report said that the State of Qatar has ratified and joined many conventions on human rights at international and regional levels. The report emphasized that the interest of the State of Qatar to human rights was embodied through the establishment of several institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights including the Supreme Council for the Family Affairs, the Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking, the Qatar Foundation for Child and Women Protection, the National Human Rights Commission, the Doha Centre for Interfaith Dialogue, the Arab Foundation for Democracy, and the Doha Centre for Media Freedom. Qatar's consolidated report that comprises the thirteenth to sixteenth reports on the implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination stressed that everyone in Qatar whether a citizen or a resident is entitled to the rights and freedoms included in the third chapter of the constitution without any discrimination based on sex, ethnicity, language or religion. The report reaffirmed that means of gaining justice is accessible to citizens and residents alike no matter what the entity allegedly involved in the wrongdoing is. The report added that among the rights guaranteed in the constitution are the right to equal treatment before courts and other bodies, and the right to a fair unbiased trial. Qatar has achieved most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and achieved a tangible progress in the remaining ones, the report said. HE Sheikh Khalid bin Jassim Al Thani, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Human Rights Bureau headed the Qatari delegation, and HE Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Permanent Representative at Qatar Mission to the UN-Geneva. The Qatari delegation included representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Interior; Business and Trade; and Justice, in addition to the Supreme Education Council and the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al-Marry, Chairman of Qatar's National Commission for Human Rights also took part in the discussion. (END)