The fourth human development report will be ready for publishing by the last quarter of this year, HE the Minister of Development, Planning and Statistics ( MDPS), Dr. Saleh al-Nabit has said.
“We had asked 11 experts to write background papers for this report. All these experts are both local and international. Two are from UNDP, others are independent and some of them are connected with international bodies,” he explained.
HE the Minister was interacting with the media on the sidelines of a seminar on the ‘Right to Development’ organised by the ministry yesterday.
“We are reviewing most of what have been submitted by the experts. We are also collecting a lot of inputs from various seminars and interactions with others. There is a steering committee managing the report. All the relevant government agencies and non- government agencies are contributing to the report,” he said.
The seminar focused on encouraging discussion on the right to development and support greater participation in national development. It was also aimed at providing inputs for the fourth development report from experts, academics private sector and civil societies through discussions and deliberations.
Speaking at the seminar HE the minister al-Nabit highlighted that the right to development is the unalienable right of human beings.
“We are focusing on the comprehensive development which is based on social, cultural, economic and political development of the people.” He also referred to the previous 3 reports published by Qatar in 2006, 2009 and 2012.
Sayed Aqa, resident representative, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Abu Dhabi, said that the report to be published will be a role model for the whole world. “I am pleased to be part of it. Rights of the people are the ones that we need to prioritise and the report will highlight many of those aspects.”
He also cautioned that after 2050, the world will face serious issues and people will not be able to live a healthy life unless immediate actions are taken now.
Naijla al-Khulaifi, from MDPS said the only way to enable human beings is by providing the right to development. “The right to education, decent jobs and income are some of the priorities for every human being. Qatar’s first report in 2006 focused on human development in general while the second one focused on sustainable development. The 2012 report had the youth in focus and the fourth one will be a very comprehensive one.”
The seminar was divided on three topics and there were separate panel discussions on them. The major topics of discussion were ‘human rights based approach to development in Qatar’, ‘the right to health education and decent jobs’ and ‘the international co-operation, civil society and participation’.