The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) signed yesterday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Arab Parliament to enhance co-operation and co-ordination in promoting human rights across the region and in the fields of joint interest.
The MoU was signed by NHRC chairman Dr Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri and the deputy speaker of the Arab Parliament, Adel Abdulrahman Mohammed Ahmed al-Assoumi which took place at the opening session of the international conference on ‘Human Rights Approach to Conflict Situations in the Arab Region’, being held at Sheraton Doha.
Speaking to the media after the signing ceremony, Dr al-Marri said that the agreement aims at the promotion of human rights in the whole region.
“With this MoU, we focus on how to form a mechanism to respect human rights in the conflict areas. We are promoting value of human rights with our partners such as UN Human Rights Commission as well as other organisations in the region. We aim to help and support the governments in the region that are grappled with problems and provide guidance for them to overcome the problems.” he explained.
“The focus of the conference is to highlight the issue of human rights in violent situations. It will also discuss means to avoid and to deal with conflicts through the promotion of human rights. We focus on how to resolve the issues and what happens to the issues after the end of the conflicts,” he noted.
According to, Dr al-Marri, the MoU reflects the commitment of both the parties to enhance their co-operation in the field of human rights by exchanging expertise and capability building.
Al-Asoomi said that the MoU reflects both parties’ commitment to human rights. He also expressed the hope that the agreement will lead to acceleration of human rights promotion efforts in the region.
Several high ranking officials of regional human rights bodies witnessed the signing ceremony and applauded the efforts of NHRC in promoting human rights in the region.
Qatar wins praise for hosting conference
Deputy Speaker of the Arab Parliament Adel Abdulrahman Mohamed Ahmed al-Assoumi praised Qatar for hosting the International Conference on Human Rights Approach to Conflict Situations in the Arab Region.
Speaking at the opening session, al-Assoumi said that the conference couldn’t come at a better time as the entire Arab World needed a firm stand if it wanted to end human rights violations in the region.
He admitted that Arab countries were facing numerous threats and dangers to human rights, particularly in conflict-stricken areas.
He touched on the signing of the MoU the Arab Parliament and Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee and said that it will enhance the partnership between the two sides to promote human rights.
Al-Assoumi stressed that the Arab Parliament works to maintain the national security of member-states.
He said that they had launched an initiative to support the Syrian refugees.
The Deputy Speaker was also vocal in expressing the parliament’s support to the right of the Palestinian people to live peacefully in their independent state.
Dr Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri and Adel Abdulrahman Mohammed Ahmed al-Assoumi shake hands after the signing ceremony.
