Dr Ali bin Samikh al-Marri, chairman, Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), held a meeting with ambassadors of European countries, Canada and the US in Doha last week.
The meeting was to brief the ambassadors about the humanitarian impact on Qataris and GCC citizens due to the siege imposed on Qatar. Dr al-Marri informed them on NHRC’s moves at the local level, shedding light on the humanitarian challenges faced by those affected by the siege and the mechanisms of receiving their complaints, which have reached 2,324.
According to statistics, the biggest loser of this crisis are the GCC citizens and residents. Dr al-Marri handed over to the ambassadors the reports of violations monitored by the NHRC since the beginning of the siege and briefed them on the NHRC’s legal actions, including individual and collective complaints, scheduled to be submitted to the United Nations, the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (Unesco) and relevant international mechanisms as well as the preparation of judicial complaints which are co-ordinated through an International Law Office designated by NHRC.
He also updated them on NHRC’s movements at the international level, his meetings with international organisations and human rights organisations in the countries imposing blockade to Qatar along with his visits to a number of European capitals, including London, Geneva, Paris and Brussels.
He informed them about intensive meetings held with relevant international organisations, mainly the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) together with international non-governmental organisations, officials of foreign affairs and human rights of the European Parliament and international personalities dealing with human rights issues.
He praised the great response and the condemnation of human rights violations as a result of the siege, referring to the statements issued by the bodies that he met during the European trip, denouncing the actions and decisions taken by the countries responsible for the siege.
He also revealed the movements of international humanitarian organisations aimed at lifting the siege and ensuring that human rights issues are protected from political influences.
In this respect, Dr al-Marri stressed NHRC’s commitment to continue communicating with the Ambassadors in order to inform them of the latest developments in the human rights situation and the violations against the citizens of the GCC countries due to the siege.
Dr Ali bin Samikh al-Marri
