President of the Permanent Arab Commission on Human Rights Dr Amjad Shamout praised the human rights situation in Qatar.
In an interview with QNA, Dr Shamout said Qatar has taken positive steps to promote human rights in different areas, including legislation, practices and policies.
Dr Shamout said Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) is one of the most notable rights bodies in the region. It makes an effort to attend, participate and organise international conferences.
In response to future plans, Dr Shamout said the commission will hold a meeting on January 19 at the Arab League to discuss the Arab Charter on Human rights, the sanctions imposed on Sudan and the Israeli violations in occupied Palestine. They will also discuss the Arab strategy on human rights.
The commission is responsible for 13 tasks with many past contributions and achievements. However, it faces challenges in the region such as the Syrian refugee issue, offering protection for the Syrian citizens, violations carried out in Yemen by the Houthi militias and deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the ISIS issue and fighting terrorism which is violently targeting the region causing instability and social insecurity, Shamout said.
On the policies of the new US president, Shamout said Donald Trump’s decision to ban nationals of seven countries (six of which were Arab countries) was hasty and negative.
He added that such decisions increase the negative feelings that some Muslims and Arabs have towards the United States, due to the “hint of discrimination” it has against them.
Shamout noted also that such decisions contradict international standards for human rights. They also contradict international law and the US bill of rights. He said that the United States was a country built by immigrants.
On America’s intentions of moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, he said that the move was also provocative and will serve to increase hatred and terrorism.
As for the developments in Syria after the Astana talks, Shamout said that all parties involved must find a political resolution to the six-year long crisis whether through Astana or Geneva talks.
He added that the international community has not been serious about ending the Syrian crisis. He warned that  aid and food were not available for Syrians in Aleppo.