Since the beginning of the siege imposed on Qatar on June 5, the NHRC has been subjected to large-scale campaigns launched by the Saudi-led quartet that includes the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.
The siege countries have sought to distort the role of the NHRC in exposing the violations committed by those states and the consequent repercussions on the citizens and residents of Qatar and those of the GCC countries. The committee has detailed the unjust practices of the siege countries in a letter to the United Nations.
As is evident, the biased campaigns employed by the siege countries have not affected the trust bestowed by the international community in the NHRC.
The United Nations General Assembly, at its 72nd session, has re-elected Qatar to the United Nations Human Rights Council by 155 votes in its favour out of 193 votes. This serves as a strong response to those who question Qatar’s international standing.
The siege countries have lodged a complaint to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights accusing NHRC of playing politics in contravention of its terms of reference and demanded to freeze or reduce the membership of the committee from classification A to the lowest level. However, the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights rejected these charges outright.
The siege countries’ deliberate attempts to intimidate Qatar and distort the country’s reputation have not stopped here.
The NHRC has also noted with great concern the escalation in hatred towards, and incitement to violence against, Qatar and its citizens and residents by some media outlets, including social media sites, in the siege countries.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the NHRC said it has monitored hundreds of incidents of hate speech and incitement to violence, some of which have resulted in incitement to target Qatar with terrorist and subversive acts, to attack Qatar and its media, and use of dramas and music videos to intimidate citizens and residents of Qatar.
The committee has also monitored a racially discriminatory speech aimed at the Qatari citizens, which escalated violently due to the involvement of some public figures, and some of the well-known media personalities, in the blockading countries.
Such irresponsible behaviour by people holding important positions, contravening the principles and charters of human rights, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, is unacceptable.
The perpetrators should bear in mind that incitement to hatred and violence will undoubtedly generate extreme reactions that may lead to criminal and subversive acts against Qatar and its citizens and residents, threatening peace, security and stability in the entire Middle East region, particularly the Gulf.
As the NHRC has warned, these misguided people must realise that if their inflammatory words and actions result in any violence against Qatar or its citizens and residents, it is they and they alone who will bear full legal and moral responsibility.
For the record, Qatar does not care about the conspiracies of the siege countries that have failed to subjugate it or break its will.
