HE the Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Dr Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri has said the committee will soon start taking legal action before the United Nations (UN) and international institutions regarding the violations by Saudi Arabia and its politicisation of religious rituals.
Legal measures will also be taken before the European Parliament and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), he added.
HE Dr al-Marri noted that there are no signs of positivity or hope that reflect the Saudi authorities' willingness to stop their violations and to put an end to the obstacles that threaten to prevent citizens and residents of Qatar from performing religious rituals (Haj and Umrah) for the third consecutive year.
The observations came during a meeting in Brussels between HE Dr al-Marri and Jan Figel, Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the European Union (EU).
HE Dr al-Marri said after more than 20 months since the blockade started, Saudi Arabia has not taken any effective measures to alleviate the obstacles that resulted in religious rituals being politicised and the citizens and residents of Qatar being prevented from performing their religious rituals, Haj and Umrah, over the past two years. 
He said there are not positive indicators that show that the authorities in Saudi Arabia have any intentions to retreat from the intransigence and its defiance of the feelings of thousands of citizens and residents who were deprived of Haj and Umrah, under the pretext of a political dispute.
The NHRC chairman provided an overview of the psychological and material damage caused by the Saudi authorities to pilgrims in Qatar, in addition to the financial losses suffered by Haj and Umrah campaigns.
He said the European Parliament and EU countries must bear moral responsibility and address the Saudi authorities regarding the violations committed in preventing pilgrims from performing religious rituals. This is in addition to the need for the Saudi authorities to unconditionally respect the rights of Qatari citizens and residents and to alleviate all the obstacles they face. 
HE Dr al-Marri said the mechanisms allegedly established by the Saudi Arabian authorities to deal with the situation of victims affected by their violations remain misleading and ambiguous, lacking credibility and do not address the human rights and humanitarian situation of those affected. He said none of these establishments has communicated with the committee despite its efforts to reach out.
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