The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) welcomed on Thursday the decision made by the Committee of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) regarding its jurisdiction over the inter-state communications submitted by Qatar against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as a result of the discriminatory measures they imposed on Qatari citizens since June 2017, and led to severe violations of the rights of citizens and residents.
The committee said that the communications came in line with articles 11, 12, and 13 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) of 1965.
In a statement , the committee expressed, its deep satisfaction with the decision, considering it an important step towards the recognition by the UN Committee that the violations against citizens and residents of Qatar fall within the scope of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The committee added that the decision reaffirms that the violations and collective punishment imposed by the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are a crime under the international convention. "The decision precedes the final ruling from the UN committee, and represents a condemnation of the discriminatory measures that the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia practice against the citizens and residents of Qatar. It also represents an important step towards redressing and compensating the victims for the damages of the unjust blockade," the statement said.
The committee stressed that, despite the intensive international efforts in combating discrimination, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continue their challenge to international laws and conventions, by taking punitive measures against the citizens and residents of Qatar that amount to crimes of racial discrimination, noting that these policies have also become the approach they use in implementing their policies and in international relations.
Also, the committee considered the decision of the UN Committee of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva, as a new condemnation, that is added to previous convictions against the United Arab Emirates, such as the report of the technical mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in December 2017, and the decision of the International Court of Justice on July23, 2018 on interim measures, resolutions of the European Parliament, reports of international organisations and the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar.
The NHRC said it looks forward to the committee's final decision that will be made in the coming months, which it hopes will be a firm announcement of the discriminatory measures taken by the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Concluding the statement, the NHRC said it remains more committed than ever to defending the rights of the victims, who continue to suffer since the blockade imposed on Qatar by the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
