By Fazeena Saleem

DOHA: The United Nation’s role in addressing the urgent need to protect and promote human rights in the Arab Region was highlighted at a regional conference that opened in Doha yesterday.

The ‘Regional Conference on the role of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in the Arab Region’ opened in the presence of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. The two-day conference at Ritz-Carlton – Doha has brought several local and international policymakers human rights activists non-governmental organisations (NGOs) members of the civil society. It is organised by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) in cooperation with the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions.

Senior officials addressing the conference highlighted that human rights in the Arab region are under serious threat due to several reasons and the situation cannot be ignored.

“The Arab region has not seen this level of violence killing and displacement of innocent people as witnessed in these days” said Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Al Hussein UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

He highlighted three major issues related to the situation of human rights in the region. Although countries face terrorism as a major challenge he stressed it’s the responsibility of the state to guarantee security of the people.

Al Hussein said Arab nations have ratified conventions and treaties on human rights but in general they are not fully committed to the legal obligation in facilitating individuals to exercise their rights.

“… Arab citizens in general do not touch the significant impact of these legal obligations in daily life. The acceptance of international legal obligations requires seeking to modify and develop national legislation to enable individuals exercise their political civil economic social and cultural rights” he said. “The cultural background of the Arab region is always touched when you talk about the principles of human rights… Islam touched the majority of political rights civil economic social and cultural contemporary sense of international human rights law and the principles of international humanitarian law on the protection of civilians — children women and the elderly places of worship and hospitals have included the Islamic teachings” he said.

He said Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) migrated to Madinah in search of a wider deployment of faith space and that the early companions took refuge in Abyssinia in search of safety.

“How can we not open our doors to refugees and protect them and wait for others to do this duty?” said Al Hussein.

Yemen’s Minister of Human Rights Izz Al-Din Al Asbahi; Arab League Deputy Secretary- General Ahmed Ben Helli; Arab Parliament Speaker Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Jarwan; and Ali bin Samikh Al Marri Chairman NHRC; were among the dignitaries who attended the event. Participants also shared views on the situation of human rights in the region.

Al Marri said the conference is a suitable platform to exchange ideas and good practices between the government and NGOs together with the UNHCHR to promote and protect human rights in the Arab region. He highlighted the difficult stage and serious threats the Arab region is facing which have affected the human rights situation and the performance of civil society and human rights organisations leading to a significant decline in respect of human rights “in an unprecedented way and a manner that can’t be ignored or overlooked.”

He said that the conference features senior personalities interested in human rights -- government representatives representatives of parliaments and consultative councils international and regional organisations national human rights institutions civil society organisations research and studies centres and experts.

He called for putting an end to the killings displacement and starvation of the Arab peoples in Yemen and Syria highlighting in this context the siege of the city of Taiz in Yemen and the town of Madaya in Damascus countryside.

He said the promotion of and respect for human rights is first a responsibility of states and second a moral legitimate and constitutional demand.

The two-day event which ends today includes workshops on issues related to human rights and challenges in the region.

The Peninsula