(MENAFN - Arab News) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees hosted a round-table discussion on Tuesday about the comparative study written on behalf of the UNHCR in collaboration with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS).
The comparative study titled "The Right of Asylum between Islamic Shariah and International Refugee Law" was written by Ahmad Abou El-Wafa, chief of the department of public international law at Cairo University, as an effort to demonstrate the extensive contributions the Islamic tradition made to international law regarding the refugee issue. The goal of this discussion was to get feedback from various experts in preparation for publishing the second edition of the study.
A variety of participants from diverse organizations attended the discussion, enriching it with different and valuable perspectives. They included representatives from NAUSS, Human Rights Commission, National Society for Human Rights, World Assembly for Muslim Youth, Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution and Saudi Red Crescent Authority.
The meeting started with opening speeches from Riyad Musa Al-Ahmad, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative; Imran Reda, UNHCR regional representative to the GCC; and Saqr Al-Mgayyid, head of international cooperation at NAUSS.
Later, a poem was recited by cultural activist and TV presenter Maysoon Abu Baker, describing the suffering of a refugee, followed by the discussion led by Al-Mgayyid, during which each participant provided his or her feedback and debated it with the author of the study.
The fruitful dialogue resulted in clarifications and adjustments to the first edition in order to make the second one more accurate and comprehensive. In conclusion, UNHCR presented the participants with gifts of appreciation for their involvement in this project.
Arab News spoke to Riyad Musa Al-Ahmad, who mentioned that almost 70 percent of displaced people (internally and externally) came from Muslim countries. He emphasized there is constant collaboration with other organizations regarding refugees, including Islamic ones such as WAMY and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
"We cannot work alone; it is always a joint effort when we seek to help people in need," Al-Ahmad said. He also added that the goal in working with refugees was always to ultimately help them become self-sufficient.
