Geneva, 28 Sept. 2024

‘ The year 2024 marks the twentieth anniversary of the issuance of the Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar, We, as Qataris, are proud of what our constitution included in terms of a wide scope for the rule of law, justice, peace and human rights for all, including women and children, said Dr. Mohammed bin Saif Al-Kuwari, Vice-Chairman, National Human Rights Committee of Qatar (NHRC).

He was addressing at an exhibition organised by NHRC Qatar on the sidelines of the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva under the title ‘Promoting and protecting the rights of women and children in times of armed conflict’. Present on the occasion were Mrs. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad’; Dr. Hind Al-Muftah, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations; and a group of representatives of diplomatic missions in Geneva.

AlKuwari further said that Qatari constitution has translated our hopes and aspirations to build a modern state that seeks to achieve peace and sustainable development for its people generation after generation. Today, Qatar is participating with the United Nations in efforts to promote peace, sustainable development and human dignity for current and future generations, and believes that the future of humanity is conditional on international cooperation, respect for international law and leaving no one behind.

He added that international reports and studies have shown that armed conflicts undermine human rights, and that women and children, including girls, are their most prominent victims.

He referred a report released by UNICEF for 2022 disclosed that 104,100 children were killed and injured in armed conflict situations between 2005 and 2020. The United Nations Women’s Organization also verified 2,455 cases of sexual violence related to armed conflict in 2022, other than those cases not reported.

he said that that witnesses incidents of violence targeting women around the world increased by 16.1 times between 2005 and 2020, and that more than half of them occurred in countries affected by armed conflicts, one of the reasons in increase is since 2022 after the outbreak of conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan and others.

He pointed out that 70% of the victims of wars in the Arab region are women and children as per  the report prepared by the United Nations Women’s Organization and the Arab Women’s Organization.

Al-Kuwari said that the NHRC has developed a list of recommendations promoting and protecting the rights of women and children in times of armed conflict and beyond.

He added that NHRC aims to establish a culture of peace, human rights and the rule of law, including the principles of justice, tolerance, accountability and non-impunity, most notably contributing to supporting and building the capacities of Arab national human rights institutions in areas of armed conflict, such as Palestine, Sudan, Libya and Iraq.

He stressed on building a national mechanism to protect rights holders, including vulnerable groups such as women, children, minorities, refugees and human rights defenders. And following up on the conditions of civilians evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021, and from Palestine in 2024, to Doha, including women and children, and ensuring that they enjoy food, health and educational relief.

NHRC Qatar Vice-Chairman added that the rights of women and children in areas of armed conflict, especially Palestine, were main topics during International Conference on Food Justice from a Human Rights Perspective in 2024, and in Regional Symposium on Protecting the Rights of the Elderly in Conflict Zones, including Palestine in 2024.

Talking about the exhibition, Dr. Al-Kuwari explained that there are creative works in Arabic calligraphy on  Human Rights in Islamic Culture based on Quranic verses and hadiths contemporary with human rights principles adopted 1400 years ago, almost hundreds of years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The exhibition of human rights paintings in Islamic culture has been organized since 2009 in many European and Arab capitals, including Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Athens, Brussels, Washington, Tunisia, Kuwait, in addition to organizing the exhibition at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva.

About 2nd exhibition, Al Kuwari said that paintings display about human rights in sports. Initially, this exhibition was launched by NHRC before FIFA World Cup 2022 at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, and in Algeria at the Sheraton Gardens throughout the days of the tournament.

The aim of this exhibition is to spread the culture of human rights during sports competitions and to spread the values ​​of tolerance and reject violence, racism and hate speech during the practice of sports and cheering. It also guarantees the rights of people with disabilities and the elderly to access stadiums