New York - information office - November 21
The State of Qatar reiterated its support for the international community's efforts to combat human trafficking.
This came in the State of Qatar's statement delivered by Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations (UN) Alanoud Qassim Al Temimi, on "Commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade".
Al Temimi said that based on its firm belief in the importance of safeguarding human freedom and dignity, regardless of ethnicity, religion or other human differences, the State of Qatar was keen to co-sponsor General Assembly resolution 70/7, which established a permanent memorial to commemorate victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. She added that the State of Qatar has also provided the necessary support for the establishment of this memorial, which reflects the rejection of the human conscience of all forms of slavery and humiliation of human dignity, pointing out that this memorial stands at UN headquarters as a witness to these values.
She commended the efforts made by the Permanent Memorial Committee, the African Group and the Caribbean Group and in cooperation with UNESCO to achieve the General Assembly's resolution on the establishment of the Permanent Memorial "The Ark of Return" to honor the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. She noted the role of the State of Qatar in these efforts through its membership in the Permanent Memorial Committee.
Today's meeting represented an opportunity not only to remind and honor the victims of slavery but also to reflect on past lessons, stressing the importance of educating future generations about the causes, consequences, legacy, and lessons learned from slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as well as the dangers of racism and intolerance, she pointed out.
She explained that this meeting represented an opportunity to call for action to oppose and combat any form of slavery in the modern world, including the phenomenon of human trafficking, which is spread throughout the world.
The State of Qatar, in view of the important and decisive role of education in instilling common human values in future generations, ensured that school curricula included freedom and the struggle against slavery topics, highlighting the importance of respecting the freedom of others in accordance with the teachings of the Islamic religion, which abolished and deprived of slavery, as well as the cultural and social heritage and values in this regard, she said.
Al Temimi added that in line with the State of Qatar's firm belief in the importance of protecting and promoting human rights, and being an active member of the Group of Friends on contemporary slavery and Group of Friends United Against Human Trafficking, it continues to support the efforts of the international community to combat the phenomenon of trafficking in persons and related phenomena. She pointed out that the State of Qatar has supported the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons since its adoption and has facilitated consultations on the political declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly to evaluate the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which was held in September 2017.
Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the UN pointed out that the State of Qatar has taken many legislative and executive measures to combat human trafficking at the national level, including the establishment of the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking, which is charged with developing a national plan to combat human trafficking and to follow up on its implementation, adding that the State of Qatar is among the largest donor to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons since its inception.
Al Temimi stressed that the State of Qatar's continued implementation of General Assembly resolution 70/7, particularly with regard to educating present and future generations and consolidating their understanding of the lessons learned from slavery, and its trade, history, and consequences.
She thanked the UN Secretary-General for the efforts made in the preparation of his report under this item, which reflected a wide range of actions and activities carried out over the past three years aimed at spreading awareness and education on slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.