Geneva / Information Office / September 10
The State of Qatar said the continuation of the imposed blockade and the discriminatory unilateral coercive measures, without accountability, will foster a culture of impunity for the violators and will have far-reaching implications for the future human rights situation in the region.
This came in a speech by HE Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN and other international organizations Ambassador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri during general debate under item 2 on the agenda of the Human Rights Council about the High Commissioner's oral update.
HE Al Mansouri said more than two years after the blockade, its repercussions of human rights abuses persist and continue to hope that the Office of the High Commissioner will act to stop these abuses reported by its technical team that visited Doha in November 2017.
His Excellency thanked the High Commissioner for the oral update presented to the Council at this session, stressing the cooperation of the State of Qatar with the commissioner and the members of the office. HE Al Mansouri said Qatar shares the commissioner's views on the importance of addressing the human rights risks as a result of the climate change and the human activities that cause them.
His Excellency stressed the interest of the State of Qatar in this regard, recalling in this regard the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and the importance of international cooperation in technology transfer and capacity building to address these risks.
HE Al Mansouri stressed that the introduction of a human rights perspective in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 7, and other relevant goals, would reduce the negative impacts of climate change and optimize the use of resources.
On the Syrian issue, HE Ambassador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri expressed concern over the military escalation of Syrian and pro-Syrian forces in Idlib province, which caused the death of thousands of civilians and the displacement of hundreds of thousands, indicating that it is clear that Syrian and pro-Syrian forces are continuing their military strategy that begins with targeting civilian facilities such as hospitals, schools and residential areas, and then it implements its military option which disregard the amount of human losses and the human tragedy it causes.
He called on the international community to act swiftly to prevent this situation from worsening, and to put pressure to stop this criminal campaign that targets civilians in the first place.
On Afghanistan, HE the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Office and other international organizations stressed that the State of Qatar believes that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, adding that Qatar will continue its efforts and good offices to bring the views of the Afghan parties closer, as well as support rounds of talks between the United States and the Taliban, while expressing hope that these efforts will culminate in achieving lasting peace and ending decades of war and suffering.
On the Palestinian issue, Al Mansouri expressed Qatar's strong condemnation for the continued construction of illegal Israeli settlements and its violation of Palestinian rights, along the violence perpetrated by the Israeli entity (the occupying Power) and the Israeli settlers on a daily basis against the Palestinian people, and the policies of robbery and confiscation of land, the policies of intimidation, demolition and displacement, and the unfair blockade of the Gaza Strip that are in serious violation of relevant international resolutions and treaties.
Concluding, HE the Ambassador stressed the importance of ending the policy of impunity and holding all Israeli officials accountable for human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.