By SIDI MOHAMED
DOHA: Human rights violations on the pretext of preserving national security is no longer an acceptable option in the Arab region, according to Dr Ali bin Simaikh Al Marri, Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC).
The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani opened the international conference on security and human rights challenges in the Arab region, organised by NHRC, along with a number of other partners.
Addressing the opening session, Al Marri said, “It is impossible to accept torture, forced disappearance, arbitrary or collective punishment and other violations as tools to manage security system in any country in the world today.
“Sometimes it is difficult to achieve the balance between security and human rights, to the extent that, in some countries security is considered prior to human rights; but in practice lacking respect for human rights, and the persistence of abuses lead to breaching security,” he added.
He said terrorism is the greatest violation of human rights and people’s lives, and to fight it “we should rely on approaches, legislation and legitimate mechanisms which are consistent with human rights standards and safeguard the rights of individuals and communities.”
Al Marri said this conference is considered a historic opportunity to open a serious and responsible dialogue between all concerned ministries, security institutions and civil society organizations for the development of the Arab security system in line with human rights standards and respect for human dignity.
“The National Human Rights Committee of Qatar is keen to develop effective partnerships between security institutions and community organization, work on the inclusion of this dialogue within the institutional work and its sustainability, and encourage serious initiatives in this area,” he said.
GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al Zayani attended the opening session along with the Arab League’s Assistant Secretary-General and Legal Affairs Chief Wagih Hanafi, Arab Parliament Speaker Ahmed Mohammed Al Jarwan, and Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions Chairman Mohamed Fayek.
Iraqi Minister of Interior Mohamed Salem said that conference will promote the culture of human rights, saying that that there is no contradiction between security challenges and human rights.
“They complement each other, but political security is required to face terrorism, while the aim of human rights is to give safety and security to the people,” he said.
Wagih Hanafi said the importance of this conference comes in the context of the rising terrorism in the region.
Over 400 participants take part in the two-day event including some Arab interior and justice ministers, representatives of international and Arab human rights organisations, representatives of a group of security institutions and research centers working in the field of security and human rights, in addition to a wide participation of government entities and civil society groups.
The Peninsula
