Doha, Qatar: Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ibrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi has lauded the Arab League Council of Ministers’ unanimous approval of the State of Qatar’s proposal to establish the Permanent Arab Committee for International Humanitarian Law.
This move represents an Arab milestone and a significant advancement in boosting cooperation to promote the values of humanitarian law and compliance with the tenets of international humanitarian law in the Arab region amid the challenges besetting the region, His Excellency underlined.
He praise efforts made by the National Committee for International Humanitarian Law, chaired by H Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice and Chairman of the National Committee for International Humanitarian Law, H E Saeed bin Abdullah Al Suwaidi, along with its success in the productive coordination with national committees in the sisterly Arab nations to develop a draft proposal for establishing the committee in a manner that meets the aspirations of the Arab states.
Having praised the support given by the General Secretariat of the Arab League and the Legal Affairs Sector to adopt this draft proposal, Minister of Justice stated that Qatar’s proposal in this respect underscores its enduring commitment to essentially respect the tenets of international humanitarian law, promote the provisions of this law on the Arab stage, as well as the efforts aimed at enforcing it at multiple national levels, in accordance with the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the two Additional Protocols of 1977, and the regional action plans of the relevant Arab national committees.
For his part, H E Al Suwaidi hailed the approval of Qatar’s proposal, emphasizing that the national committee took the initiative with this proposal, stemming from the State of Qatar’s belief and its unwavering commitment to international humanitarian law embodied by the nation’s leading initiatives to craft national legislations and establish a national committee related to international humanitarian law. He extended his gratitude to national committees in the Arab countries and the Arab League’s Legal Affairs Sector for their support, applauding their efforts to approve this proposal.
This approval honestly ushers in a new era in the march of joint Arab action, as the committee operates under the supervision of the Arab League’s council at the ministerial level to coordinate this action among the national committees in the area of international humanitarian law as the competent apparatus in connection with the topics of international humanitarian law at the Arab League, Al Suwaidi underlined.
He pointed out that the committee ought to contribute to beefing up collaboration among the Arab national committees, spreading the culture of international humanitarian law, capitalising on diverse experiences, and setting technical support plans and programmes, as well as holding professional training sessions, seminars, and workshops in collaboration with the relevant regional committees and organizations.
