Geneva: Qatar stressed that it had issued many regulations and laws to counter hate speech and acts and build and develop sustainable interreligious dialogue, highlighting its hosting of interfaith dialogue conferences since 2003.
This came in a speech delivered by Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations in Geneva H E Dr. Hind Abdul Rahman Al Muftah as part of her participation in the eighth Geneva Interfaith Dialogue, convened within the framework of the United Nations (UN) commemoration of the International Interfaith Harmony Week, which is held in the first week of February of each year. It is organized by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Jordan and the UN Institute for Training and Research and sponsored by the State of Qatar’s Permanent Delegation.
Dr. Al Muftah expressed her respect and appreciation for what the UN is doing in the context of multilateralism, stressing the need for issues related to international and multilateral affairs, human rights, development and sustainable development goals to go hand in hand with the principle of mutual respect, highlighting that the international community needs continuous dialogue, cooperation and solidarity more than ever before to face the enormous and growing challenges facing the world today.
The fundamental role that religion plays in shaping contemporary principles and values that underpin international human rights agreements cannot be denied, she said, noting that the concept of the inherent dignity of all members of the human family, for example, is deeply rooted in religious teachings and philosophical ideas.
The recent global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, highlighted that long-term solutions can only be addressed through a collaborative structure at multiple levels, she said.
Commenting on the religious tension, mistrust and the deepening of hatred that prevail in the world today, she said that religious tensions can erupt in the form of sectarian violence and can facilitate defamation of others, and then seize public opinion to support waging war on other peoples and religions.
Thanks to the Qatar National Vision 2030, which supports the dialogue of civilizations and promotes intercultural and interfaith coexistence, Qatar is now home to a large number of people of different faiths and religions from more than 100 different nationalities so that they live together in peace and harmony, she added.
In this context, Dr. Al Muftah highlighted that Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID), which was established in 2007, hosts an annual conference that brings together religious scholars and philosophers with the aim of creating constructive dialogue and achieving a better understanding of religious principles for the benefit of humanity.
