GENEVA: Chairperson of Qatar National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) HE Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah met with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on the margins of the 55th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
In remarks following the meeting, Al Attiyah said the collaboration and joint operation between NHRC and ICRC will help them strengthen the joint understanding of humanitarian challenges and needs in the world in general, and conflict zones such as Gaza and Sudan, in particular.
The expansion of the areas of armed conflict and wars worldwide, along with the spread of hatred and its impact on human rights prompted NHRC and ICRC to upgrade cooperation in safeguarding human rights, particularly the vulnerable segments in conflict and war zones to provide support and protection for the most vulnerable people who are at risk of human rights violations, Her Excellency added, highlighting that conflicts have directly violated the rights to life, food, health and other fundamental rights.
In this same context, the chairperson of NHRC emphasized that collaboration with ICRC comes within the framework of the regional and international cooperation in human rights and the quest for a change that primarily aims to improve the human rights situation in the world through leveraging strategic plans and programs and providing protection and assistance, in addition to empowering the affected and victimized people due to human rights violations.
During the meeting, Al Attiyah gave a brief presentation about the creation of NHRC, its purviews and independence, pointing out that NHRC received status (A) and is one of the most powerful human rights institutions in the region, in terms of expertise and independence.
The most significant purviews of NHRC include promoting and protecting human rights through multipronged points, foremost of which is education about the importance of human rights, Al Attiyah added, pointing out that NHRC shares the objectives with ICRC with each side focusing on its mode of operation in achieving those objectives, as they aspire to further cooperation to achieve multiple objectives in this regard.
For her part, Egger underlined the ICRC's keenness to achieve further progress and accomplishments through helping the civilians who have been affected by conflicts recently, in addition to relentlessly working to enforce international humanitarian law. She pointed out that helping civilians in conflict zones is a special imperative, especially those who live in Sudan and the Gaza Strip.
The President of ICRC emphasized that Qatar is a strategic partner amid those conflicts to perform the role of mediator, noting the incredible role Doha is playing in enforcing the international humanitarian law, along with the role played by the Qatar Red Crescent Society as a strategic partner with a major role in Gaza. The ICRC president praised the coordination between NHRC and ICRC.
