Malek Helali
Doha
National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Chairman Dr Ali bin Smaikh al Marri has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to suspend the membership of Saudi Arabia and the UAE given the significant systematic human rights violations committed by them against the people of Qatar.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva on Friday, the NHRC chief urged the Qatari government to approach the United Nations Security Council to hold the blockading countries to account for the illegal measures they have taken against Qatar which constitute a crime of aggression, an economic war and collective punishment of Qatari nationals.
Marri also called for urgent measures by the UN Human Rights High Commission to address the violations committed by the siege countries aligning with the conclusions issued in the report of its technical delegation which had visited Qatar at the end of last year.
The NHRC chief praised the complaint filed by Qatar before the International Court of Justice against the UAE to compensate the blockade victims.
He stressed on the need to collaborate with an international centre for medicine and psychological support to evaluate the extent of psychological damage inflicted on the blockade victims, especially divided families, students and pilgrims who are barred from performing religious rituals.
Marri noted that these evaluations would be included in the legal files to be presented to international courts and organisations.
The NHRC chief stressed on the importance of suing the Saudi authorities by Qatar and the victims who were affected by Saudi Arabia's use of religious sites for politics and denial of the religious rights to Qatar's pilgrims.
He said the NHRC will provide all necessary support needed to take these legal measures and address the psychological and material damage endured by individuals and Hajj and Umrah operators in Qatar.
Marri presented, during the press conference, the latest statistics enumerating the violations committed after a year of Qatar's blockade.
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