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QNA
Doha
THE Arab Organization for Human Rights in the United Kingdom (AOHR) has said that the statements made by the foreign ministers of the siege countries on Saturday do not introduce any new information, adding that the countries are wasting their efforts and resources on imaginary issues.
"The siege countries should have focused on the Israeli occupation crimes and other issues, but instead they chose to spare their efforts and resources on imaginary issues," said the organisation.
The foreign ministers of siege countries insist on demands that are against global laws, especially in the fields of freedom of expression, journalism and judicial proceedings on the extradition of suspects, AOHR said.
"The siege countries are distancing themselves from the results of the violations against Qatar's citizens and residents as well as the siege countries' nationals, where many of them have lost the right to mobility, education, healthcare, employment, ownership, family reunification and to perform the religious rituals of Hajj and Umrah," the organisation said.
"Justifying these violations as an act of sovereignty contradicts with international laws. When the fundamental rights of any human being clash with the so-called sovereignty, rights come first and have the priority of respect and implementation. All the countries that have signed global conventions to protect rights renounced, in advance, a part of their sovereignty," AOHR said.
Saudi authorities' manipulation of the basic right of 20,000 Qatari citizens and residents who wish to perform the pilgrimage, proves that they are using fundamental rights, recognised by international laws, to serve their political agenda, AOHR said.
"Despite the statement of the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir in Manama, in which he said his country welcomes any visitor to Makkah, all evidence shows that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah refused to communicate with Qatar's Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs as well as to receive the list of this year's pilgrims, finalise procedures to facilitate their pilgrimage and guarantee their safety," AOHR said.
"It would be logical that if the Saudi authorities genuinely welcome Qatar's pilgrims they would officially announce procedures such as exchanging temporary consular missions to facilitate Hajj procedures. They may also open the borders during the Hajj period for direct flights and announce safety guarantees for the pilgrims so as to not repeat what happened with the Qatari pilgrims at the beginning of the crisis," the organisation said.
The AOHR urged the siege countries to stop wasting resources and efforts on useless topics that entrench division and violate rights, and oppose the Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestine, at a time when the Arab region and the world need to focus on settling the bloody crises storming the region.
