NHRC chairman: human rights red lines shouldn’t be crossed

Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Dr Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri has said the siege countries violated the basic principles of human rights, which may affect the stability and security of the region and threaten international peace and security.Dr al-Marri, who is currently visiting Washington, said the principles of human rights are the red lines that should not be crossed irrespective of differences at the political level. He called on relevant United Nations (UN) agencies and international organisations to act quickly to contain these violations so that the humanitarian situation does not worsen.He added that the US administration and other countries must stop the violations before talking about political mediation and solutions and put the human rights file on the priority of political agendas, stressing that the tragedy of people should not be prolonged under any pretext.Dr al-Marri stressed that Qatar did not block the satellite channels of the siege countries and that it does not reciprocate when it comes to violations because the issue of respect for the principles of human rights is firmly established, adding that “what we do not accept for our people cannot be accepted for other peoples.”He also extended an open invitation to all media representatives and press personalities in Washington to attend the international conference organised by the NHRC on July 24 and 25 in Doha under the theme “Freedom of Expression: Towards Confronting Risk” in partnership with the International Federation of Journalists and the International Press Institute.Over 200 international media organisations and figures will participate in the conference to come up with recommendations to give more freedom of opinion and expression and guarantees to hold accountable perpetrators of crimes against journalists and promoters of hate and incitement speech, as well as to identify mechanisms to ensure impunity, he said.Dr al-Marri met with a number of US officials and briefed them on Qatar’s siege from the perspective of international law and human rights conventions.He also held two seminars at the National Press Club in Washington to give a detailed explanation about the repercussions of the siege on the human rights situation in the Gulf region.