The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, organised an event to celebrate United Nations Day, which falls on October 24 each year.
The ceremony, which was held yesterday at the Diplomatic Club, was attended by HE the Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmad Hassan al-Hammadi, HE United Nations Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy Dr Ahmed al-Meraikhi, the Director of the Unesco Office in Doha Anna Paolini, and a number of officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of civil society and social and charitable institutions.
In a speech on the occasion, HE Dr al-Hammadi said that this event is a pride and a culmination of the achievements of the distinguished partnership between Qatar and the United Nations, as well as the completion of the celebration of the United Nations Day, which was held in New York last week under the auspices of Qatar and this celebration also expresses pride in the achievement of the partnership between the two parties in the history of international relations in particular and in human life in general.
He praised the distinguished relations since Qatar joined the United Nations in 1971, pointing in this context to the formation of the permanent delegation of Qatar to the UN in New York in the same year in order to represent the country and manage its relations with the organisation, and then the opening of the Qatari missions represented in the United Nations in various cities of the world.
He also valued the strategic partnership between Qatar and the UN which has worked to achieve its objectives, including the maintenance of international peace and security, supporting international development efforts, promoting and consolidating human rights and providing humanitarian relief, as well as participating in collective efforts and initiatives to address the current and emerging challenges facing the world.
He stressed Qatar’s commitment to the United Nations through its continued generous financial contributions to many bodies of the organisation, the opening of several United Nations offices in Doha, in addition to the active participation of Qatar in the United Nations meetings and collective efforts to promote interfaith dialogue, support the Alliance of Civilizations, protect human rights in Qatar and abroad, and participate in decision-making by financing development, relief and reconstruction.
He stressed that Qatar’s support to the United Nations stems from its firm belief in the ability of the UN to overcome international crises through its work to achieve international peace and security, combating terrorism and achieving the goals of sustainable development, and to face common challenges, especially the challenges of climate and climate change, which Qatar has supported the United Nations plans to address them.
For her part, Secretary-General of the Qatar National Committee for Education, Culture and Science Dr Hamda al-Sulaiti said in her speech during the ceremony, that the purpose of this celebration is to remind the world of the importance and necessity of activating and strengthening the role of this organisation in order to achieve the goals for which it was founded on the twenty-fourth of October 1945 to achieve security and international peace.
Dr al-Sulaiti praised the success achieved by the United Nations over the years, represented in many achievements in the political, economic, social, humanitarian, environmental, cultural and educational fields, adding that this has contributed to the independence of many countries and the resolution of political differences between other countries, in addition to development and technical assistance provided to developing countries to help them to invest their natural resources, and to develop their national and human resources and development projects and care for human rights in the areas of health, education and culture.
Dr al-Sulaiti called on the United Nations to introduce radical reforms in all its institutions and bodies so that its decisions have credibility and influence away from the domination of some states and the organisation shall have the greatest and effective role in ending the scourge of wars, famines and international conflicts and in achieving respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States.
She added that from this point of view, from January 2020, UN-75 will launch dialogues at all levels, from classrooms to administrative boards, from parliaments to municipal councils with the aim of reaching as many people as possible, to listen to their hopes and fears, to benefit from their thoughts and experiences.
Dr al-Sulaiti pointed out to Qatar’s assistance and humanitarian and development assistance to the bodies, institutions and offices of the United Nations in the world to support and promote its objectives in its areas of work, which contributed to the construction of educational institutions and schools in poor countries in Asia and Africa, and this has provided educational opportunities for millions of children around the world and shared money and expertise in combating infectious diseases in conflict zones.
The Director of the Unesco Office in Doha Anna Paolini praised the role of Qatar in support of Unesco, saying that the country hosts the office of the organisation, noting that the relationship between the two parties is based on mutual understanding and respect.
Paolini expressed her pride in working within the United Nations family, stressing that the law adopted by the United Nations seeks to achieve peace and security, and plans drawn up by the United Nations organisations seek to address problems in the world and spread peace and save lives, which requires support and assistance from the state.
She also addressed the challenges that still face the achievement of the goals of the United Nations and Unesco, such as racial discrimination against women, and problems of gender equality.
She also praised the great efforts made by Qatar in empowering women through legislation and laws besides education, which enabled Qatari women to assume leadership positions, as well as the representation of the State of Qatar in international forums and UN organisations and other international organisations.
During a panel discussion held on the sidelines of the ceremony, and directed by HE the Director of the International Co-operation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Tariq Ali al-Ansari, the Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work (QFSW) Amal al-Mannai, pointed out the important role played by the foundation in society, as one of the important development sectors linking all sectors of the state, whether governmental, private or civil.
Al-Mannai pointed out that the relationship between the foundation and the United Nations is centred on the consultative membership obtained by the foundation in 2016, pointing in this regard to the large international events mandated by the foundation to organise a conference on disability and development, which will be held in December, with the participation of all United Nations organisations.
She noted that an important session will be held in co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Unesco on education, the session mimics the convergence of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the United Nations sustainable development agenda and maximising access to education, employment, health and other important areas.
Al-Mannai noted that the foundation has played a major role in the design of the national development strategy.
It is currently responsible for more than 42 projects and needs the expertise of UN organisations in capacity building.
Director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdulaziz bin Mohamed al-Horr, in his speech during the session noted the growing sense of the decline of the role of international organisations and their inability to interact with international issues, stressing that this feeling has grown with the rise of right-wing currents in Europe and America, and that the discussion between the concerned now revolves around the mechanism of restructuring organisations for themselves and restore confidence in their ability to restore their effectiveness, and their ability to react to crises.
Dr al-Horr also addressed United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNITAR, a UN training wing, stressing that the existing co-operation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented by the Diplomatic Institute and UNITAR is a great opportunity for capacity-building.
He also pointed out that the benefit of international bodies and organisations and co-operation with them is at several levels, the needs and expertise required by the State must be identified, in order to achieve the maximum benefit, referring to the generous grant made by Qatar represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of UNITAR to train diplomatic cadres in marginalised countries. – QNA
‘Qatar is key partner of UN organisations’
The UN Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy Dr Ahmed al-Meraikhi has underlined that Qatar is an important partner of the United Nations organisations, saying that this is evidenced by the distinctive relations between Qatar with those organisations, in addition to the presence of representative offices of the organisations in Qatar.
This came in a statement by Dr al-Meraikhi to Qatar News Agency (QNA), on the sidelines of the ceremony organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, in partnership with Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science on the occasion of the United Nations World Day.
The UN envoy stressed that the presence of offices of organisations in Qatar helps to promote and deepen mutual understanding of the delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially as these offices greatly help and facilitate the mechanisms of assistance, and identify the needs and provide them as soon as possible.
He praised the prominent role of Qatar in the field of providing humanitarian assistance, pointing to the co-ordination between Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Qatar Fund for Development with the United Nations organisations. – QNA
HE the Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmad Hassan al-Hammadi addressing the gathering.
