Arab Federation for Human Rights refutes Qatar claims about boycott

The Arab Federation for Human Rights has refuted allegations made by the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar about the alleged violation of international law by the anti-terrorism quartet, in their boycott of Qatar.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, in a report presented on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council Session, currently being held in Geneva, the federation outlined what it called the legal, practical and realistic evidence that the United Nations should review the modus operandi and professionalism of Qatar's National Human Rights Committee.

The report, presented by a delegation from the Arab Federation headed by Dr. Ahmad Al-Hamli, called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to "re-assess the performance and professionalism of the Qatari Human Rights Committee, as it does not play its role in accordance with international principles relating to human rights."

Regarding the insistence of the Qatari committee that the boycott by the quartet amounts to an illegal blockade, the report said that a blockade is in fact radically different from a boycott.

"A boycott is a cut of diplomatic and economic relations by a state or group of states with another country, as a sovereign right of all countries of the world to sever diplomatic relations with any country if they seek to stir up unrest and/or prejudice to the security and stability of the boycotting countries."

The federation stressed that this definition applies to the situation, as proved by international reports issued not only from the quartet, but also other countries, such as the United States of America, regarding the involvement of Qatar in the financing of terrorism and the harbouring of terrorists in a way that threatens the security not only of its neighbours but also the rest of the world.

The report said that what refutes the allegations of the Qatari committee, which has described the situation as "a siege", is the clear instructions from the governments of the boycotting countries to take into account the humanitarian situation, especially regarding cross-border families, in addition to the statement issued by the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmad Al-Jubeir, which expressed the willingness of the Kingdom to enable the provision of Qatar's needs of food and medicine.

The report added that the boycott decision, and its effects, do not violate the rules of international human rights and do not violate the four countries' contractual obligations, but rather is a by-product of the political crisis between the governments of these countries and the Qatari government, through which these countries are exercising their sovereign right over their land and air, in order to preserve the security and stability of their citizens and residents from any crises or events that may worsen in light of the existing political crisis, or adversely affect their rights and freedoms which are protected under various international instruments.

The report stressed that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain have issued directives to take all necessary measures to protect and promote the rights and freedoms of joint-nationality families, including the creation of toll-free telephone numbers in order to deal appropriately with such cases, and taking appropriate measures such as establishing committees to review cases and take the necessary measures, without exposing any family to the compromising of their family unit.