Regional Dialogue Forum on Human Rights to Promote Equality, Combat Discrimination Launches -1-

Al Jamali said that over the past 13 years, the ANNHRI has enhanced the protection and promotion of human rights in the Arab region, which it did through carrying out hundreds of educational, awareness-raising, coordination, and training activities, such as conferences, forums, dialogues, workshops, courses, task forces, guides, and efforts to teach and improve human right skills, in addition to reaching out and including parties beyond National Human Right Institutions (NHRIs), these include government institutions, parliaments, the judiciary, civil society organizations, activists, the press, and human right defenders, depending on the nature and needs of the activity. Moreover, he added that the ANNHRI's objective was to deal with discrimination by limiting and fighting it off, to ultimately create a generation imbued with a culture of human rights. The Secretary-General of ANNHRI said that there is a direct relation between all of the aforementioned efforts and the forums theme, including challenges rel ating to security and human rights, combating hate speech and extremism, codes of conduct for public officials and security personnel, enhancing civic space and freedom of opinion and expression, human rights education, and combating discrimination against women and other marginalized groups, in addition to the future of education on discrimination and ways of overcoming it. Al Jamali urged active parties to take part in enhancing knowledge of international standards and mechanisms for combating racism and racial discrimination, exchanging best practices and experiences of governments and NHRIs in this regard. In his address to the Forum, Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Mazen Shaqoura said that fighting discrimination and racism is crucial to achieving a just and equitable society where all individuals can enjoy their rights without discrimination or bias, as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Shaqoura praised the significant progress made by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in relation to human rights, as they have all ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and made significant progress in its implementation. The Regional Representative added that there is progress on policies and practices protecting the rights of all individuals in the region, including migrants. Shaqoura pointed out that several GCC countries have adopted comprehensive legal frameworks to prevent discrimination based on race or nationality and are making significant reforms in this regard. He said that there is a noticeable increase in GCC countries interaction with human rights mechanisms, which is a positive development that enables more cooperation on capacity building and raising awareness about the importance of protecting human rights for all individuals. Shaqoura continued by saying that these efforts do not merely support human rights, rather they als o help in creating more cohesive and just societies. In a related context, the Regional Representative explained that due to the mandate entrusted to the High Commissioner's Office to promote and protect human rights, organize discussions, provide technical support to states, and build the necessary capacities to protect human rights, this forum was organized to discuss combating racial discrimination, international standards for fighting racism, legal frameworks for migration in the region, positive experiences, and best practices of states and NHRIs regarding fighting racial discrimination. Shaqoura called on all relevant parties to continue cooperation and joint work to enhance human rights in the region, achieve further progress and success in protecting human rights, and combating all forms of discrimination, expressing confidence that joint efforts will lead to positive and sustainable results for the benefit of all individuals in the GCC countries, looking forward to constructive and fruitful discuss ions that contribute to enhancing human rights and achieving equality in the region. Source: Qatar News Agency