NHRC Chairperson H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al-Attiyah meeting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour H E Jacob MacGee.
Doha, Qatar: Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al-Attiyah has affirmed that the right to freedom of opinion and expression, as well as the prevention of discrimination, have been top priorities for the Committee since its establishment, as they represent the cornerstone for respecting human rights.
Al-Attiyah highlighted the Committee’s efforts in several international conferences focused on freedom of opinion and expression, noting that the NHRC has worked to link these efforts with the development of national legislation.
This came during her meeting at the Committee’s headquarters with the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, H E Jacob MacGee.
Al-Attiyah said that combating human trafficking is also a leading priority for the NHRC. She explained that the Committee receives petitions from individuals and immediately communicates with the relevant authorities to find appropriate legal solutions, while taking into account the humanitarian dimensions of each case. She added that when there is suspicion of a human trafficking crime, the Committee explicitly states this in its correspondence to the competent authority and requests the necessary measures to investigate and protect the victim. Al-Attiyah pointed out that NHRC plays a significant role in training and raising awareness about relevant international agreements, including the international protocol to combat human trafficking. She noted that the Committee delivered 12 specialised training courses for hotel employees during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and continues to provide training for community groups, commercial companies, and university students, in coordination with the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking at the Ministry of Labour.
She described these courses as inspiring, combining both social and legal awareness. “These programmes focus on the national anti-trafficking law and its amendments, the principles of business and human rights, and provide information on the authorities and contact numbers to refer to when a case is suspected,” she said. Al-Attiyah emphasised that NHRC consistently highlights the importance of individual and collective responsibility, as well as the responsibility of the state, and the need for every actor to play their role in preventing this crime and in protecting and rehabilitating victims.
