Secretary-General of Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions H E Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali during its General Assembly meeting, held virtually in Doha, yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: The Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI) convened yesterday its urgent General Assembly at its headquarters in Doha on the Iranian attacks on the Arab nations: human rights reading in violating the absolute ban on the use of force.
The meeting, held virtually, came at the request of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) in the State of Qatar, during which the participants stressed that the Iranian attacks are an outright breach of the United Nations Charter and its mandatory rules, foremost among them the absolute prohibition on the use of force, which constitutes a threat to international peace and security.
They asserted the importance of expanding cooperation among Arab national institutions to exchange information and expertise in the protection of civilians during crises, as well as launching awareness campaigns on civilian rights during conflicts, community safety guidance, and strengthening a culture of prevention.
The participants underlined the necessity of unifying the Arab human rights stance regarding attacks targeting civilians in the region. They also stressed effectuating human rights diplomacy through engagement with the United Nations and international organizations to ramp up pressure for accountability, calling on the UN to open an independent investigation into attacks on Arab states and to assess their compliance with international law, and urging the Human Rights Council to convene a special session on civilian protection in the Arab region.
The conferees further called for the immediate cessation of military escalation and a return to diplomatic paths to safeguard civilian security and regional stability, and for advancing international accountability mechanisms to ensure that no party escapes punishment.
As such, Chairman of the National Institution for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain and current Chairperson of the Arab Network, Eng Ali Ahmed Al Derazi, highlighted the Network’s profound concern over the recent military escalation in the region, which included missile attacks targeting several Arab nations, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, and Iraq, resulting in damage to residential areas and civilian casualties and injuries from missile debris.
For his part, NHRC Vice Chairman Dr. Mohammed bin Saif Al Kuwari noted that the convening of this assembly comes under exceptionally complex circumstances, putting human rights institutions to a genuine test in addressing challenges arising from Iranian aggressive attacks targeting several Arab states, in flagrant violation of the UN Charter and its mandatory rules, foremost among them the absolute prohibition on the use of force, constituting a direct threat to international peace and security, and entailing widespread and serious violations.
He confirmed that these attacks represent full-scale aggression, devoid of ethical or legal justification, as they cannot be grounded in the right of self-defense and fall outside measures sanctioned by international legitimacy.
Al Kuwari further indicated that, in addition to violations of national sovereignty, these attacks constitute a series of crimes resulting from the methodical targeting of critical infrastructure, including energy facilities, airports, water stations, and other civilian sites under international protection, leading to casualties and violations of fundamental rights including the right to health, personal security, and freedom of movement, as well as threats to the right to development and the right to a safe and healthy environment.
He noted that the NHRC has established a crisis cell to receive complaints and reports, and to monitor and document violations arising from the attacks.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the ANNHRI, H E Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali, highlighted the escalation of serious violations in the Arab region resulting from military assaults affecting several states, posing a direct threat to civilians and targeting civilian objects.
Director of the UN Training and Documentation Center for Southwest Asia and the Arab Region, Dr. Abeer Al Khraisha, stressed that the worsening crisis in the region has caused serious damage and economic and environmental fallout globally, undermined regional peace and stability, and compromised the integrity of mediation and negotiation processes traditionally pursued by states in the region.
