By Mohamed Osman
DOHA: The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and the Asia Pacific forum of National Human Rights institutions (APF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at NHRC headquarters here yesterday.
Qatar hosting the sub-regional office of Asia Pacific Forum shows that it has become an attractive place for the work of human right institutions due to the suitable situation, political and social openness on human rights issues, said a senior NHRC official.
The Qatari initiative to host the regional office of APF is an added value to Qatar’s previous efforts, including hosting the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions, said Mariem bint Abdullah Al Attiyah, Secretary- General of NHRC.
It is an extension of the MOU signed in 2014 with APF to strengthen regional cooperation and coordination in areas of human rights protection in the region. Speaking at the opening of the event, Dr Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, Chairman of the NHRC, stated that this agreement underlines the importance of regional cooperation between APF and NHRC in human rights field.
“Through this office we will try to realize the main principles of International Coordinating Committee of National Human Right Institutions and Asia Pacific Forum to enhance cooperation and encourage establishment of human rights institutions,” Al Marri said.
He added: “in addition to improving the performance of the existing institutions to work in accordance to Paris principles”.
The office will start operating at the beginning of 2016 and will primarily focus on capacity building of national staffers and provide technical support to the NHRC, said Al Marri.
The sub-regional office will undertake a range of very practical training and capacity building projects for national human rights institutions similar to NHRC in the countries of West Asia and North Africa, said Kieren Fitzpatrick, Director of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights institutions. On the sideline of the event, the director of APF told The Peninsula that the “training around things such as how to be good investigator, good educator on human rights, how to change policies, how to make recommendations about policy change”.
In addition, the regional office will also have dialogue with the states which have already created human rights commissions, will meet relevant ministries of justice, attorney generals and foreign ministries to encourage them to establish human rights institutions and in the process provide with drafting advices to those governments.
Asked about the issue of migrant workers, Fitzpatrick stated that “the issues on the theme which will be looked at will include things like migrant workers’ issues, gender, women’s rights, rights of children, and disabilities. It certainly will be one of the topics to be covered by this office”. Explaining the differences between this MoU and the one signed in 2014 Fitzpatrick told this daily that the difference was that this MoU is actually physical presence of our organization here in Doha to run practical projects.
The Peninsula
