QATAR’S efforts and highly constructive role in international diplomacy for resolving conflicts through dialogue and mediation is well recognised and praised by world community. Qatar in the last many years played very important role in diffusing tensions in different parts of the region and world.
Qatar has renewed its call to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful and diplomatic means, stressing the need for all parties to conflicts to abide by the principles and provisions of international humanitarian law and international human rights law and to avoid targeting civilians and civilian facilities and infrastructure.
This came in Qatar’s statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani in UN Security Council’s open debate on “Protecting civilians during armed conflicts”. It is to be noted that since 2008 Qatar has mediated in approximately many key regional and international issues.
Qatar has made diplomatic efforts at regional & international levels to mediate between factions, entities and countries. Hosting Afghanistan peace negotiations also demonstrated Qatar’s commitment to its role as a facilitator to find sustainable solutions to conflicts & differences.
In 2008, Qatar brokered the Doha agreements between rival Lebanese factions which ended an 18-month-long political crisis. In 2009, Qatar mediated between Sudan and Chad who signed the Doha Accord.
Then from 2008-to 2013, Qatar took a leadership role in peace efforts in Sudan hosting peace talks in Doha. In 2010 Qatar mediated a ceasefire agreement over a border dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea ending an armed conflict between the two parties. In 2020, Qatar mediated the signing of an agreement between the US and the Taliban to bring peace in Afghanistan.
Sheikha Alya pointed out that the effects of conflicts are not limited to areas where violence is taking place, nor to threats to the life and safety of civilians, but include other forms of negative repercussions, such as displacement and refugee crises, economic impacts, threat to food security that already bears the consequences of climate change and disruption of supply chains that has been exacerbated by the global pandemic.
The most effective way to spare civilians the vio-lence, suffering and humanitarian needs as a result of violence is to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful and diplomatic means, and take all measures to ensure the freedom of civilians and secure their access to the humanitarian and emergency aid they need in the fastest and unobstructed manner, Sheikha Alya said.
