NHRC Chairperson H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah and Unesco Representative to the Gulf States and Yemen, H E Salah Khaled during the event.
Doha, Qatar: The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) held a consultative meeting with United Nations branches, offices, and agencies under the title: “Sustaining Partnership and Integrating Roles: Enhancing Paths of Cooperation through a Human Rights-Based Approach.”
The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between the Committee and UN offices, in addition to presenting the Committee’s strategy and highlighting its roles.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the United Nations Center for Training and Documentation for Southwest Asia and the Arab Region, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, the United Nations Children’s Fund or Unicef, the United Nations Development Program, the International Labor Organization, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as the Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, in addition to a number of UN experts and officials specialising in human rights and development issues.
NHRC Chairperson, H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah stated that the meeting represents the culmination of joint efforts and institutional harmony between the NHRC and UN bodies, agencies, and mechanisms. This cooperation has resulted in the organisation of numerous international conferences, seminars, forums, and activities aimed at discussing issues and challenges with global human rights implications and contributing solutions consistent with relevant international standards.
She expressed her deep appreciation for the ongoing coordination and constructive collaboration with UN institutions, affirming that the Committee seeks to institutionalize and elevate this partnership in order to enhance the effective enjoyment of human rights and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. She added that, in line with the vital role played by the NHRC as a link between national and international standards and as an institutional bridge promoting coordination between national protection systems and relevant regional and international mechanisms, the Committee ensured that its Strategic Plan 2024-2030 aligns with this role, responds to the Paris Principles, and reflects the broad legal mandate entrusted to it. This includes activating partnerships with national, regional, and international stakeholders, foremost among them specialized UN bodies and agencies.
Al Attiyah continued: “We recognise that advancing and protecting human rights requires integrated roles, comprehensive coordination, and effective engagement of all stakeholders. This is what we sought to translate into the objectives of our strategic plan and what we aim to achieve through this meeting and other engagements with civil society and all components of society, including youth and future generations, in embodiment of the pledge to leave no one behind.”
Unesco Representative to the Gulf States and Yemen, H E Salah Khaled, stated in a speech delivered on behalf of UN agencies and offices in Doha that the work of the United Nations is grounded in the fundamental principle that human rights are not optional but rather an inherent obligation. Based on the UN Charter and international law, the protection and promotion of human rights remain guiding pillars for all UN efforts in peace, security, development, and humanitarian action.
He stressed the need to integrate human rights into all programmes and policies through a principled, evidence-based, people-centred, and preventive approach that anticipates risks and prevents violations. Khaled praised the NHRC Strategic Plan 2024-2030.
