Dr. Mohammed Saif Al Kuwari, a NHRC Member.
DOHA: The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), the Police College and Qatar University celebrated the Arab Day for Human Rights by holding several events and joint activities on this occasion.
Dr. Mohammed Saif Al Kuwari, a NHRC Member, spoke at two separate lectures at the Police College and Qatar University, about human rights and sustainable development and their definitions, as well as focusing on sustainable integrated economic growth, environmental stewardship and social responsibility, making it a process of developing land, cities and communities provided that they meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to achieve their goals.
He also touched on the relationship of sustainable development to human rights, which was highlighted by the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development in 1986, linked to international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two International Covenants and other relevant conventions and instruments of the international organization.
He referred to the most important development goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the State of Qatar is working on, namely poverty eradication, the provision of good health and well-being, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, noting that the implementation of the development goals underlines the need to provide a range of rights, such as the right to education, housing, dignity, well-being, health and labour, as well as the rights of workers and women, the right to gender equality and non-discrimination and other rights.
Dr. Asma Abdullah Al-Attiyah, Head of the Psychology Department at the Faculty of Education at Qatar University, said that human rights in the Arab world are issues that must be considered from all angles, whether social, cultural or political as dealing with this important issue can not be limited to one side alone, because human rights are the fruit of the right human societies in their basics and in their spiritual and intellectual building.
Dr. Al-Attiyah pointed out that the theme of this year’s Arab Human Rights Day is “Human Rights and Sustainable Development”.
“Therefore, it is not possible to talk about sustainable development and intergenerational communication unless the human being have the basic rights that enable them to contribute strongly to development, stressing that any sustainable development must depend on human, first and last, before the development of plans and strategies.”
The celebration of the Arab Human Rights Day falls on March 16 each year, the day the Arab Charter on Human Rights entered into force in 2008 after it was adopted in May 2004 at the Arab summit in Tunisia.
The theme of “Human Rights and Sustainable Development” was chosen for this year’s celebration, in terms of their close and direct relationship as they support each other.
