Following the successful organization of the 140th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) last week and the important decisions and recommendations reached during the assembly proceedings, the State of Qatar today is hosting another international conference on human rights and combating impunity.
The delegates from around the world have said that Doha has proved to everyone that it has organised the most successful General Assembly in its history despite the ongoing sanctions imposed on it.
The two-day conference under the patronage of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani on “National, Regional and International Mechanisms to Combat Impunity and Ensure Accountability under International Law” will open today with participation of more than 250 organizations, experts of international commissions of inquiry, senior OHCHR staff, representatives of the United Nations and legal experts.
The conference is being organized by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) in partnership with the European Parliament, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions.
The participation of keynote speakers including Chairman of National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri; Chairman of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, Antonio Panzeri; United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet; Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Institutions, Dr. Carlos Alfonso Negret Mosquera, and President of the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Syria, Catherine Marchi-Uhel, clearly indicates the event is the largest international conference on the prevention of impunity in the Middle East.
The conference will feature rich discussions in four main sessions and three working groups, and total of more than 20 research papers will be presented aiming at developing practical proposals.
The conference will be an important platform for deliberation on the assessment and development of national and regional mechanisms to ensure combating impunity under international law.
Doha again providing an international platform for enforcement of law, at national, regional and international levels as the conference is a purely legal event, not limited to specific international issues or certain case related to a specific country, rather will discuss general framework to support and promote the principle of non-impunity through the development of accountability mechanisms.
The State of Qatar has repeatedly affirmed through UN events and platforms that “universal jurisdiction is a rule of law mechanism to ensure fair justice, combat impunity for serious crimes, and prevent violations of international law, international humanitarian law and human rights”.
