Speaker H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim and Deputy Speaker H E Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti at the Shura Council’s weekly session yesterday.
Doha: The Shura Council rejected a European Parliament resolution on the human rights situation in the State of Qatar, issued on November 24, amid the country’s hosting of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
In a statement released at the end of the Council’s weekly session, Speaker of the Shura Council H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim said that the resolution was based on false allegations and misleading information and continues the systematic, suspicious and heinous campaigns targeting the State of Qatar over its FIFA World Cup 2022 hosting, expressing ultimate rejection for the resolution and its allegations.
The Council added that the anti-Qatar campaigns went unabated after the World Cup kick-off that saw Qatar warmly welcoming thousands of multicultural fans in an atmosphere dominated by enthusiasm and friendliness, a move affirmed by the State of Qatar as a precious opportunity to boost the values of respect, cultural diversity, tolerance, and social inclusion. The council said the European Parliament favored backing those who reject an Arab and Muslim country hosting the World Cup, a move that discloses hypocrisy, double standards and racism, the statement read.
The Shura Council also regretted the organization’s reiteration of baseless and fake allegations that raise suspicion behind the campaigns calling for it to further verify and commit to professionalism regarding allegations of casualties among thousands of migrants workers, especially those who supported the country in its World Cup bid in the construction sector.
The Council condemned in the strongest terms the European Parliament’s intervention in the State of Qatar’s internal affairs, rejecting diktats and attempts to alter the Qatari people’s entrenched moral values, stressing that the free exercise of religion in the State of Qatar goes in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The State of Qatar has never seen, over its history, discrimination based on religion, the Council said, highlighting the establishment of a Religious Complex as an example of the country’s guarantee for non-Muslims to freely exercise their religious rites.
The Council stressed that the State of Qatar and its people, nationals and residents, respect the cultures, orientations, and beliefs of other countries, including European countries, and therefore it expects other countries to respect Qatar’s culture, values, and social and religious beliefs.
Qatar is an independent country that neither accepts any dictates from others nor moral lessons from anyone, the Council added.
On behalf of the Qatari people, the Council expressed its complete rejection of the European Parliament decision, calling on it to respect the people’s aspirations and desires, and not to get involved in malicious campaigns targeting the State of Qatar’s World Cup hosting.
