Human Rights Council in Geneva urges Qatar to end human rights violations

An endless number of calls were made at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva today on the government of Qatar to halt violations against members of the general Qatari public and also against foreign labor.

Country envoys to the council also called on Doha to stop trafficking in humans.

The calls were made as the council reviewed the different country reports. Most of the interventions made during the session focused on Qatar's human rights violations.

The Qatari minister for foreign affairs claimed that his country was being besieged by some of the countries of the region.

This did not, however, deflect the attention of the envoys present from human rights violations in Qatar. They called on Doha to open the door for freedoms of movement, residence and private ownership. They also called on the Qatari government to offer Qatari nationals freedom of speech, freedom of education and freedom of faith.

The Syrian delegation to the council called for enough counterterrorism measures, preventing the trafficking in humans and violence against women.

The Saudi delegation called on Qatar, meanwhile, to take measures to return properties confiscated from the Qatari Ghofran tribe. It also asked Qatar to obstacles to the ability of Qataris to perform the pilgrimage in Mecca and Medina.

Iraq also called for ending discrimination between girls and boys inside Qatari educational institutions. It also asked the Qatari government to take measures to prevent domestic violence.

Norway also asked Qatar to offer protection to housemaids, whereas Oman called for the political and economic empowerment of Qatari women.

Egypt, for its part, called for ending the arbitrary revoking of the Qatari citizenship. It also asked Doha to stop offering support to media outlets that promote violence and hatred.