Since the accession of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in 1971, Qatar has not hesitated, based on its firm belief in the importance of multilateral international action, to play its role as an active partner in the international community to support the success of the goals of the international organization, as it has made intensive efforts, benefiting from its active diplomacy at the regional and international levels, to promote peace, stability, and development around the world, confront global challenges and reduce tension in international relations.
To this end, the State of Qatar has been keen to accede to many international treaties and charters within the framework of its full commitment to activate and implement the principle of the rule of law to achieve international justice and contribute to strengthening international peace and security, achieving stability in the region and the world, and supporting efforts to achieve the goals and objectives of the UN through its active membership in the international organization and its affiliated bodies, and its continuous efforts to support the international initiatives of those bodies.
In affirmation of the State of Qatar’s respect for international covenants and conventions, the Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar stipulates in Article (6) that the State shall respect the international charters and conventions, and strive to implement all international agreements, charters, and conventions it is party thereof. Article (68) of the constitution added that the treaty or agreement shall have the power of law after ratification and publication in the official Gazette.
Based on the awareness of the great importance of combating corruption, and as a continuation of its regional and international efforts to eradicate this scourge for the sake of healthy societies based on the principles of integrity and transparency, the State of Qatar ratified in 2007 the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) as the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument and to strengthen prevention, control, and accountability efforts.
In parallel with its efforts to combat corruption regionally and internationally, the State of Qatar has been keen to combat this deadly scourge in societies and to uphold the values of integrity and transparency at the national level as well, and has made these values among the most important pillars and objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030), as the State has passed legislation that criminalizes this phenomenon and prevents its occurrence proactively and has taken confident and rapid steps in preventing and combating corruption through various mechanisms in implementation of the directives of the wise leadership on the need to combat corruption in various ways and means and to assist other countries in promoting and supporting their ambitious programs in combating it, which made Qatar occupy an advanced position among the countries of the world in the field of combating corruption.
As a continuation of its enlightening and awareness-raising role in combating corruption around the world, and within the framework of the State of Qatar’s support for international and UN efforts to combat this scourge, the Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Anti-Corruption Excellence Award was launched in 2016. It is awarded annually to individuals and institutions from all over the world to celebrate the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD), which represents a great addition to the many related initiatives launched by Qatar at the regional and international levels, with the aim of supporting international bodies and organizations concerned with combating corruption.
The Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Anti-Corruption Excellence Award aims to highlight exemplary measures and good practices at the global level, as well as appreciate, promote, collect and disseminate anti-corruption models from around the world to raise awareness, support and solidarity with the aim of fighting corruption to encourage and motivate similar and new initiatives towards establishing a corruption-free society, as the award works to celebrate and honor those who fight corruption around the world, and not only enhance their image, as well as motivate governments, academic institutions, the media and civil society to adopt, understand, and cooperate in implementing the principles of the UNCAC.
Based on the keenness of the State of Qatar to promote and strengthen the legislative structure of human rights, it has joined a number of international human rights covenants that reinforce the principle of non-discrimination, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1976, the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (ICSPCA) in the same year, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2010, which reflects the interest of the wise leadership in promoting and protecting human rights at the national and regional levels.
The State has also focused on the importance of instilling the principle of non-discrimination and equality between people in the minds of its young children by incorporating internationally agreed concepts of human rights in school curricula, including combating racial discrimination, as those curricula included the subjects of Sharia, social education, citizenship rights, elections and candidacy, combating racial discrimination, labor rights, and other principles of human rights and anti-discrimination.
As an affirmation of the consistent approach and interest in rights and freedoms, especially the rights of children, women, and persons with disabilities, Qatar has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its protocols and has been keen to put into practice the basic principles and provisions of the convention and its protocols. It has joined other conventions that provide greater protection for children and the environment in which they grow up in, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) under Decree No. (28) of 2008, the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000 (UNTOC) under Decree No. (10) of 2009, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) under Decree No. (28) of 2009.
The State of Qatar attaches great importance to ensure complementarity between national laws and international instruments, especially in consolidating the principle of the rule of law at the national and international levels; from this standpoint, it has been keen to strengthen the efforts of national institutions concerned with the rule of law, based on international standards and norms, and increase societal awareness of this principle, as it is a key factor for achieving equality and justice among all (citizens and residents) and promoting good governance.
As part of Qatar’s international efforts to support Sustainable Development Goal 16 to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels,” it made a distinguished partnership with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to establish its Analysis and Communication Center in Doha, especially since the principle of the rule of law is the main pillar for the success of international efforts in achieving the goals and objectives for which the UN was established, which is the main criterion for adherence to the UN Charter.
In order to build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels, the State of Qatar, represented by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre (ROLACC), which was established in Doha in cooperation with the UN in 2012, contributes to promoting the principle of the rule of law and combating corruption at the regional level, by holding seminars, workshops, and academic programs for specialists from the countries of the region.
The State of Qatar, out of keenness to strengthen its strategic partnership with the UN and support its efforts in maintaining international peace and security, joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1989, thus renewing its commitment to work with the international community for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and the achievement of regional and international peace and security. It affirmed the importance of strict and complete adherence to all undertakings and the implementation of legal obligations arising from international agreements in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Qatar has always stressed in many international and regional forums the importance of developing peaceful nuclear energy programs in a responsible manner while adhering to comprehensive safeguards measures in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure the highest standards of safety and security in a world where nuclear proliferation is a source
of great concern and threatens the future of upcoming generations. It repeatedly stressed the need to free the Middle East from nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction to achieve the desired stability, regionally and internationally.
Within the framework of its support for regional and international efforts to combat terrorism around the world, the State of Qatar has signed many agreements to combat this scourge that ravages societies. It emerged as an active international member in eliminating this phenomenon through the enactment of legislation to enhance efforts to combat terrorism and dry up its funding, and has taken the initiative to support many international mechanisms concerned with combating terrorism, in addition to hosting and organizing many international events and conferences calling for confronting it.
At the Gulf, Arab, regional, and international levels, the State of Qatar ratified the Arab Convention on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in 2012, the GCC Counter-Terrorism Agreement in 2008, the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism in 2014, and the OIC Convention on Combating International Terrorism in 2006.
At the national level, the State of Qatar issued the Law No. 4 of 2010 on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, in addition to forming the National Committee to follow up the implementation of international conventions on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
The State of Qatar has always affirmed its commitment to strengthening international cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism through a holistic and integrated approach due to the great and long-term pain and suffering that terrorism causes to its victims, their families and communities. It has repeatedly called on the international community to provide all forms of support to victims of terrorism and to guarantee their rights in accordance with obligations under international law. Within the framework of multilateral action in support of victims of terrorism, the State of Qatar is one of the founding countries of the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism. It is one of the main sponsors of draft resolution 73/305 entitled: “enhancement of international cooperation to assist victims of terrorism.” Qatar joined the countries submitting the Draft General Assembly resolution 72/165 entitled “International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Terrorism.”
In affirmation of Qatar’s support for regional and international efforts to counter terrorism, the opening of the International Hub on Behavioral Insights to Counter Terrorism in Doha was the first international hub of its kind in the region and the world to counter terrorism and violent extremism, which reflects the close cooperation between Qatar and the UN to achieve its lofty goals and to enhance the ability of the relevant bodies and agencies of the organization to perform their tasks, and to contribute effectively to international efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism.
Qatar hosting this hub stems from its well-established policy, based on the values, culture, and teachings of the true Islamic religion, which rejects terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of its causes or motives, and from its belief that combating this abhorrent phenomenon cannot be done individually, but requires an integrated approach that combines national, regional, and international efforts to address the roots and causes of terrorism and to confront extremist ideologies that incite violence and hatred, and spread chaos and instability in the world.
With regard to the State of Qatar’s keenness to protect human rights, it has acceded to the two international covenants on human rights, which are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by Decree No. (40) of 2018 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by Decree No. (41) of 2018; therefore becoming a party to seven of the nine core human rights treaties. Qatar’s accession to the two international covenants is the result of a process full of wide-ranging developments at the legislative, institutional, policy and strategy levels towards strengthening and promoting the human rights infrastructure, including strengthening normative, legal and political frameworks, and strengthening the conducive structure to protect and preserve the rights of expatriate workers, resulting in the country’s registered unprecedented rates of growth and economic recovery.
The State of Qatar has also carried out fundamental legislative reforms, perhaps the most important of which is the legal framework regulating the rights of expatriate workers, the issuance of real estate ownership laws for non-Qataris, political asylum law, domestic workers law, permanent residence law, regulation of the entry and exit of expatriates and their residence, and the establishment of a workers’ support and insurance fund, in addition to establishing the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT), which aims to coordinate national efforts to monitor, prevent, and combat forms of human trafficking. The promotion and protection of human rights is one of the main pillars of the policy of the State of Qatar and a strategic choice that is relied upon in the comprehensive reform process pursued by the state that was emphasized in the QNV 2030, which included important axes related to major human rights issues in the fields of education, health, environment, labor rights, women’s empowerment,
children’s rights, national development strategy, and the strengthening of relevant national institutions.
Within the framework of the State of Qatar’s efforts to confront various environmental challenges, it has been keen since 1996 to accede to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), based on its belief in the urgent need to mobilize international efforts and take urgent and serious measures, and to show more political will to confront the challenges posed by the exacerbation of weather phenomena, climate change, and natural disasters, which constitute a threat to international peace and security, as well as an obstacle to achieving the goals of sustainable development.
The State of Qatar also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) on cooperation in the field of adaptation to climate change and green growth, highlighting that Qatar is a founding member of this institute, which helps developing countries to follow development strategies based on the foundations of sustainability, which affirms the interest and continuous support for the issue of the environment and climate change, placing the State of Qatar in a privileged position as an active and vital member of all international and regional organizations concerned with the environment and climate, thanks to its international contributions in supporting the efforts of developing countries to combat the effects of climate change.
Source: Qatar News Agency