Major human rights conference for the Arab region begins Monday in Doha

BEIRUT/GENEVA (19 February 2017) – A regional conference on conflict situations in the Arab Region, bringing together experts from the UN Human Rights Office, high-level Government representatives, regional, national and international institutions as well as civil society actors from across the region, will be held from 20 to 21 February in Doha, Qatar.

“We are tremendously energised by the imminent meeting of minds at this conference, the opportunity to really listen to each other and to come up with the best possible strategies to advance the protection of human rights of everyone in the Arab Region,” said Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore, who will deliver a keynote speech at the opening of the conference on Monday.

“Together, we can put human rights principles into practice to prevent conflicts, to minimise the effect of existing conflicts on civilians, and to rebuild broken societies in the aftermath of a conflict in a way that will ensure long-term peace and stability for all”

The conference will be opened by Gilmore and Ali Bin Samikh Al-Marri, Chairman of the Qatari National Human Rights Committee.  Parliamentarians, national human rights institutions, key regional organisations and non-governmental organisations from across the Arab region will participate. UN Human Rights experts from Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, Yemen, Geneva, as well as the OHCHR Training and Documentation Centre in Doha, will participate in workshops, bringing into focus the Office’s experiences in applying human rights principles to specific contexts in the region.

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Grand Doha Hotel. Registration begins at 08h00 on Monday, 20 February. The full agenda is available on the website of the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar: http://www.nhrc-qa.org/en/international-conference-on-human-rights-based-approach-to-conflict-situations-in-the-arab-region/

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact In Doha: Ravina Shamdasani (+41 79 201 0115 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org)
In Beirut: Jessy Chahine (+961 70 119 102 / jchahine@ohchr.org)

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