A view of celebrations.
The 77th United Nations (UN) Day was celebrated in Doha at the Flag Plaza yesterday. The UN Day is marked on October 24 annually on the anniversary of the UN Charter in 1945. Qatar has been a member of the UN since 1971.
The celebration was attended by Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, Director of Unesco Office in Doha and Representative to the Gulf Countries and Yemen, Salah Khaled, several ambassadors and heads of mission attached to Qatar, government officials, scholars and many others.
Speaking at the event, Al Hammadi stressed Qatar’s commitment to supporting the UN and its initiatives. He added that these initiatives are top priorities for Qatar, especially considering the current challenges.
“There are several international level UN initiatives that Qatar supports. The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) was opened in Doha.
There has been strong cooperation in various sectors, including education, environment, sustainability and health,” Al Hammadi said.
He added that besides supporting several UN initiatives, Qatar has also signed various agreements with the organisation.
Meanwhile, the Director of Unesco Office in Qatar, Salah Khaled, noted Qatar’s commitment and partnership in achieving the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Khaled said these goals are reflected in Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030.
He also commended Qatar’s election as President of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5). Qatar will host the main conference in Doha from March 5 to 9, 2023.
According to Khaled, Qatar’s donation to UN programmes and initiatives plays a vital role in meeting its goals, especially with major challenges like wars, conflicts, pandemics, energy challenges, food shortages, depleting resources, climate change and natural disasters around the world.
“We express our appreciation to the State of Qatar through its Government, Legislative Body, Ministries, Foundations, Civil Society Organizations and National Institutions, and all Qatar-based organizations, for their continuous support to the United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes. We would also like to address our special gratitude to all our partners and donors for their vital roles in the advancement of education, science, culture, human rights, heritage, sports and health through the different partnership programmes,” he added. Khaled also wished Qatar a successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022, which begins next month.
Chairperson of the Qatar National Human Rights Committee and President of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) H E Maryam bint Abdullah al-Attiyah noted the strong cooperation between Qatar and the UN, particularly in dealing with current global challenges. Al Attiyah also stressed Qatar’s commitment to the UN’s charter on respecting human rights.
“Qatar and the UN are working to strengthen efforts to ensure human rights and freedom. Doha has become the capital of attaining the UN objectives while hosting conferences and discussions,” she said.
