Officials during the first National Human Rights Forum in Qatar.
The National Human Rights Committee’s (NHRC) role of implementing the country’s strategy to enhance awareness of workers’ rights and duties and spreading a culture of human rights took centre stage in 2022.
Through its local and international programmes and initiatives, the NHRC has highlighted how Qatar has become an example for the region and other parts of the world.
Earlier in the year, the NHRC resumed its awareness campaign, ‘Together We Work, You Have A Right, You Have A Duty,’ to deal with the health, working hours, rest times, adequate housing, and occupational safety of workers.
In a milestone achievement for the Committee, NHRC Chairperson Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah was chosen to lead the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) as President for the next three years. In this position, Al Attiyah has championed the cause for better human rights globally, highlighting the positive impacts of policies in Qatar to make the subject a norm.
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the NHRC held a five-day ‘Human Rights and Football’ exhibition in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations in Geneva. The show was held on the sidelines of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council.
It included paintings that portray concepts of human rights in football and models of the World Cup stadiums for the World Cup. The exhibition displayed Qatar’s commitment to the issues of workers and employers alike, consolidating human rights principles, translating them on the ground, and overcoming all obstacles preventing various parties from enjoying full and undiminished rights.
In another initiative, the body continued a training programme to ensure staff was equipped to deal with visitors for the World Cup. According to the Director of Programmes and Education Department at the NHRC Hamad Salem Al Hajri, the training programme was to achieve maximum security, customs and administrative work to safeguard human rights and human dignity.
In the spirit of the World Cup, the NHRC also held a milestone Qatar National Human Rights Forum – a first in the country. The two-day event was held under the theme, ‘The role of law enforcement agencies in protecting human rights during FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.’ NHRC Chairperson Al Attiyah called the Forum an affirmation of Qatar’s commitment to human rights. She also noted the role of law enforcement in promoting human rights and implementing the country’s constitutional provisions for human rights, especially at the World Cup.
Days before the World Cup, the NHRC inaugurated its office at Hamad International Airport (HIA) to provide various human rights and awareness services.
The office was tasked with promoting and protecting the rights of World Cup fans by spreading awareness and education about human rights and consolidating international laws and treaties. The office was run in collaboration with volunteers from the Oman Human Rights Commission (OHRC). Staff distributed hundreds of publications containing human rights guidelines in Arabic, English and Spanish. A legal advice hotline for World Cup fans was also operated.
The Committee leveraged the World Cup by combining arts and awareness, hosting the ‘Human Rights and Football’ exhibition at Sheraton Hotel.
