Qatar’s permanent delegation to the United Nations refuted the Saudi Arabian delegation’s statement, which included unacceptable abuses and fabrications, at the 73rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations yesterday.

In response to the Saudi Arabian statement, the Second Secretary of the Qatari delegation Talal Al Khalifa said that after the unjust blockade that was imposed on Qatar in June last year, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries have failed to achieve their objectives and have also not been able to convince anyone of the false allegations on which the blockade was based. Now, again, Saudi representatives are repeating these baseless slanders with the intention of harming Qatar’s reputation.

The Second Secretary also added that Qatar's record of international cooperation speaks for itself. He stressed that Qatar does not need to refute allegations made against it in areas where it has taken the lead in the region, and this was particularly true in terms of countering terrorism, drying up its sources, combating extremism and supporting sustainable peace. He noted that these accusations, by the same parties, only serve to undermine their credibility as they offer no evidence or facts to support their claims.

He pointed out that Qatar has stressed, in several forums, the importance of addressing all the causes and roots of terrorism as a first step to eliminate terrorism, noting that terrorism found its incubator in the religious extremism that has been employed by Saudi Arabia to achieve political objectives that served certain conditions.

He also added that it was ironic that this deep-seated religious extremism and hardline identity would overnight be blotted out and then dressed up to be something else facing the world. He highlighted that this was happening at a time when prisoners of conscience, moderate clerics, reformers and human rights activists, particularly women, were being put in prison without fair trials. He also highlighted attempts to dress these violations of international law with human nature, noting that this was something that does not mislead the world.

The Second Secretary said that Saudi Arabia's politicization of the term terrorism is done in accordance to its interests, and they use it on whoever disagrees with them inside Saudi Arabia and have gone as far as accusing other states besides Qatar.

He pointed out that the world has witnessed the wisdom and self-restraint of the leadership of Qatar in managing the fabricated crisis against Qatar and its efforts to alleviate the effects of the unjust blockade, citing the humanitarian consequences of it. He said those violations can only be addressed through seeking justice for the victims, emphasising that the blockade has led to massive violations of their rights which included the dismantling of families, the denial of students from completing their studies, and the taking of coercive and illegal measures affecting property rights and access to the justice system.

In addition, he stated that what was worse was depriving Qatari citizens and residents of Qatar from performing their religious duties of Hajj and Umrah for the second consecutive year for no apparent reason. He highlighted that this was widely condemned as a gross violation of human rights.

He added that despite these unilateral measures that robbed the Qatari people of many of their rights as evidenced by the reports of the UN bodies, the Qatar government did not take any retaliatory measures that would harm the Saudi people.

In concluding his remarks, Al Khalifa said that Qatar would continue to make constructive partnerships with the United Nations and States from around the world, resulting in practical outcomes for sustaining peace and security, alleviating human suffering, strengthening the rule of law, protecting human rights and developing relations between states and its people.

What is your stance on the whole blockade? What do you think of Second Secretary of the Qatari delegation Talal Al Khalifa's statements in response to the Saudi accusations? Do you think the bloackade will end soon? Do let us know what you think in our Comments section. Like and share the article - it keeps us going!

Cover Image and Source: The Peninsula

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar

Nabeela

Content Writer

Start a discussion