Cairo: The 49th ordinary session of the Arab Standing Committee on Human Rights was launched yesterday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, chaired by the State of Kuwait and with the participation of the relevant government bodies in the Member States, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations with observer status and relevant authorities in the Joint Arab Action system.

The delegation of the State of Qatar to the session was chaired by the Director of the Department of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Dr. Turki Al Mahmoud.

The agenda for this session includes several topics divided into standing items, foremost among which are Israeli racist violations and practices in the occupied Arab territories, ways to resolve the dilemma of Arab prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons, and the bodies of Palestinian and Arab martyrs held by the Israeli occupation authorities in the Arqam cemetery, in addition to the articles proposed by Member States that address issues such as equality, equity and climate change .

In her address to the opening session, the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector of the League of Arab States, HE Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, said that since its establishment in September 1968, the Committee Permanent Arab Human Rights Council has helped build and strengthen the pillars of the Arab human rights system, both in text and in practice, in addition to building bridges of communication with regional governmental organizations and international partners, national institutions and Arab civil society organizations working in the field of human rights.

She expressed the hope that the ratifications of the Arab Charter on Human Rights would be complemented by the accession of all Member States to this legal instrument, reiterating the call to open a constructive dialogue with Member States not party to work to overcome what might prevent them from joining the charter. She also welcomed what she described as the continuous renewal of the agenda items of the Standing Arab Committee on Human Rights through innovative items proposed by Member States such as equality , equity and climate change, calling for the continuation of this approach and for being guided by the agenda items of the sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with a view to harmonize the work of the Arab Standing Committee on Human Rights with the concerns of the Arab Group in Geneva.

It should be noted that the Arab Standing Committee for Human Rights is one of the four mechanisms of the Arab human rights system that exists under the aegis of the League of Arab States, in addition to the Charter Committee Arab Human Rights Committee, the Arab Parliament’s Human Rights Committee and the annual conference of human rights officers in Arab ministries of the interior.

The recommendations issued by the Arab Standing Committee for Human Rights during its 49th ordinary session will be submitted to the next ordinary session of the Council of the League at ministerial level, which will be held in March – for the consideration of its adoption.