Shura Council rejects EU Parliament resolution on human rights in Qatar
The resolution was based on false and misleading information: Speaker
THE Shura Council has rejected a European Parliament resolution on human rights situation in Qatar, issued on November 24, amid the ongoing World Cup 2022.
In a statement on Monday, Speaker of the Shura Council HE Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim said that the resolution was based on false allegations and misleading information and continues the systematic, suspicious and heinous campaigns targeting Qatar over the FIFA World Cup 2022. He rejected the resolution and its allegations.
The Shura Coouncil added that the anti-Qatar campaigns went unabated after the World Cup kick-off that saw Qatar warmly welcoming thousands of multicultural fans in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and friendliness, a move affirmed by Qatar as a precious opportunity to enhance the values of respect, cultural diversity, tolerance, and social inclusion.
The statement also fully rejected the resolution that triggered Qatari people’s resentment over its disinformation and being part of the anti-Qatar systematic conspiracy schemes.
Despite all Qatar’s efforts to host the World Cup along with its measures that were discussed by the European Parliament itself and the Shura Council during mutual visits, the European Parliament favored to back those who reject an Arab and Muslim country hosting the World Cup, a move that is full of hypocrisy, double standards and racism, the statement read.
The European Parliament’s stance, based on this resolution, ignites calls of hatred between the East and the West, widens the gaps among cultures, and transcends all humanitarian and cultural values, the statement added. It called on the organization as representative for the European peoples to promote anti-hatred speech, back people-to-people efforts that combat it and bolster East-West communication,
particularly with the championship bringing together various peoples in an atmosphere dominated by love and respect.
The Shura Council also regretted the organisation’s reiteration of baseless and fake allegations, that raise suspicion behind the campaigns. It called upon the organisation to further verify the allegations of casualties among
thousands of migrants workers, especially those who supported the country in its World Cup bid in the construction sector.
Those allegations are baseless, and they are repeatedly refuted, not only by Qatar, but by many independent sides as well, the statement added.
The statement highlighted previous statements by General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Sharan Burrow that dismissed a European newspaper’s estimates for the deaths among World Cup infrastructure workers as baseless. Earlier Qatar put the number of deaths at three, the least compared to all countries that hosted previous World Cups, with Doha adopting the highest safety and security measures in the World Cup and other construction sites, the statement added.
The Council condemned in the strongest terms the European Parliament’s intervention in the State of Qatar’s internal affairs, rejecting diktats and attempts to alter the Qatari people’s entrenched moral values, stressing that the free exercise of religion in the State of Qatar goes in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Qatar has never seen, over its history, a discrimination based on religion, the Shura Council said, highlighting the establishment of a Religious Complex as an example of the country’s guarantee for non-Muslims to freely exercise their religious rites.
The Shura Council stressed that Qatar and its people, nationals and residents, respect the cultures, orientations, and beliefs of other countries, including European countries, and therefore it expects other countries to respect Qatar’s culture, values, and social and religious beliefs.
Qatar is an independent country that neither accept any dictates from others, nor moral lessons from anyone, the Council added.
Rejecting the European Parliament’s calls for Qatar to boost gender equality and intensify efforts to increase the representation of women in the official labor market, the Council hailed Qatar’s equal employment opportunities that brought Qatari women to senior executive and management positions, adding that women constitute more than 40 percent of the work force in all fields, especially in education, health and social work.
While Europe, and the West in general, undergo a gender pay gap, Qatar never saw inequalities between wages of men and women, the Council said, calling on the European Parliament to follow up on this matter, reiterating the Qatari people’s ultimate rejection of the West’s double standards on the Arab region.
The Council slammed the organization’s bribery and corruption allegations regarding Qatars World Cup bid, highlighting comments by then Chairman of FIFA’s Ethics Committee Hans-Joachim Eckert in 2014 in response to a report by US investigator Michael Garcia. Eckert affirmed that there would be no reconsideration or new vote on granting Russia and Qatar the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids respectively.
Referring to a FIFA Ethics Committee
investigation into corruption allegations relating to 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, under the chairmanship of Garcia, the Council said that resurfacing this issue, although those allegations were officially denied in 2014 through documented and independent investigations, raises suspicions about the real motives behind the move.
The Council added that although the European Parliament’s decision supported Qatar’s recent efforts to improve labor rights, and reluctantly welcomed Qatar’s $320 million payment through the Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund, it insisted on interfering in Qatar’s internal affairs demanding the expansion of the fund and the full implementation of reforms, stressing that this proves his bias towards the anti-Qatar schemes.
The Council recalled the State of Qatar’s 12-year efforts that harnessed all its material and human capabilities, to welcome the peoples of the world and organize a perfect tournament that brings East and West together.
At a time when many institutions and personalities announced that FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was the best in history, the allegations of Qatar’s ineligibility to host the tournament along with allegations that the World Cup bid in 2010 was not transparent and lacked a responsible risk assessment, affirms the decision sought to distort the championship, adopt a hostile approach and participate in the systematic conspiracy schemes against Qatar, the Council added.
The Council highlighted statements by HE President of the InterParliamentary Union Duarte Pacheco that hailed the State of Qatar’s great efforts at various levels, to prepare and host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Addressing the 145th IPU Assembly in the Rwandan capital Kigali in October, His Excellency appreciated the State of Qatar’s decision to dismantle 170,000 seats and giving them to developing countries as an assistance to improve the sports infrastructure of those countries, noting that this decision supports the goals of sustainable development and contributes to enhancing the opportunities of developing countries. His Excellency also expressed his satisfaction that the 2022 edition is committed to health and environmental aspects as it will be the first carbonneutral championship,” stressing that these measures support the State of Qatar’s approach towards mitigating the effects of climate change and preserving the environment.
On behalf of the Qatari people, the Shura Council expressed its complete rejection of the European Parliament decision, calling on it to respect the peoples’ aspirations and desires, and not to get involved in malicious campaigns targeting Qatar’s World Cup hosting.