Qatar has won the Human Rights Committee of the League of Arab States presidency.

Qatari official Counsellor Jaber Al Hwail was elected as the chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the League of Arab States during its 53rd meeting on Tuesday,.

Al Hwail will be assisted by Ambassador Nadia Jefoun from Sudan who has now assumed position as vice-chairperson of the committee.

The decision on Tuesday means Qatar will now head the committee after previously rejecting to take on the role last year following Palestine’s resignation from the role to protest normalisation deals struck between some Arab nations and Israel.

In a statement at the time, Qatar said: “We apologise for completing the aforementioned session, which the State of Palestine abandoned, while adhering to the right of the State of Qatar to the next presidency of the 155th session of March 2021.”

Al Hwail said he looks forward to contributing to the development of the committee’s work and achieving its goals.

Elections held at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo earlier in April saw al Hwail filling a vacant seat in the Arab Charter Committee on Human Rights.

Prior to his election as chairman, Al Hwail served as advisor to the previous Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee.

Read also: Qatari official wins second term at Arab Charter Committee on Human Rights

The committee consists of seven members who work in their personal capacity. They are elected by the states parties to the charter for a period of four years by secret ballot, provided that they are highly qualified and experienced for the role.

The Arab Charter Committee’s goal is to follow up the implementation of the provisions of the Arab Charter on Human Rights approved by the Arab Summit in Tunis 2004.

This was ratified by seven Arab countries and established in 2008, and examines reports from the parties based on measures taken to implement the rights and freedoms stipulated in the charter.

The committee’s aim is to uphold the principles contained in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.

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