Qatar has reiterated that it has always cooperated with the mechanisms of international law in a bid to reach a peaceful solution to the Gulf crisis, and urged Saudi Arabia to follow suit. 

In a statement yesterday, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said, "Qatar calls upon KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) to do the same: to have the courage to submit its allegations and supposed evidence to the scrutiny of independent international bodies and to cooperate with the ongoing Kuwaiti mediation efforts to find an end to this crisis."

"A resolution to this crisis and the lifting of the illegal blockade imposed upon Qatar since 5 June 2017 will benefit not only Qataris, but Saudis, who also have been suffering because of the measures the Government of KSA has taken against Qataris, who are the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, students, and friends of the Saudi people," the statement adds.

According to the statement, KSA released a baseless press release on Saturday, September 7 that continues to repeat the false allegations against Qatar.

Statement in response to Saudi allegations and claims regarding the unjust Blockade https://t.co/mGO59AjP5i #MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/hw23Kk5YUP

— MOFA - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) September 9, 2019

This comes at a time when all parties involved in the GCC dispute should be co-operating with the Kuwaiti mediation efforts rather than further escalating tensions in the region, the statement underlined.

"KSA's statement alleges that the coercive measures imposed on Qatar and Qataris merely constitute a cutting of diplomatic and consular ties. However, in reality, KSA's unlawful coercive measures have been directed at both Qatar and its people, including closing all land, air and sea borders, expelling Qataris from Saudi Arabia with no basis, including the mass expulsion of Qatari pilgrims during the holy month of Ramadan, and continuing to unlawfully discriminate against Qatar and Qataris in every way possible," the statement said.

"In addition, despite KSA's claims that it welcomes Qataris to enter the country, several incidents of enforced disappearance of Qatari citizens have been reported including the most recent disappearance of a father and son documented by the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar as per the committee's statement No. 6 of 2019, upon which Amnesty International on September 3, 2019, called upon the KSA authorities to reveal their whereabouts."

"It is also unfortunate that KSA insists on reiterating the same baseless accusations around the alleged support of terrorism by Qatar, a country that hosts the Global Coalition Against Daesh, and is a founding member of the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) established in May 2017, one month before the imposition of the unlawful measures referred to in KSA's statement," the Ministry's statement mentioned.

Furthermore, according to the statement, KSA has acted in violation of international law at every turn. While it attempts to articulate justifications for its conduct, KSA has acted to avoid real accountability and justice before neutral bodies of the United Nations.

Additionally, the statement says that "KSA's approach of denial and evasion has not changed, even as the crisis enters its third year."

"KSA's deliberate and conscious violation of international law, including the protections under the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) led Qatar to submit a complaint before the CERD Committee," the statement adds.

KSA ratified the CERD on 23 September 1997 and is obligated to respect the committee. 

In that complaint, Qatar provided evidence of fundamental and deeply disturbing violations of the CERD. 

The evidence highlighted KSA has "interfered with the most basic elements of daily life for many within Qatar, KSA, and the other States, including their ability to practice their religion, to receive medical care, to obtain an education, and to work and own property in order to provide for themselves and their families—simply because they are Qatari, married to Qataris, the children of Qataris or otherwise linked to Qatar."

According to the statement, "instead of engaging positively with the CERD Committee and Qatar in an attempt to conciliate the matter and end the suffering of Qataris, it (KSA) argued that the Committee had no jurisdiction and no competence to deal with the matter."

--

Make sure to check out our social media to keep track of the latest content.

Instagram - @qatarliving

Twitter - @qatarliving

Facebook - Qatar Living

Source: QNA