Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has said the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation’s statement claiming that no administrative or legal measures were taken to deport Qatari citizens from the UAE since June 5 last year was thoroughly misleading.

The NHRC said the statement was issued with the aim of avoiding legal and human responsibilities resulting from the violations carried out by the UAE authorities since the beginning of the blockade, according to Gulf Times. 

The NHRC emphasised that the Emirati foreign ministry’s statement was a desperate attempt to improve its image before the world and international and regional human rights organisations which have unequivocally condemned their actions.

The NHRC reminded that the UAE authorities, since the beginning of the illegal siege, had ordered the expulsion of Qatari citizens from its territory and the return of its citizens from Qatar within 14 days.
It had also imposed a sudden restriction on travel for all with total disregard to humanitarian cases, according to The Peninsula.

This had been confirmed in reports issued by international organisations and some parliamentary delegations that visited Qatar after the imposition of the siege.

The NHRC, in its successive reports, documented hundreds of cases where people were expelled by the UAE authorities without consideration of their human rights.

The NHRC said the UAE’s statement confirms that authorities continue to procrastinate and mislead the international community instead of finding urgent solutions to the humanitarian tragedies caused by the siege, reported Qatar Tribune.

The NHRC also called on the international community to take decisive punitive measures against the UAE authorities in order that the injustice is stopped.