Arab Parliament Urges Arab States to Abide by Arab Charter on Human Rights

On Tuesday, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament (AP) H.E. Adel Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Al Asoomi emphasized the importance of Arab states' fulfilment to their obligations to submit their periodic reports to the Charter Committee in a timely manner, and follow-up to the implementation of the Charter Committee’s relevant recommendations.

During his participation in the Arab Human Rights Committee meeting, Al Asoomi stressed the necessary of reviewing and updating national legislations to bring it into line with the provisions of the Charter, noting that this represents the most effective and practical response to some politicized and suspicious reports aimed at interfering in the internal affairs of Arab States under the pretext of protecting human rights.

The Speaker called to strengthen Joint Arab Action in the promotion of human rights, and reiterated the call on all Arab States to promptly accede to the Statute of the Arab Court of Human Rights, so that it can begin its work at the earliest, as an important and pivotal mechanism for strengthening the Arab system for human rights.

The meeting was also devoted to the discussion of the first national report submitted by the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, pursuant to the provisions of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which represents an important Arab mechanism for strengthening Arab States’ efforts in the field of implementation, enforcement and protection of human rights, as well as one of the international instruments for the protection, recognition and guarantee of human rights and freedoms.

In his address to the opening of this meeting, the AP Speaker stressed the need for human rights assessment to be conducted according to professional disciplines based on recognized international standards far from the faulty approach adopted by some parties in dealing with the situation on human rights, adding that the Arab Sates have the capacity and mechanisms to evaluate and self-develop this system free from any external intervention.

In his speech, Al Asoomi underlined that the upgrading of the Arab human rights system is receiving considerable attention within the AP’s current strategy, and called for achieving the desired complementary between governmental and parliamentary action in this field, through the significant role of the Arab Human Rights Committee and the role of the Arab Observatory for Human Rights of the Arab Parliament.