HE Secretary-General of the Arab Interior Ministers Council Mohammed bin Ali Koman stressed Monday the importance of respecting human rights and the rule of law during times of conflict and when fighting against terrorism.
Koman was speaking at the opening session of the International Conference on Human Rights Approach to Conflict Situations in the Arab Region. He said that he understood the responsibility Arab countries have in protecting its citizens from terrorist threats. He stressed however that countering terrorism must take place while respecting the law and human rights.
He said that the conference comes at a crucial time as the Arab world is entrenched in conflicts and tensions, which led to a rise in human rights violations.
He noted that there were a number of Arab countries suffering from civil wars, with fighters from across the globe joining the fights. He added that those countries have become the subject of intervention from regional and international forces. Koman noted that the people were the biggest losers in that situation given they were subjected to murder and displacement.
The secretary-general said that armed groups have made use of the political turmoil and social tensions to carry out their monstrous attacks in those countries. This has distracted security apparatuses from pursuing their other roles such as fighting drug and human trafficking.
He then discussed the efforts of the council in promoting human rights. He said that the council hosts an annual conference on human rights for Arab countries to ensure their commitment to the matter when pursuing their respective security agenda. The council also works on unifying the human rights standards among the member countries, Koman added.
Koman praised the efforts exerted by the State of Qatar in promoting human rights and supporting peace and security. He said that the State of Qatar has been keenness on enhancing all efforts aiming at promoting human rights and on contributing to solving regional and international conflicts, hailing Qatar's remarkable accomplishments in all fields.

Source: QNA