The second meeting of the human rights working group between Qatar and the European External Action Service (EEAS) was held in the Belgium capital yesterday.
The Qatari delegation to the meeting was chaired by Sheikh Mohamed bin Yousef bin Jassim al-Thani, deputy director, the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the European side was headed by Gabriel Munuera Vinals, director, Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Regional Policies Division at the EEAS.
The meeting dealt with developments in the human rights situation in Qatar and the European Union.
The deputy director presented the new legislations adopted by Qatar in the field of human rights, especially with regard to the rights of expatriate workers.
For its part, the European side praised the abolition of ‘kafala’ or sponsorship system in Qatar, making it the first Gulf country to take this measure.
The meeting focused also on the rights of women and children, the necessity of providing education and health care, and Qatar’s endeavour through various initiatives such as education above all to provide assistance to marginalised and vulnerable groups, especially in conflict areas.
The two sides agreed to continue to work together to benefit from human rights experiences, and to hold the third meeting of the working group in Doha
in 2020.
Source:gulf-times.com
