Iraq in focus at Arab Human Rights Committee

Cairo: The UAE is participating in the sixth session of the Arab Human Rights Committee, dedicated to discuss the human rights situation in Iraq.

Dr Abdul Rahim Yousuf Al Awadi, Assistant Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs and member of the committee, is representing the UAE in the two-day meeting.

Dr Hadi Al Yami of Saudi Arabia, who chairs the meeting, said Iraq was keen to present its first human rights report in time despite the challenging political and security situation there. The move, he stressed, underscored Iraq’s commitment to the Arab Charter on Human Rights.

On his part, Mahdi Ameen Al Bayati, the Iraqi Minister of Human Rights, told the gathering that the human rights situation remained a matter of grave concern in the country after long years of large-scale and flagrant violations of human rights.

The minister reviewed the tremendous challenges that Iraq has been facing since 2003 as a result of the rise of terrorist groups.