Doha:  The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) described the statement issued Thursday by the UAE Foreign Ministry, in which the UAE authorities claim that they have not taken any administrative or legal measures to deport Qatari nationals from the UAE since June 5, 2017, as misleading and containing many obvious fallacies meant to escape the legal responsibilities resulting from the violations committed by the UAE authorities since the beginning of the siege.

In a statement issued today, NHRC emphasized that the Emirati foreign ministry statement is a desperate attempt by the UAE authorities to improve its image before the world public opinion and the international and regional human rights organizations which have unequivocally condemned the actions and arbitrary decisions of the UAE that have resulted in gross violations of human rights.

The NHRC reminded that the UAE authorities, since the beginning of the siege on Qatar on 5 June 2017, ordered the expulsion of Qatari citizens from its territory and the return of its citizens from Qatar within 14 days, and imposed a sudden restriction on travel for all with total disregard to humanitarian cases. This was confirmed in the reports issued by international organizations and some parliamentary delegations that visited the State of Qatar after the beginning of the siege and documented by the NHRC in its successive reports on hundreds of cases that were expelled by the UAE authorities without consideration to the humanitarian and rights aspects, such as common families, students, property owners, persons with disabilities and patients receiving treatment there, in flagrant violation of the provisions of international human rights instruments.

The NHRC pointed to what it has highlighted in its previous statements including its June 11, 2017 statement on considering humanitarian situations of the common families, June 26, 2017 statement on the violation of the right of Qatari students in UAE universities and its July 20, 2017 statement the violation of the right to private property of Qatari nationals in the UAE in addition to its communications on 15 and 23 October 2017 to the competent UAE human rights authorities, calling for the cooperation of the parties mentioned in order to remove the damage from the victims, without finding any response from those parties.

The Committee said that the statement issued by the UAE Foreign Ministry confirms that the UAE authorities continue to procrastinate and mislead the international community instead of finding urgent solutions to the humanitarian tragedies caused by the siege.

NHRC expressed deep concern over the UAE authorities’ ongoing prevention of Qatar’s citizens and residents to enter the UAE territories, not allowing them to exercise their rights on their private property, preventing joint families from visiting, violation of the right of Qatari students and recipients of medical treatment without justification or legal reason in addition to not enabling those affected to exercise their right to litigation and recourse to national courts in the UAE.

In its statement, the NHRC affirmed that it would spare no effort in putting the accountability of the UAE authorities in all international forums, pointing that international organizations and organizations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Parliament, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned racist violations and discriminatory practices by UAE authorities against Qatar’s citizens and residents.

The NHRC called upon the international community to take decisive and deterrent punitive measures against the UAE authorities to lift the injustice from the victims.