The UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) concluded its work today in the Swiss capital Geneva after considering the complaint filed by the State of Qatar against Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The Qatari complaint included accusations that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates violated international obligations through measures taken by the two countries in the framework of the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar and targeted individuals and citizens solely on the basis of their nationality or belonging to Qatar.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the UAE delegation denied harming Qataris, and that the Abu Dhabi delegation used the words "support Doha" for terrorism repeatedly before the UN Commission.
The UAE side was represented by Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Hamdan al-Naqbi. The Qatari side was represented by a state prosecutor before the International Court of Justice, Mohammed al-Khulaifi.
At the beginning of the session, the UN Committee heard the delegation of the UAE, and the floor was referred to the Qatari delegation. Each delegation was given 45 minutes to present its proposal.
Qatar's complaint is the first to be considered by the UN Committee since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1962 against another country.
Court of Justice
On July 23, 2018, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a binding resolution requiring the UAE to reunite Qatari Emirati families pending a final judgment in Qatar's case against the UAE for violations of the blockade.
Qatari courts in the UAE have been forced to leave their homes without being able to return, the court said. The court also ordered Abu Dhabi to allow Qatari students studying in the UAE before the blockade to go back to study if they wanted to, or to obtain their school records.
The court also called on the UAE to allow those affected by its proceedings to resort to UAE courts.