Complaint over Ghufran tribe violations presented to UNHCR

The Arab Federation for Human Rights (AFHR) presented the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCR) a complaint against Qatar’s violation of the Ghufran tribe and its members.

Ahmed al-Hamli, head of the Arab Federation, presented the complaint to Mohamed Ali Nisour, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Division at the UNHCR during a meeting at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Nisour said that UNHCR is interested in the issue of withdrawal of nationalities and the Gulf region in general.

"We, as an Arab organization, are interested in protecting the rights of every Arab citizen as part of our endeavor to spread and promote a culture of human rights in our Arab world," al-Hamli said.

الهاملي

The complaint detailed how in 1996 Qatari authorities arrested and detained many members of the Ghufran tribe. It stated that the brutal methods used to torture the vicims led in some cases to memory loss and psychological disorders.

It further stated that in 2000, the Qatari government began to revoke nationalities from tribe members and deported them to neighboring countries preventing any chance for their return to their homeland.

In 2005, the complaint added, Qatari authorities ordered the withdrawal of the citizenships of 6,000 tribe members including women and children.

The tribe members appealed in the complaint to the UNHCR to help them attain their rights.

It also called for the need to take action against persons involved torture and humiliation acts for the members held in detention.