- Anti-terror quartet changes tack in bid to stop the spread of Islamic extremism
GENEVA: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt called on Qatar to stop funding terrorist groups and respect the rights of migrant workers on Wednesday.
The plea came in speeches delivered by the three countries before the UN Human Rights Council at a meeting in Geneva to review the human rights situation in the Gulf state.
In its speech, Saudi Arabia called upon Qatar to take the necessary measures to stop financing terrorist groups and to take steps not to allow media platforms to spread fanaticism.
Saudi Arabia also called for the removal of obstacles that currently hinder Qatari citizens and expatriates working in Qatar from performing Hajj and Umrah.
Saudi Arabia expressed deep concern over the tragic humanitarian situation of hundreds of Qatari Al-Ghufran clan members, after the Qatari government withdrew citizenship from hundreds of families, confiscated property and displaced them from their homes.
Bahrain called on Doha to remove barriers to justice for migrant workers, to ensure their protection from abuse and exploitation, to punish offenders who flout these regulations, and to ensure that migrants receive wages on time. It also called on Qatar to implement reforms to prevent forced labor, and to fully implement the National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, ensuring that victims of forced labor and trafficking receive justice.
Egypt echoed Saudi Arabia, and called on Qatar to stop providing financial support to terrorists, including allowing media platforms that disseminate hate speech and justify violence or incitement to it to operate under its protection.
Cairo asked Doha to end all arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances against a number of its own nationals, to commit to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families, and to adopt legislation to combat violence against women, especially migrants.