KUWAIT CITY, Oct 30: Participants at a workshop on “Human Rights Activities” organized by the Bridge Building Establishment, and Al-Salam Strategic Studies and Development Center in Kuwait, called for activation of the role of civil society organizations to improve the culture of human rights in the Gulf region, reports Al-Seyassah daily.
The four-day workshop was in two parts, and the first involved educational programs which took place Thursday and Friday, while the second part involved two days of round table discussions on the “United Nations Tool for Human Rights Protection, the Internet and Human Rights”.
The Chairperson of Al-Salam Center and professor of political sciences at Kuwait University Dr Ghanim Al-Najjar said people do not respect human rights issues in most cases. He lamented over the extent of harm done to human rights after the September 11 tragedy, in the pretext of fighting terrorism.
He stressed that human rights has link with human beings and it is impossible stripping humans of their rights. He noted human beings are born free, so freedom is the basic right for every human being. Al-Najjar complained about the continuous detention of people at the Guantanamo Bay Prisons, instead of trying them in court to allow justice prevail.
On his part, Dutch Ambassador to Kuwait Ton Buck Oxy affirmed the governments and civil society organizations are following up the human rights issue, and so dialogue is the right manner to exchange ideas and opinions. He stressed the search is ongoing for economic comfort and combined effort to strengthen human rights.
In the meantime, the Director of Bridge Building Establishment Ja’afar Al-Shayeb stated that significant developments and transformation is taking place across the globe, while the Gulf region still lives in isolation. He called for active participation of the Gulf region in the change.