Led by the OHRC Chairman, Dr. Rashid bin Hamad Al-Balushi, the OHRC delegation concluded its engagement in the International Conference on “Food Justice from a Human Rights Perspective” in Doha, Qatar. The event was hosted under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar. The Conference was organized by the National Human Rights Committee “NHRC” in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Office, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the League of Arab States (LAS).
The objectives of the conference include the establishment of a global forum for dialogue, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experiences. This is in addition to capacity building, the review of food justice legislation, policies, plans, and programs, as well as the development of frameworks and foundations tailored for practitioners in the fields of food and human rights. On the second day of the conference, the OHRC Chairman, presided over the third session. Additionally, he delivered a working paper addressing the roles of NHRIs, non-governmental organizations, civil society, and stakeholders in upholding the right to food and food justice through a human rights-based approach.
The paper also highlighted the OHRC collaboration with contractual, non-contractual, and regional mechanisms, emphasizing the OHRC evolution through activities such as monitoring, documentation, and report writing. Within his paper, the OHRC Chairman underscored that the OHRC diligently monitored the Sultanate of Oman’s endeavors in advancing the right to food. The Sultanate secured the third position in the Arab world according to the 2022 World Food Security Index report, published by the British Economist magazine in 2023. Furthermore, the OHRC observed the enhancement of the food security system over recent years, manifested through the establishment and inauguration of numerous projects spanning agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and water resources sectors.
The OHRC delegation of the Committee included Lawyer Maimouna bint Saeed Al-Sulaimaniya, an OHRC member Suleiman bin Saif Al-Kindi, an OHRC member, Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Saadi, an OHRC member, and Ahmed bin Nasser Al-Rashidi, Director of the Monitoring and Receiving Communications Department at the OHRC.
