GCC Secretary General Affirms Council’s Commitment to Promoting Human Rights and Protecting Basic Rights

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi underlined that the leaders of the GCC countries attach great importance to human rights by protecting basic rights and ensuring economic, social and cultural rights, a press release from the GCC General Secretariat said.
These remarks were made during Albudaiwi’s participation in the 23rd session of the Independent Permanent Commission for Human Rights of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held on June 30, 2024, in Jeddah.
In his speech, Albudaiwi highlighted some aspects of cooperation between the GCC and the OIC in the field of protecting human rights, which derive from the noble values of the Islamic religion. Specifically, he highlighted the signing of a cooperation agreement in 2008 to strengthen bilateral relations and combat terrorism, occupation, and Zionism.
Additionally, he mentioned signing an executive work program for 2021-2022 aimed at coordinating efforts and consultation in areas such as human rights, continuous political coordination to resolve crises and conflicts in the Islamic world, and cooperation in international forums.
Albudaiwi also stated that cultural, media, and human rights cooperation between the GCC and the OIC focuses on combating hatred and intolerance and spreading a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
During his speech, the Secretary-General praised the prominent role played by the OIC in the field of human rights since its founding in 1969, stressing that this was embodied in the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in 1990, which affirmed the commitment to protecting human rights following tolerant Islamic Sharia.
Furthermore, Albudaiwi expressed the GCC General Secretariat’s aspiration to establish a Memorandum of Understanding between its Human Rights Office and the OIC. This MoU aims to formalize cooperation, align interests, and foster collaboration between entities.
Albudaiwi also praised the independent and integral role of the OIC’s Independent Permanent Commission for Human Rights and its work to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. He also expressed his aspiration to sign an MoU to enhance cooperation between the Commission and the Human Rights Office of the GCC General Secretariat.
Moreover, he stated that the GCC countries are concerned with issues related to combating discrimination, empowering women, and protecting children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. He reiterated the Cooperation Council’s belief in the values of tolerance, coexistence, and human rights and its keenness to consolidate them through legal and legislative frameworks as well as specific initiatives.
Albudaiwi also highlighted the current and future challenges to human rights, stating that these challenges represent a threat to our countries. He mentioned that some countries and organizations are trying to impose agendas unrelated to human rights, and the rapid development of technology, such as artificial intelligence, impacts privacy and digital rights.
In this regard, Albudaiwi stressed that it has become necessary for all of us to combine our efforts to confront these challenges, including moving quickly to enact appropriate legislation to achieve a reasonable and fair balance between protecting rights and technological progress.
At the conclusion of his speech, Albudaiwi pointed to the crimes that continuously violate human rights and international human rights law committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people on a daily and systematic basis, especially what is happening in the Gaza Strip. He reiterated that these crimes have exposed the weakness of the international community and its failure to deal with it and protect the rights of those who are in dire need of protection of their human rights.
Albudaiwi also said that all international agreements, instruments, and treaties related to human rights had become mere ink on paper. Those principles and values have become empty slogans used unjustly, calling on international officials concerned with this matter to convey the true picture of what is happening on the ground in the Palestinian territories and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable for their actions and their consequences.
He added that it is crucial to say that there is indeed an international law to protect human rights, which works effectively, is impartial and is fair. It guarantees and preserves the rights of those whose rights are being violated and holds those responsible for this violation accountable.