AFHR rejects Qatar’s labeling of boycott as blockade

Geneva, July 1 (BNA): The Arab Federation for Human Rights (AFHR) has condemned a continuation of the Qatari government and its official institutions to label the boycott imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt as a "blockade". A report by AFHR said that in accordance with the provisions of International Law, an embargo is defined as a coercive measure taken against a state by a decision of the UN Security Council, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations imposing with a military force However, a boycott, AFHR’s report explained, is totally different. It is a withdrawal of diplomatic and economic relations by a state or group of states with another state. A boycott is a sovereign right of all countries to establish or sever diplomatic ties with any country in case the latter seeks to stir unrest and insecurity amongst the international community. Accordingly, Qatar’s description of its boycott as a “blockade” is not justifiable. Therefore, this legal ignorance characterised in the Qatar National Human Rights Committee’s report regarding the distinction between a boycott and a blockade lacks objectivity and aims merely to gain international sympathy where the European Union (EU) rejects describing the current measures taken as a blockade and continues to demand that Qatar commits itself to combating terrorism. The Russian government has also adopted the same position. The report pointed out that the Senior Official at the US Treasury Department, Adam Zubin, stated “Qatar has shown a lack of political will to implement anti-terrorist financing laws effectively” which was supported by Daniel Glaser, former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Department, who said that “the designated terrorist financiers are openly and publicly engaged in the State of Qatar.”