A child from Al-Ghufran tribe tells Sky News Arabia about violations seen at hands of Qatari regime

GENEVA – 24 September 2018: In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Mohamed Al-Ghufrani, a child from the Al-Ghufran tribe in Qatar, spoke of the human rights violations he, and his tribe, have seen at the hands of the Qatari regime.

The 13 years old was born in a hospital in Qatar, and went to Geneva to present his case and that of his fellow brothers and sisters in the tribe to the UN.

“I came her to Geneva to try to restore my nationality and to pursue my human rights. … I do not know what I did to have my nationality stripped away when I was only one or two months old.”

“We want to live the rest of our lives in Qatar, that is every Ghufrani child’s dream,” said the child.

The child, who had the chance of living in his country taken away by force, said that he wished to grow old in his country to have the right to stay in his nation, his country, Qatar.

“I wish to return to my country and enjoy my right as a citizen,” he said.

Commenting on this, his father said in the video, “I fear that my son will not have the chance to see his nation, to grow in it; I wish for him to have the chance to live there.”



Previously, during a press conference held September 20, titled, ‘Qatar: How to protect the Al-Ghufran tribe?’, in Clube suisse de la presse, on the margins of the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the child said, “My nationality was revoked when I was younger than a year,” and presented his passport, along with that of his father and grandfather.

“I did not have the right to grow up in my country, I was not given the right to stay in my nation. I could not be in my country. I wish to return to my country and enjoy my right as a citizen.”

Similarly, on September 17, the child spoke during the a meeting that saw the tribe submitting a complaint to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, regarding the systemic discrimination they are suffering at the hands of the Qatari authorities.

The child, who looks no older than 15 years of age, started his speech by saying, “I am Mohamed Bin Gazer…, small is age but old enough in my demands to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.”

The child, who spoke elegantly and brought the room to a near standstill, went on to say that he wishes for his, and all the tribe members’, return “home”.

He heartbreakingly spoke of the difficulty he and others face by having to stay away from their home, from their country, and wished that he would have his Qatari citizenship back and that he could return home; a place he feels emotionally attached to.

“All I demand in front of the UN Commisioner and the office of human rights, as well as all international human rights organizations, is that they help me to return my citizenship. I repeat my demand: All that I wish for is the return of my citizenship,” the child spoke.

He continued to urge Qatari human rights organizations to help the tribe out, reminding them that Qatar signed the International Convention of Human Rights in 1995.

“All that I wish for is to live with dignity in Qatar.”

“I want to end with a line from a famous poem: “My Country is dear even if it oppresses me … my family is precious even if they disavow me.”

On September 17, delegation had met with Chief of Middle East and North Africa Section. UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights Mohammad Al-Nsour, when the latter received a letter from the tribe summing up the violations that they have faced since 1996.

The letter asked the UN office to stop Qatari authorities’ continuous, systematic discrimination against them, and to protect the tribe’s members, restore their lost rights and to punish the Qatari regime for human rights violations.

The letter also revealed that the authorities are well aware of the violations occurring, “We assure you that the Qatari authorities, ranging from the Emir of Qatar, the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, the President of the National Committee for Human Rights, senior security officials and dignitaries, are aware of the discrimination members of Al Ghofran clan are subjected to and those senior officials are deeply involved in this crime,” the delegation stated, continuing, “Qatar officials are working to hide his crime from the eyes of international justice and human rights organizations, and the deliberately intimidate those trying from within Qatar to raise complaints to International bodies and human rights organizations.”

Fearing for their lives and their ability to voice their opinions or “demand their rights through the National Human Rights Committee in Doha” due to security personnel traching and monitoring their actions, which they say they have evidence off, the delegation spoke of the evidence they have of Qatari authorities treating their people with the utmost levels of brutality and monstrosity.

As part of their on-going efforts to restore their legitimate rights, on September 21, during a seminar titled ‘Human Rights in Qatar’, the delegation also called on Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to take serious steps in addressing and documenting the human rights violations that were committed against the tribe, and to present them in front of the international community to hold Qatar accountable.

The delegation explained that they only resorted to international organizations after years of being ignored and omitted by their government, the government of Qatar, and after they realized that the Qatari Human Rights Council is in cahoots with the regime.

During said seminar, Gaber Saleh Al-Ghufrani, a member of the Al-Ghufran tribe, called on the people of Qatar, for support said, “We call on the elders of the honourable Al-Thani family and to the generous and righteous people of Qatar and to the Al Murrah tribe, known for their nobility and chivalry. We call on you as your brothers, young and old, elders and children, men and women, inside and outside Qatar, and we appeal to your proud Arab origin after the Qatari government has let us down and accused us of untrue claims and stropped us of our rights.”

He went on to plead his and his tribe’s case to the people of Qatar, “We have been subjected to much injustice and humiliation in our homeland from those who, unfortunately, we thought to be virtuous. We have been discriminated against in the most painful of ways, ones that would shock human consciousness; they have stripped us of our dignity, in way that you know and others that you do not know.”

Adding, “We did not choose to go to the United Nations and to the international human rights organizations except after the government of our country closed all ways of appeal and did not engage or listen to our demands that we had submitted to the relevant authorities such as the Ministry of the Interior and the National Human Rights Commission of Qatar.”

Along the same lines, Mohamed Saleh Al-Ghofzani called on the National Committee for Human Rights in Qatar to stop turning a blind eye to the regime's violations of the right of Al-Ghufran tribe and to document and declare said violations; which he describes to be, violations of all basic international norms, conventions and treaties.

Similarly, Hamad Khaled Al-Ghufrani explained that although the Qatari law states that indigenous people who have settled in Qatar since 1940 cannot have their nationality stripped—a law that applies to them, they have had their nationality stripped, faced forced displacement and have had the most basic services taken away from them: Education, healthcare and other public services.

“Even those who suffer from chronic illnesses of other illnesses, including my son who suffers from autism, were left untreated by Qatar, “ Al Ghufrani stated.

The OHCHR, which implements the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, “carries out a range of country specific and regional activities to advance the rights of indigenous peoples. It provides support for legislative initiatives and pursues thematic work on issues such as extractive industries and on the rights of isolated indigenous peoples,” as per the OHCHR’s website.

“In addition, the Office assists the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, and provides secretariat support to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the organisation of its annual sessions.”

Exhibiting their case to the world

On September 19, Al-Ghufran, staged a sit- in front of the Broken Chair, which stands across the United Nations Palace in Geneva, to denounce the crimes of the Qatari regime who has revoked their nationality, displaced and tortured members of the tribe.

The tribe called on the international community to take a decisive stand on the Tamim regime, whom, they claim, have violated a number of international conventions and treaties through its racist policy against the Al-Ghufran tribe.

Created by Daniel Berset, the Broken Chair simpolises the struggeles of mine victims.

The delegation also held a protest on September 18, to urge the United Nations to investigate the Qatar regimes’ crimes against humanity, including stripping them of Qatari nationality

“Our issue with the Qatar regime is purely humanitarian and not political, this is why we came here to present our case and our demands to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Our demands are clear: The Qatar regime should be held accountale for the crimes that it has committed against us and other Qataris, and the restoration of our rights,” Hamad Khaled Al-Marri, a member of the tribe, who took part in the stand, stated.


Qatari tribe Al-Ghufran declared that 6,000 of its members were forcibly displaced after the Qatari regime deprived them of their Qatari nationality and their national rights. - Egypt Today


The tribe representatives had previously submitted a complaint to the Commissioner on September 21, 2017 - Egypt Today


Al-Ghufran Tribe delegation submits petition on Qatari human rights violation to UNHRC - Egypt Today


Al-Ghufran Tribe delegation submits petition on Qatari human rights violation to UNHRC - Egypt Today



Al-Ghufran Tribe delegation submits petition on Qatari human rights violation to UNHRC - Egypt Today


A delegation representing Al-Ghufran tribe, one of the biggest tribes in Qatar, handed a letter to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, discussing their deteriorating situation. - Egypt Today


Members of the delegation in Geneva - Egypt Today


Al-Ghufran Tribe delegation submits petition on Qatari human rights violation to UNHRC - Egypt Today


The tribe asked the UN office to stop Qatari authorities’ continuous, systematic discrimination against them, and to protect the tribe’s members, restore their lost rights and to punish the Qatari regime for human rights violations. - Egypt Today


Al-Ghufran tribe asked the UN office to stop Qatari authorities’ continuous, systematic discrimination against them, and to protect the tribe’s members, restore their lost rights and to punish the Qatari regime for human rights violations. - Egypt Today