AFHR stresses need to protect human security

In its first side-event at the 33rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at the Palace of Nations, Geneva, the Arab Federation for Human Rights(AFHR) addressed Terrorism and Human Security in the Middle East Region. The objective of the event was to examine the enormous impact terrorism has on human security and the serious impact upon human rights.
The event heard from four experts in the field, Dr. Hadi Alyami, Chairman of the Arab Human Rights Committee, Dr. Richard Burchill, Director of Research and Engagement at TRENDS Research and Advisory, Dr. Wesam Bassindwoah, President of the Arab Initiative for Education & Development, and Dr. Eissa Al-Arabi, Secretary General of the Arab Federation for Human Rights. The audience has consisted of international organizations, Western and regional NGOs, as well as activists and specialists interested in human rights issues in the Arab and Middle Eastern region.
The Federation concluded from the event there exists an urgent need for joint plans and strategies between civil society, international organizations, and governments to effectively address the threat of terrorism to ensure human security can be realized.
Further, Dr. Burchill stated the importance to address the problem of individual States pursuing isolated agendas to address terrorism. He explained the need for States to openly work together and cooperate as a global community against these dreadful acts.
According to Dr. Wesam, Terrorism is not only limited to terrorist operations, but also includes, bigotry, incitement, defamation, and slander. Dr. Wesam underlines, "Today's acts of terrorism such as, sectarian incitement arise from groups that emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood, and from a neighbor state that merely incites sectarian violence and intolerance." Moreover, Dr. Hadi Alyami reinforced this message by saying, "Iran is behind managing all sectarian incitement in the region, thus, targeting Arab countries precisely," clearly threatening human security.
He further explained how Iran is actively pursuing these actions bringing about significant unrest to the region as human security is threatened by Iran's actions. He also highlighted the damage caused by groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood who are exploiting religion for the pursuit of extremist agendas and influencing violent terrorist actions across the region.
The event organized by the Arab Federation for Human Rights, and were attended by various International Organizations, Western NGOs, and activists concerned with Human Rights issues in the Middle East, noticeably showed immense interaction and involvement by the audience on the topics discussed by the panel.
Conclusively, the event highlighted the sources of extremism and terrorist actions in the Middle East region and its impact on human security in the region, and all speakers confirmed the urgent need to confront all types of extremist behavior in order to protect human security in our societies.