Lecture: ‘A talk with H.E. Sheikha Hissa Al Thani’
UPDATE 22.02.2017: Please note that this lecture is cancelled and will be scheduled on a later date.
Lecture: ‘A talk with H.E. Sheikha Hissa Al Thani’
Friday 24 February, 13h30 – 14h30 at GSD De Sales, Kennedy Room
Key-note speaker: H.E. Sheikha Hissa Al Thani, Member of the Royal Family of Qatar, Special Envoy to Secretary General of the League of Arab States for Humanitarian Affairs from March 2013 to the present.
Her duties include:
- carrying out field visits to refugees camps wherever they are and as needed;
- conducting rapid assessment research and providing information on the prevailing humanitarian conditions;
- raising awareness about and advocating for the rights and needs of civilians in refugee camps across the region;
- using traditional media, social media and documentaries to raise awareness of the humanitarian conditions;
- urging concerned relief, humanitarian, medical and charitable organizations to collaborate in order to meet the demands of the growing humanitarian crisis.
From 2003 to 2005, she was United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disability. Her mandate was renewed in 2005 until 2009. Throughout her mandate, Ms Al Thani held equality, social justice and human rights as the focal point of all her activities. Her mandate coincided with the negotiations of the groundbreaking United Nations Conventions for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and she supported and advocated for disability organizations during the negotiation process until the signing of the Convention.
Her duties included:
- Monitoring, ensuring and furthering the implementation of the Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities;
- Advocating for and raising awareness of the rights and issues of persons with disabilities worldwide;
- Conducting research: Her office conducted and published the first comprehensive global survey on the situation of persons with disabilities;
- Using media to raise awareness: Her office commissioned short public education films and songs with a universal appeal, as well as popular Arabic drama to raise awareness across cultures and geographical areas worldwide.
- Carrying out field visits to in more than 40 countries across the globe to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities with their government officials and encourage communication between disability organizations and government officials.During the last two years of her mandate, Ms Al Thani focused world attention on war and armed conflict as a major cause of disability, and highlighted the additional difficulties persons with disabilities. In that context she launched an International Campaign on War and Disability and conducted two unprecedented field visits to Darfur and Gaza to assess the situation of and advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities in conditions of war and armed conflicts.
Prior to her appointment as UN Special Rapporteur on Disability,
- Deputy Director of the Office of Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al Misnid; Doha, Qatar
- Member of the committee that established the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs; Doha Qatar
- Member of the Committee that drafted National Law 2004 for People with Special Needs; Doha, Qatar
- Head of the International Relations Division at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs: Doha, Qatar
- Head of the Department of Media, Public Relations and International Cooperation of the National Committee for Human Rights; Doha, Qatar
- Member of the Arab Council of Childhood, a regional organizations
- Good Will Ambassador for Qatar Charity Organization
- Member in a number of human rights and women’s rights organizations throughout the Arab region
- She had also been instrumental in initiating activities and programmes on various issues relating to marginalized groups in societies in the Arab region.
- In addition to her various memberships and board/advisory positions on disability-related organizations and institutions internationally
She was honoured at:
- Jenadriyah Festival, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2010, as one of the distinguished people working in humanitarian and development domain
- Ajman, United Arab Emirates, 2010, for her work in humanitarian and social service domains
Ms. Al Thani’s work is driven by her belief in the principles of human rights, equality and justice for all.
