UN delegation to visit Qatar to report on Saudi-led blockade's impact

A United Nations delegation will visit Qatar to report on the impact of a blockade imposed by a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries, Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Chairman said.

Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the UN's high commissioner for human rights will soon send representatives to Doha to write a "critical" report on the effects of the economic standoff to present to the Human Rights Council.

Marri added that during meetings with United States Congressmen this week he felt "strong resentment" towards civilians being impacted by the diplomatic crisis.

"Many circles in the US have told the NHRC that they believe the claims of the blockading countries are allegations," Marri said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremists and being too close to Iran.

Riyadh and its supporters severed air and sea links with Qatar and closed its only land border, cutting off vital routes for imports including food.

Doha has denied the charges.

The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, said in June that the Saudi-led bloc was violating people's human rights by threatening to jail or fine them for expressing sympathy for Qatar.

On Wednesday, Marri underlined the urgent need to put an end to the blockade during his meeting with US officials, the official QNA news agency reported.

During Marri's meeting with the two US representatives, Republican Congressmen Trent Franks and Gus Bilirakis, he urged them to condemn the blockade against Qatar and to take the appropriate measures to help lift it.