qatarperegrine | Qatar human rights report

This week, Qatar's National Human Rights Committee released their first major report, which is shockingly candid about human rights abuses in Qatar -- abuses which the report warns "impair the reputation of the State at the international level." I haven't found the report itself online, but I've read an extensive news article about it (linked to below); here are the highlights.

Qatar's main human rights abuses

Workers' rights
Workers' rights are in such a shambles (particularly in the construction, excavation and concrete industries) that the Committee refers to expat workers' condition as "one of the contemporary forms of slavery." The most egregious problems include:

"arbitrary" and unfair laws regarding work visas. (Currently, expatriate workers depend on their employers to obtain and renew their visas. They (we) do not have the right to move from one job to another and are deported as soon as the job ends. This leaves workers at the mercy of their employers for their length of stay in Qatar.)
rampant abuse, including "long hours, beatings, detention, and sometimes sexual harassment, and sometimes rape."
poor living conditions (housing, food).
physical labor in high temperatures and humidity, which coupled with inadequate health care leads to many injuries.
workers' inability to complain about conditions for fear of reprisal, even if they're represented by a Working Group. Workers are generally powerless in relation to their employers: "In the event of any dispute between the employer ... the worker would find themselves without work, without a salary, without a passport, ... [unable] to exercise their right to move from one job or another, or even the right to return to their homeland."
the situation of domestic workers (maids and nannies), who (in addition to facing the above difficulties) are also susceptible to 16-hour work days and seven-day work weeks, physical and sexual violence and forced prostitution. There is no regulatory oversight of their conditions, and the new Labor Code protecting other expat workers does not apply to them.

Women's rights
The committee states that "we still need effective and serious moves to eliminate all remaining forms of discrimination against women and the achievement of full equality and the recognition of full citizenship for women." Currently women do not have legal equality to men in the following areas:

freedom of travel and movement.
citizenship (women can't pass citizenship to their husbands or children).
employment, particularly in equal pay for equal work.
allocation of land and housing allowances.
custody disputes.

Political freedoms
While commending the advancement of political freedoms under the new Constitution, the Committee decried:

the "large number of inmates, men and women" detained "without legal justification" as a result of Law No. 17 of 2002 and Law No. 3 of 2004 (which allow detention without charges for up to a year and indefinitely, respectively). These laws, which the Committee calls "a violation of the right to liberty and security of person," have been invoked more frequently since the Doha Players bombing and subsequent crackdown.
unacceptable prison conditions, particularly in terms of parole and medical release, overcrowding, and prison food.
excessive wait time for trial, particularly in labor cases. Laborers often spend over a year in detention waiting for their case to be heard, and must pay QR 300-500 in legal fees; both of these situations are in blatant contravention of the new Labor Law.
the expatriation of approximately 5,000 citizens in Dec. 2004, in violation of international standards of human rights.
self-censorship in journalism and the media, particularly on "domestic issues, especially on the subject of nationality, and the issues of workers, and the system of [exit visas], [legal bookings], and the victims of child jockeys, domestic workers and other topics."
the "many restrictions on the exercise of the right to organize," particularly the restriction of "private and professional associations" through Law No. 12 of 2004.

The Committee also said it "looked forward to the issuance of [a] law" guaranteeing "exercise of political rights." Way diplomatic, guys.

Economic and social rights
The new Constitution's solid protections of economic and social rights are marred by:

"the absence of a system of unemployment insurance."
the absence of a health insurance system.
the "near-lack of health care within the department of psychiatry and confusion between cases of illness and the psychological situations of mental illness," which violate the right to adequate health care. (AMEN!)
lack of public support or accessibility for the disabled (e.g. university education for deaf students)
insufficient Social Security for the elderly ($1125/mo., not indexed to inflation)

Recommendations

The Committee recommends "a comprehensive national plan to improve human rights in the State of Qatar," including:

accession to various international human rights treaties.
"a review and modification of the national legislation and consistent with international conventions on human rights."
reform of penal institutions consistent with a goal of "reform and rehabilitation."
initiatives to promote freedom of expression, reduce self-censorship, support Al Jazeera, and "support ... the right of access to information and freedom of scientific research and freedom of knowledge and the Internet." (Yay!)
the encouragement of civil society through "abolition of all restrictions on the establishment of private associations and professional societies."
reforms in the status of women, including the amendment of discriminatory laws, encouragement of female political participation, criminalization of violence against women (?!), extension of the Labor Law to domestic workers, and formation of a Committee on Violence against Women and another to study divorce and spinsterhood.
improved workers’ rights, focusing on reduction of abuses, exemption of workers from work visa fees, speeding labor dispute cases, and a complete "reorganiz[ation] the relationship between employers and workers on topics of transfer of work visas and exit visas, [granting] freedom of movement from one job to another." (YES!)

I'm making the recommendations sound quite vague, but of course this is just a broad outline. The report actually details specific steps to be taken in many of these areas.

Here's what's particularly remarkable: the National Human Rights Committee is a government-appointed body, and more than half its members are government employees. (At least, they were last week!) And yet it has absolutely not pulled its punches when reporting human rights abuses. I'm particularly impressed by the level of detail in its recommendations for fixing the problems -- and anxious to see what happens next!

Everything here has been condensed from an extensive synopsis of the report which appeared in yesterday's Al Sharq, here automatically translated into English by my hero Google. (If you'd like to read Al Sharq's article, here are two warnings. First, Google only automatically translates the first few paragraphs, but you can copy and paste the rest of the article into the text box here to translate it too. Second, be skeptical of the translation. The word it translates "bail" really means "work visa," for example.) The Peninsula has less comprehensive but more grammatical articles on the report here and here.

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Is there anyone is Qatar we can write to express our good feelings about this report getting out?

It's probably a translation issue, but "the victims of child jockeys, domestic workers and..." makes it sound like gangs made up of little kids in racing silks and maids armed with mops are out terrorizing the streets. (I thought it was funny! ...Okay, I'm strange. I'll just go sit quietly over here. :)

No, it's not a translation issue. I barely escaped with my life this morning after riling a particularly rowdy cleaning crew.

Okay. You are definitely going to have to add a FEW more details here!

So I was minding my own business, driving along, when I see a group of young women standing in a loose group along the side of the road. Definitely one of the local domestic help gangs that haunt our streets in the evenings. Concentrated cleaner fume hits go for QR50, and "protection" to make sure your house doesn't inadvertently have mud thrown on it nets them a pretty riyal.

From the blue mop buckets scattered around, I could tell this particular motley crew was affiliated with the feared "Army of Buttkicking Cleaners in Doha", or ABCD gang. As I drove by, one of them threw a sponge at my car, which really boiled my blood. So I slowed, rolled down my window and shouted "ABCDEFG!". This, being short for "ABCD Eats Fresh Garbage!", was a dreadful insult.

I figured I was safe; I was in a car, they were on foot. But just then, a blue van pulled up to the curb. Looking in the rear view mirror, it took me a few seconds to decipher the "DCBA" decal on their front windshield. In those seconds, most of the gang had piled into the van, which took off after me.

I floored it, and the car leapt forward, but they were hot on my tail. At the first roundabout I tried to take advantage of a Land Cruiser's weaving to rub them off, but they stuck to me like chewing gum to a elementary school desk. At the second roundabout I feinted an exit, which threw them off, then I went around the roundabout and ended up behind them.

They spotted me, and they tried laying down a slick of soapy water to make me lose control of the car; it almost worked. I took a cross country shortcut and managed to lose them.

The issue with child Jockeys are that they are expendable kids that race camels (mostly). By expendable i mean i recall one kid being crushed to death at a race i was at, the body moved off the track and a new kid on the camel for the next race. There was no disruption to the day or anything, it happens a lot.

Hey, anonymous person!

The situation with child jockeys was really awful, and I'm very glad it's been abolished. I've only been to the camel races once, and I saw a boy fall off his camel, but he wasn't badly hurt. I didn't realize death was frequent.

kit_ping wasn't laughing at the situation with child jockeys, she was laughing at the translation, which said that there are problems for THE VICTIMS OF child jockeys, instead of saying that the child jockeys ARE VICTIMS.

I'm really glad these reports are getting out (and thank you for slogging through the bad translation and strange paragraph structure). It's frightening to see so many dark rumors confirmed though. I honestly don't understand the mentalities that lead to some of these things. It makes me sick.

Me too. :-(

As late as 1951 slave trains passed from the Oman coast through Buraimi each year, en route to Saudi Arabia. According to Wendell Phillips in his book Oman Unknown; some 25 per cent of these caravans were intercepted by patrols of the Trucial Oman Scouts. In the UAE, before 1960, life expectancy was around forty-five years. Then in a blink, everything changed ... Things seem to be changing - to start with there is talk ... and now government approved Human Rights Committees - in the Emirates too ... !Christopher! PS I enjoy your site. PPS My attempt on human rights is here: http://www.chrisoldfield.com/2006/05/the_gulf_human_.html

Thanks for commenting! Your perspective is very helpful; it makes me feel much more optimistic.

I just posted a new LJ entry pointing people to your blog post. :-)

Great! finally someone who has the nuts to say it like it really is here in the Middle East!

Hi.

Nice forum design. Okay, I need your advice.
So, I wanna make my secondary school site, and I am looking for site template.
Can you advice some online store or other resource where I can find many site templates?

It would be better if it will be free:)
I think many of us have personal sites, do you design it yourself?

Thanks, Bill.

Hi! I didn't design this forum; it's just a weblog. Livejournal provides a form that you fill out, and when you press submit things get posted -- pretty much like what you just did to post that question.

I would recommend that if you want a website for your school, you find an experienced web designer and get their help. Designing and running a website is hard. :-)

hi im preffered not to mention my name. i just want to know my rigths to my work..i worked in restaurant, my duty is 12 hours but my employer dont gave me any overtime also he did not gave my contract..do i have a rigth to complain reagrding of my problems?

I am not an expert, but I think that you have reason to complain.

If you are a normal worker (not a security guard or domestic) then you should work 8-10 hours a day, and if you work more than 8 you should be paid overtime. That's what the Labor Law (Articles 73-74) says. You also have the right to see your contract.

To complain, you can go talk to your embassy, or you can call the National Human Rights Committee at 444 4012. Their website is www.nhrc-qa.org.

I hope you can get help in changing your work situation.

Hi Marjorie,

Let me introduce myself, My name is James fernandes, indian national working for a pvt 5 star hotel here since the last 2 and a half years. As per my emplyment contract i work as a front desk agent. For the first two years it was going on quite well where as a routine i worked night shift sometimes on rotation basis. However after two years our night manager was brought to work during the days and i was put in his place without any extra benefits or formality. Since the last 7 months i am working continious nights which is having a heavy toll on my health. When i tried to talk to the general manager regarding the same he flatly told me if i do not like i can leave the job and go. They gave me no choice and for the sake of my two smal children i am forced to continue. I really would like to take your advice regarding the same and how i should proceed. Is there anyway i can get out of the mess.

Please advise.
Thank You

Mr. Fernandes,

I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know whether what they're asking of you is reasonable or not. I'd suggest you get in touch with the Indian embassy (4255777) or the National Human Rights Committee (4444012).

Qatar human rights report

Qatar's main human rights abuses

Recommendations

Qatari embassy information, US

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child jockeys

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Awed too: a very hot topic - out in the open too ...

Re: Awed too: a very hot topic - out in the open too ...

Re: Awed too: a very hot topic - out in the open too ...

Webdesigners help

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abuse time in work

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Hi

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