Reform of sponsorship law

In Qatar, the 80% of the population who are not Qatari are here on the whim of our employers. Our employers sponsor our stay in the country, and thus we can neither change jobs nor leave the country without their permission. Lately there has been much discussion of reforming this system, in order to disregard internationally acknowledged human rights standards a little less flagrantly.

Yesterday, the vice-chair of the chamber of commerce spoke out against the inevitable reforms. He maintains that giving workers the right to change jobs will result in "chaos" for the state of Qatar.

He also rejects the idea of allowing people to leave the country without their employer's permission. As the newspaper put it, "with the electronic system now in place, one can get an exit permit within 30 seconds, so what’s all this fuss about, Al Emadi told The Peninsula."

What is all the fuss, indeed.

"Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
-Article 13, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

"Everyone has the right to ... free choice of employment...."
-Article 23, Universal Declaration of Human Rights