Human rights in Qatar

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The state of human rights in Qatar is a concern for several non-governmental organizations. Sharia law is the main source of Qatari legislation according to Qatar's Constitution.[1][2] Flogging and stoning are legal in Qatar due to Sharia law.

According to Human Rights Watch in June 2012 hundreds of thousands of mostly South Asian migrant workers in construction in Qatar risk serious exploitation and abuse, sometimes amounting to forced labor.[3]

Sharia Law

Sharia law is the main source of Qatari legislation according to Qatar's Constitution.[1][2] Sharia law is applied to laws pertaining to family law, inheritance, and several criminal acts (including adultery, robbery and murder). In some cases in Sharia-based family courts, a female's testimony is worth half a man's and in some cases a female witness is not accepted at all.[4] Codified family law was introduced in 2006. In practice, Qatar's legal system is a mixture of civil law and Islamic law.[5][6]

Flogging is used in Qatar as a punishment for alcohol consumption or illicit sexual relations.[7] Article 88 of Qatar's criminal code declares the punishment for adultery is 100 lashes.[8] Adultery is punishable by death when a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man are involved.[8] In 2006, a Filipino woman was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery.[8] In 2010, at least 18 people (mostly foreign nationals) were sentenced to flogging of between 40 and 100 lashes for offences related to “illicit sexual relations” or alcohol consumption.[9] In 2011, at least 21 people (mostly foreign nationals) were sentenced to floggings of between 30 and 100 lashes for offences related to “illicit sexual relations” or alcohol consumption.[9] In 2012, six expatriates were sentenced to floggings of either 40 or 100 lashes.[7] Only Muslims considered medically fit were liable to have such sentences carried out. It is unknown if the sentences were implemented.[10] More recently in April 2013, a Muslim expatriate was sentenced to 40 lashes for alcohol consumption.[11][12][13] In June 2014, a Muslim expatriate was sentenced to 40 lashes for consuming alcohol and driving under the influence.[14] Judicial corporal punishment is common in Qatar due to the Hanbali interpretation of Sharia Law.

Stoning is a legal punishment in Qatar, though has never been used[15] Apostasy is a crime punishable by the death penalty in Qatar.[16] Blasphemy is punishable by up to seven years in prison and proselytizing any religion other than Islam can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.[16] Homosexuality is a crime punishable in sharia by the death penalty for Muslims, though in Qatar the penalty for consenting males is up to 5 years in prison.[17]

Alcohol consumption is partially legal in Qatar, some five-star luxury hotels are allowed to sell alcohol to their non-Muslim customers.[18][19] Muslims are not allowed to consume alcohol in Qatar and Muslims caught consuming alcohol are liable to flogging or deportation. Non-Muslim expatriates can obtain a permit to purchase alcohol for personal consumption. The Qatar Distribution Company (a subsidiary of Qatar Airways) is permitted to import alcohol and pork; it operates the one and only liquor store in the country, which also sells pork to holders of liquor licences.[20] Qatari officials have also indicated a willingness to allow alcohol in "fan zones" at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[21]

Until recently, restaurants on the Pearl-Qatar (a man-made island near Doha) were allowed to serve alcoholic drinks.[18][19] In December 2011, however, restaurants on the Pearl were told to stop selling alcohol.[18][22] No explanation was given for the ban.[18][19] Speculation about the reason includes the government's desire to project a more pious image in advance of the country's first election of a royal advisory body and rumours of a financial dispute between the government and the resort's developers.[22]

In 2014, Qatar launched a modesty campaign to remind tourists of the modest dress code.[23] Female tourists are advised not to wear leggings, miniskirts, sleeveless dresses and short or tight clothing in public. Men are advised against wearing only shorts and singlets.[24]

As of 2014, certain provisions of the Qatari Criminal Code allows punishments such as flogging and stoning to be imposed as criminal sanctions. The UN Committee Against Torture found that these practices constituted a breach of the obligations imposed by the UN Convention Against Torture.[25][26] Qatar retains the death penalty, mainly for threats against national security.

Labour

Forced labour

According to the US State Department, expatriate workers from nations throughout Asia and parts of Africa are routinely subjected to forced labor and, in some instances, prostitution.[27] Most of these people voluntarily migrate to Qatar as low-skilled laborers or domestic servants, but are subsequently subjected to conditions indicative of involuntary servitude. Some of the more common labor rights violations include beatings, withholding of payment, charging workers for benefits which are nominally the responsibility of the amir, severe restrictions on freedom of movement (such as the confiscation of passports, travel documents, or exit permits), arbitrary detention, threats of legal action, and sexual assault.[27] Many migrant workers arriving for work in Qatar have paid exorbitant fees to recruiters in their home countries – a practice that makes workers highly vulnerable to forced labor once in Qatar.[27]

Like other Persian Gulf nations, Qatar has sponsorship laws, which have been widely criticized as "modern-day slavery."[28] Under the provisions of Qatar's sponsorship law, sponsors have the unilateral power to cancel workers' residency permits, deny workers' ability to change employers, report a worker as "absconded" to police authorities, and deny permission to leave the country.[27] As a result, sponsors may restrict workers' movements and workers may be afraid to report abuses or claim their rights, which contribute to their forced labor situation.[27]

Domestic servants are particularly vulnerable to trafficking since they are isolated inside homes and are not covered under the provisions of the labor law.[27] Qatar is also a destination for women who migrate for legitimate purposes and subsequently become involved in prostitution, but the extent to which these women are subjected to forced prostitution is unknown.[27] Some of these victims may be runaway domestic workers who have fallen prey to forced prostitution by individuals who exploit their illegal status.[27]

The Government states that it is doing a good job with regards to human rights[29] and treatment of laborers. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was established in 2002 to safeguard and consolidate human rights for everyone subject to the jurisdiction under the state.[30] In a bid to combat Human trafficking, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned established the Qatar Foundation on Combating Human Trafficking (QFCHT). To promote more awareness in this area, the Ritz-Carlton Doha, created the World's largest Cake for the QFCHT Sculpture.[31]

Qatari contracting agency Barwa is building a residential area for laborers known as Barwa Al Baraha (also called Workers City). The project was launched after a recent scandal in Dubai's Labor camps, and aims to provide a reasonable standard of living as defined by the new Human Rights Legislation.[32] The overall cost of the project is estimated at around $1.1 billion and will be an integrated city in the Industrial area of Doha. Along with 4.25 square metres of living space per person, the residential project will provide recreational areas and services for laborers. Phase one of the project is set to be completed at the end of 2008 while all phases will be complete by mid 2010.[33]

Qatar Airways, the country's national airline, has long been criticized for its treatment of its lower level employees including flight attendants. Abuses include firing employees without apparent reason, low wages, overworking hours. Employees have also been reported to be unlawfully detained by the airline without charge. Deportations by the airline of its employees to their home countries without reason has also been reported.[34]

FIFA World Cup preparations and reported abuses

The construction boom in Qatar began well in advance of Qatar winning the hosting rights to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. When the Emir Sheikh Hamad Al Thani took control of the country from his father in 1995 he opened Qatar up to foreign investment and began the construction of the world’s biggest LNG terminals in Ras Laffan with the granting of concessions to ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Total S.A.. Over 100,000 workers were brought into the country to build Ras Laffan, and an estimated 1 million (of the country’s total population of 2 million) workers are currently living in Qatar helping to build the country. In 1995, when Sheikh Hamad took control, the total migrant population was around 370,000.[35]

In 2013 Amnesty International published reports showing that unpaid migrant workers were left to go hungry. According to the report, workers are being "treated like cattle."[36] According to a report by the Guardian (and based on documents obtained at the Nepalese embassy in Qatar) dozens of Nepalese migrant laborers had died in Qatar in just a few weeks around September 2013, and thousands more were enduring appalling labor abuses.[37] According to their analysis, current construction practices will have resulted in over 4,000 deaths by the time of the 2022 event.[37] As of December 2013, FIFA has investigated but taken no action to force Qatar to improve worker conditions.[36] This figure is denied by the Qatari authorities, who argue that it is misleading since it includes all causes of death in a population of close to one million and over an eight-year period.

British law firm DLA Piper was instructed in 2012 by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, President of Qatar Foundation, to undertake a review of migrant worker conditions. Following the recommendations made, Qatar Foundation created the Migrant Workers Welfare Charter which applies minimum requirements with respect to the recruitment, living and working conditions, as well as the general treatment of workers engaged in construction and other projects. The mandatory standards will be incorporated into agreements between Qatar Foundation and all its contractors, who are required to comply with the requirements and rules. Contractors and sub-contractors found to be violating the regulations have been blacklisted from future tenders.[38]

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the 2022 World Cup organising committee, followed this measure in mid-2014 with its own regulations and blacklisted a number of companies. A BBC reporting crew was jailed for two days without charge, after attempting to meet migrant workers.[39]

In August 2015, the Ministry of Labour announced that all companies in Qatar would be required to pay their employees by electronic transfers. The rule is aimed at contractors who withhold salaries or make late payments.[40]

The Department for Human Rights at the Ministry of Labour and the National Committee for Human Rights are responsible for the monitoring of abuses in Qatar.

Immigrant labor and human trafficking

Qatar is a destination for men and women from South Asia and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly, but are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers, and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation. The most common offense was forcing workers to accept worse contract terms than those under which they were recruited. Other offenses include bonded labor, withholding of pay, restrictions on movement, arbitrary detention, and physical, mental, and sexual abuse.[41]

According to the "Trafficking in Persons" report by the U.S. State Department, men and women who are lured into Qatar by promises of high wages are often forced into underpaid labor. The report states that Qatari laws against forced labor are rarely enforced, and that labor laws often result in the detention of victims in deportation centers, pending the completion of legal proceedings. The report places Qatar at tier 3, as one of the countries that neither satisfies the minimum standards, nor demonstrates significant efforts to come into compliance.[42][43]

The government maintains that it is setting the benchmark when it comes to human rights and treatment of laborers.[44]

In common with other Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, sponsorship laws exist in Qatar. These laws have been widely described as akin to modern-day slavery.[45] The sponsorship system (kafeel or kafala) exists throughout the GCC, apart from Bahrain, and means that a worker (not a tourist) may not enter the country without having a kafeel; cannot leave without the kafeel`s permission (an exit permit must first be awarded by the sponsor, or kafeel); and the sponsor has the right to ban the employee from entering Qatar within 2–5 years of his first departure. Various governmental sponsors have recently exercised their right to prevent employees from leaving the country, effectively holding them against their will for no good reason. Some individuals after resigning have not been issued with their exit permits, denying them their basic right to leave the country. Many sponsors do not allow the transfer of one employee to another sponsor. This does not apply to special sponsorship of a Qatar Financial Center-sponsored worker, where it is encouraged and regulated that sponsorship should be uninhibited and assistance should be given to allow for such transfers of sponsorship.

Barwa, a Qatari contracting agency, is constructing a residential area for laborers known as Barwa Al Baraha (also called "Worker's City"). The project was launched after a recent scandal in Dubai's labor camps. The project aims to provide a reasonable standard of living as defined by the new Human Rights Legislation.[46] The Barwa Al Baraha will cost around $1.1 billion and will be a completely integrated city in the industrial area in Doha. Along with 4.25 square meters of living space per person, the residential project will provide parks, recreational areas, malls, and shops for laborers. Phase one of the project was set to be completed by the end of 2008, and the project itself is set to be completed by the middle of 2010.[47][needs update]

Women's rights

Women in Qatar vote and may run for public office. Qatar enfranchised women at the same time as men in connection with the May 1999 elections for a Central Municipal Council.[48][49] It was the first Arab country in the Persian Gulf to allow women the right to vote.[50] These elections—the first ever in Qatar—were deliberately held on 8 March 1999, International Women's Day.[48]

Qatar sent female athletes to the 2012 Summer Olympics that began on 27 July in London.[51]

Individual rights

Capital punishment

Qatar retains the death penalty, primarily for espionage,[52] or other threats against national security.[53] Apostasy is also considered a capital offense, but there have been no recorded applications of the death penalty for this charge.

Corporal punishment

Flogging is used in Qatar as a punishment for alcohol consumption or illicit sexual relations. According to Amnesty International, in 2012 at least six foreign nationals were sentenced to floggings of either 40 or 100 lashes.[54]

Freedom of expression

A demonstration held for Mohammed al-Ajami outside the Qatari embassy in Washington, D.C.

Freedom of expression is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas. A life sentence was handed to critics of government during the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Qatar to a Qatari poet Mohammed al-Ajami, also known as Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb. Observers were not allowed to enter the court, and al-Ajami himself was not present at the sentencing.[55] All the information available points to Mohammed al-Ajami being a prisoner of conscience who has been placed behind bars solely for his words.[56] In February 2013, the court reduced his sentence to 15 years.[57]

A new cyber law, which passed in late September 2014, severely limited the freedom of speech, and freedom of expression rights, granting the government and authorities the right for criminal punishment with jail time of up to 3 years, and fines around 500,000 QR for "content that may harm the country". The new law also states that the authority may in each individual case judge whether the content is suited or not. No guidelines or references are currently available to say what type of content is allowed.[58]

Residency and naturalization

Qatar is a country known for huge discrimination between expatriates and citizens; Qatar does not maintain wage standards for its immigrant labor, and does not permit labor unions. Under the provisions of Qatar's sponsorship law, sponsors have the unilateral power to cancel workers' residency permits, deny workers' ability to change employers, report a worker as "absconded" to police authorities, and deny permission to leave the country. As a result, sponsors may restrict workers' movements and workers may be afraid to report abuses or claim their rights.[59]

Qatar's government is keen to protect the status quo and doesn't want to compromise its cultural values or standard of living by allowing foreigners to become a permanent part of society. The only route to becoming a naturalized citizen is by marriage to a national; even this, however, doesn't guarantee citizenship, particularly for non-Muslims.

In exceptional circumstances only, Qatar's ruler might grant citizenship to a foreigner who has provided outstanding service to the state over a number of years. A generous employer might reward a loyal worker who has made a major contribution to the company over many years by providing him with a work and residence permit renewable each year, until the employee reaches the age of 60. After one's retirement, however, the employer would have to be a figure of considerable influence to maintain this gift and satisfy the labor authorities. In this case, one wouldn't be a citizen, but merely be allowed to remain in the country indefinitely based on yearly renewable permits, in most of cases the retired person who reaches 60 years old has to leave the country and end his contract but he can return upon granting of a special visa.

Also, Qatari authorities oblige the employers for not issuing a contract for more than 20 consecutive years; there is no chance for workers and employees to get the visa renewed if the contract has passed 20 years with the same employer. This is because the Qatari government does not want to commit itself to paying pensions or retirement end of service for people who lived for 20 years, and at the same time avoids the possibility that the person may ask for nationality or citizenship.

Children of foreigners born in Qatar don't have rights of local citizenship and automatically assume the nationality of the parents. Only if the father is a national of Qatar, the child will usually be granted local nationality and may later become a national of Qatar and obtain a local passport. If the father is a foreigner and the mother is a Qatari citizen the child is not granted any citizenship rights.

In many cases, the child isn't affected, but any children that he has might not enjoy the same rights of nationality, citizenship, abode, etc. as his parents and grandparents.[60]

Gender equality

Qatari women have made significant legal advancements since the 1990s.

As a result of these advancements, Qatari women have many career opportunities, including leadership positions, in education, banking, charitable projects, health and human services, tourism, law, civil service and even diplomacy. According to the embassy of Qatar[61] women play various roles in the field of Education, Health, Legal, Journalism, Aviation, Banking, Politics, Finance, and Tourism.

LGBT rights in Qatar

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Main article: LGBT rights in Qatar

Sodomy between consenting male adults in Qatar is illegal, and subject to a sentence of up to five years in prison.[62] The law is silent about sodomy between consenting female adults.[63] Sexual orientation and gender identity are not covered in any civil rights laws and there is no recognition of same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships.

Freedom of religion

Qatar's first Catholic church is not permitted to have Christian symbols on its exterior.

Qatar is a Muslim-majority nation, with 76% of its population adhering to Islam.[64] The government uses Sunni law as the basis of its criminal and civil regulations. However, some measure of religious toleration is granted. Foreign workers, and tourists, are free to affiliate with other faiths, i.e. Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Bahá'ís, as long as they are discreet and do not offend public order or morality.

For example, in March 2008 the Roman Catholic church "Our Lady of the Rosary" was consecrated in Doha. However, in keeping with the need to be discreet, no missionaries are allowed and the church will not have any bells, crosses or other overtly Christian signs on its exterior.

Governmental human rights organizations

Law 39, issued in 2005, stipulated the formation of an "Bureau for human rights" in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One of its main missions is to prepare answers on the claims or reports of foreign countries and organizations on the situation of human rights inside the state.[65]

The National Human Rights Committee was founded in 2002 with the responsibility of overseeing and carrying out investigations on human rights abuses in the country.[66] Their methods of advancing the country's standards of human rights include contributing to research programs related to human rights, conducting studies, and providing advice and recommendations to legislative bodies.[67]

Historical situation

The following chart shows Qatar's ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free".[68]

See also

References

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External links

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