QATAR: TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT

UNCLAS DOHA 001836

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, G/TIP, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM PREL QA
SUBJECT: QATAR: TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT

REF: SECSTATE 194903


1. (U) Post is submitting the following update on Qatar's
efforts to address weaknesses identified in the 2005 TIP
Report for inclusion in the Interim Assessment Report.


2. (U) The GOQ has begun implementing the broad
recommendations contained in the anti-trafficking national
action plan. The GOQ has repatriated the underage camel
jockeys and established a shelter for TIP victims. However,
further action is still needed in other areas. The GOQ named
Major Abdullah Saqr Al-Mohannadi, Director of the Human
Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior (MOI),National
Coordinator for TIP issues in July 2005. Major Al-Mohannadi
oversees all governmental efforts at combating trafficking in
persons and coordinates and monitors these efforts with the
different agencies working on this issue.


3. (U) On May 17, 2005, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the
Heir Apparent, signed a new law banning the use of underage
camel jockeys. The law was entered into force on July 28,

2005. The law provides strict penalties for those who are not
in compliance. There have been no prosecutions to date under
the new law; nor is post aware of any violations.
Additionally, there are other criminal codes, such as those
regarding forced labor, which criminalize other forms of
trafficking. Between the months of June and August, the GOQ
repatriated nearly 200 children jockeys to Sudan. According
to officials at the Embassy of Sudan, no Sudanese camel
jockeys remain in Qatar. The Qatar Charitable Society, in
coordination with the Sudanese-based National Council for
Childhood Care and the Qatari Embassy in Khartoum, will
administer the Qatari government's program to rehabilitate
and integrate the repatriated camel jockeys.


4. (U) In September the GOQ opened a shelter for trafficking
victims to serve the needs of abused domestic workers, other
laborers and children. The shelter is in a small housing
compound and is comprised of fully-furnished three-bedroom
villas, with two villas each for men, women and children.
Each villa can accommodate between six to seven people. The
administrative building houses a health clinic with a medical
doctor working on site. The shelter is under the management
of the National TIP Coordinator Major Abdullah Saqr
Al-Mohannadi. Presently, the shelter does not accept walk-ins
but accepts referrals from the National Human Rights
Committee, the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, Labor
Department, the General Prosecutor's Office and the courts.
There has not been any referral to-date. Prior to and since
the opening of the shelter, the GOQ held a press conference
and launched public awareness campaigns to inform laborers
and domestic employees of their rights and about the
existence of the shelter. Information about the shelter has
been publicized on local Arabic television programs and in
the local press.


5. (U) While the GOQ has yet to institute a formal system to
identify and protect trafficking victims, government
officials at the Ministry of Interior have agreed to
participate in the International Criminal Investigative
Training Assistance Program (ICITAP),a USDOJ program aimed
at training officials in addressing and preventing Qatar's
TIP problems. Also, the Human Rights Department of the MOI
has three phone lines dedicated for hotlines during working
hours. These hotlines have been publicized in the local
newspapers and television. The GOQ has also initiated various
initiatives to inform the public of available resources to
trafficking victims. Posters informing laborers of their
rights and available resources are in the process of being
printed into different languages for placement at the
airport, shopping centers and the various cultural clubs of
the expatriate community.


6. (U) Post is awaiting data on investigations and
prosecutions of trafficking crimes. Protecting the rights of
foreign domestic workers remains an area of concern; the GOQ
has yet to amend the new labor law to extend to domestic
workers. Post will remain engaged with the GOQ to urge
increased action in these areas.
UNTERMEYER