FREEDOM AGENDA: SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000764

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KMPI KDEM SCUL KPAO QA
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA: SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
ACTIVISTS IN QATAR

REF: STATE 88465


1. (SBU) Qatar's April 1 municipal elections, the country's third,
served as a focal point for democracy promotion in 2007. Ambassador
and Emboffs engaged in a program of support and undertook the
following activities:

-- Ambassador hosted a series of salons at his residence to discuss
elections issues. The periodic salons focused on women's
participation, campaign issues, the effect of tribe and family on
voting patterns, and media coverage of elections, among other
topics.

-- Emboffs attended candidate-sponsored events and public discussion
forums during the election campaign. Embassy attendance was often
highlighted in local press coverage.

-- Emboffs met with candidates at a variety of local events,
including campaign training sessions hosted by the government's
Permanent Elections Committee in cooperation with the National
Democratic Institute.

-- Emboffs surveyed campaign advertising in public places and
prepared a booklet outlining candidates, their districts, and their
campaign slogans.

-- PAO hosted six returning Qatari female International Visitor and
Voluntary Visit participants for an evening salon to discuss their
recent visit to the USA to observe the mid-term elections.

-- Emboffs met with democracy activists, journalists, professors,
and elections officials in support of a visit June 29-July 3 by
professors from American University's elections institute.


2. (SBU) Ambassador and Emboffs support human rights activists and
causes through ongoing contacts and meetings. While political
openness is a major concern, the plight of foreign laborers in Qatar
and their lack of access to due legal process is of critical
importance. Ambassador and Emboffs undertook the following in
support of human rights:

-- Ambassador's May 3 World Press Freedom Day Op-Ed was
Ambassador Untermeyer's Op-Ed was published in all local
English-language dailies.

-- Also in recognition of World Press Freedom Day, the Ambassador
hosted five prominent Qatari Arabic press columnists in his
residence for a unique "off the record" salon to discuss current
events and issues in Qatar, America, and the international
community. All five journalists were Qataris and write weekly
columns in the Arabic press, which are widely read by the local
population.

-- The Qatar Tribune interview July 8 with Pol/Econ Chief. He
encouraged a review of the sponsorship and labor laws in Qatar and
called for a greater push for the support of non-governmental
organizations in Qatar.

-- PAO's op-ed on the state of media in Qatar was published in local
papers between June 30 and July 2. The article encouraged reform of
the outdated laws governing the media as well as the establishment
of a Qatari journalists' association.

-- Emboffs routinely engage labor-source country diplomats to
discuss labor problems and conditions and recommend ways to address
them through mechanisms being established by the Qatari
authorities.

-- Emboffs established contact with an unofficial shelter for
stranded Nepali workers and provided advice on working through
existing channels for relief and assistance.

-- Emboffs work with Qatar's National Coordinator for Trafficking in
Persons on an ongoing basis to promote changes in laws and practices
that adversely affect expatriate workers and to advocate for
agreeing to trafficking-in-persons training offered by the
Department of Justice, the American Bar Association, and the
Solidarity Center.


3. (SBU) Post is actively pursuing a wide range of MEPI programming,
including training for journalists, civic education training,
training aimed at teaching NGOs how to obtain legal status and
define their missions, professional exchanges, and customized
visitor programs. Post has prioritized civil society, democracy, and
human rights activists for International Visitor opportunities. Post
is working closely with the National Democratic Institute and local
partners -- the Permanent Elections Committee, the National
Assembly, and the Municipal Council -- on programs to strengthen the
democratic capacities of government and to spread civic education
more widely in the population. Post also worked with professors from
American University's Center for Democracy and Elections Management
on their orientation visit in early July and will propose and

DOHA 00000764 002 OF 002


coordinate programming that will help lay the groundwork for
national elections in 2008.