QATAR: INPUT FOR THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 DOHA 000172 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, DRL/ILCSR, PRM, IWI, NEA/ARP, NEA/RA, USAID LABOR FOR ILAB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PREF KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ELAB QA SUBJECT: QATAR: INPUT FOR THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT - PART II OF II REF: STATE 2731 ¶1. (SBU) Paragraph 29. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: ¶A. (SBU) Does the government assist foreign trafficking victims, for example, by providing temporary to permanent residency status, or other relief from deportation? If so, please explain. - In 2005, the government 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 up to seven people. The shelter is under the management of the National TIP Coordinator. As of November 2007, 14 victims (nine women, four men, and one child) have been housed in the shelter. The shelter is underutilized because of a lack of awareness of its existence and also because it is primarily seen as a shelter for women and children. Potential victims in the labor sector have not had wide-spread access to the shelter. The government has stated that it hopes to construct a larger shelter to accommodate potential labor victims. ¶B. (SBU) Does the country have victim care facilities which are accessible to trafficking victims? - The administrative building of the TIP shelter houses a health clinic with a medical doctor working on site. Mental health services are available to the victims. Do foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic trafficking victims? - There are no known cases of domestic trafficking. Does the country have specialized facilities dedicated to helping victims of trafficking? - The TIP shelter provides assistance to workers who have suffered from abuse in the form of payment of back wages and repatriation, and it will facilitate change of employer rather than deportation in cases where abuse has been proven. The shelter has provided financial support to some of the victims. The shelter also pays for the lodgers' calls to their families back home and provides them with personal necessities. TIP victims lodged in the shelter are not repatriated unless they wish. Legal assistance is also available to the victims while in the shelter. The government has widely publicized the existence of the shelter and the hotlines in local newspapers, on TV (local and regional),and via brochures, posters, and leaflets. If so, can post provide the number of victims placed in these care facilities during the reporting period? - Unknown; statistics not provided. A newspaper interview by the National Coordinator for TIP from November 12, 2007 noted that the shelter has provided services for 14 TIP victims (nine women, four men, and one child),some of which were determined to be "quasi-trafficking" cases. Besides the 14, the shelter has provided services for 86 "humanitarian" cases. What is the funding source of these facilities? - The facility is government-funded. Please estimate the amount the government spent (in U.S. DOHA 00000172 002 OF 008 dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities dedicated to helping trafficking victims during the reporting period. - Unknown; statistics not provided. Does the government provide trafficking victims with access to legal, medical and psychological services? - Legal, medical and psychological services are available at the shelter. If so, please specify the kind of assistance provided, and the number of victims assisted, if available. - Unknown; statistics not provided. ¶C. (SBU) Does the government provide funding or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or international organizations for services to trafficking victims? - The government is not known to provide funding or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims. According to the NHRC, the government provides unlimited financial support for the NHRC and the TIP Office to provide services for TIP victims. Please explain and provide any funding amounts in U.S. dollar equivalent. - Unknown. If assistance provided is in-kind, please specify exact assistance. - Unknown. Please explain if funding for assistance comes from a federal budget or from regional or local governments. - N/A. ¶D. (SBU) Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, and social services personnel have a formal system of proactively identifying victims of trafficking among high- risk persons with whom they come in contact (e.g., foreign persons arrested for prostitution or immigration violations)? - Health care facilities have instituted a system to refer suspected abuse cases to the TIP shelter for investigation. No other system has been noted. What is the number of victims identified during the reporting period? - Unknown; statistics not provided. Has the government developed and implemented a referral process to transfer victims detained, arrested or placed in protective custody by law enforcement authorities to institutions that provide short- or long-term care? - No. Potential victims of trafficking are generally deported. They are placed in the Deportation Detention Center pending resolution of their cases. How many victims were referred for assistance by law enforcement authorities during the reporting period? DOHA 00000172 003 OF 008 - Unknown; statistics not provided. ¶E. (SBU) For countries with legalized prostitution: does the government have a mechanism for screening for trafficking victims among persons involved in the legal/regulated commercial sex trade? - N/A. ¶F. (SBU) Are the rights of victims respected? - The rights of laborers and domestic workers are generally not respected. Are trafficking victims detained or jailed? - They are often treated as criminals. Laborers are often kept in the Deportation Detention Center until their civil cases with their sponsors are resolved. Domestic workers are also detained and placed in the Deportation Detention Center. After their cases have been resolved, they are deported, but sometimes only after long administrative delays. If detained or jailed, for how long? - The length of detainment varies greatly. A visit to the Deportation Detention Center by embassy officials found 1400 workers detained and awaiting deportation. Some had been detained for more than a year. Are victims fined? - Some victims are also fined if they are found to be in violation of immigration or other laws. Are victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as those governing immigration or prostitution? - Many victims are subjected to immigration violations, even if the violations are the fault of their sponsors. ¶G. (SBU) Does the government encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking? - The government encourages some victims to assist in their own cases of abuse or withholding of pay. How many victims assisted in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers during the reporting period? - Unknown; statistics not provided. May victims file civil suits or seek legal action against traffickers? - Laborers may file civil suits within the purview of the labor law against their employers. Domestic workers are not covered under the labor law. Does anyone impede victim access to such legal redress? - Some sponsors and employers have been known to threaten victims in an attempt to keep them from seeking legal redress. If a victim is a material witness in a court case against a former employer, is the victim permitted to obtain other employment or to leave the country pending trial proceedings? DOHA 00000172 004 OF 008 N DOHA 00000172 005 OF 008 - Unknown; statistics not provided. ¶I. (SBU) Does the government provide any specialized training for government officials in identifying trafficking victims and in the provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the special needs of trafficked children? - Yes. The National Office for Combating TIP and the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Interior conducted a workshops on the legal, social and security dimensions of TIP. Participants have included a selection of police officers, Internal Security Force staff and other personnel related to this subject. The purpose of the workshop was to "deepen the awareness of the notions related to the combating of TIP and the activation of the role of organizations and security bodies for active participation and confrontation of this crime and its combat and protection of its victims who are mostly children, women and housemaids." TIP training has been incorporated into basic and continuing training at the police academy. Does the government provide training on protections and assistance to its embassies and consulates in foreign countries that are destination or transit countries? - Unknown. Does it urge those embassies and consulates to develop ongoing relationships with NGOs and IOs that serve trafficked victims? - Unknown. What is the number of trafficking victims assisted by the host country's embassies or consulates abroad during the reporting period? - No known cases. Please explain the level of assistance. For example, did the host government provide travel documents for the victim to repatriate, did the host government contact NGOs in either the source or destination countries to ensure the victim received adequate assistance, did the host government pay for the transportation home for a victim's repatriation, etc. - No known cases. ¶J. (SBU) Does the government provide assistance, such as medical aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who are repatriated as victims of trafficking? - No known cases. ¶K. (SBU) Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work with trafficking victims? - The Solidarity Center is working with expatriate community support groups to help assist trafficking victims. What type of services do they provide? - Networking and consultation. What sort of cooperation do they receive from local authorities? - Thus far, non-interference. DOHA 00000172 006 OF 008 How much funding (in U.S. Dollar Equivalent) did NGOs and international organizations receive from the host government for victim assistance during the reporting period? Please disaggregate funding for prevention and public awareness efforts from victim assistance funding. - The government is not known to provide funding or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims. ¶2. (SBU) Paragraph 30. PREVENTION: ¶A. (SBU) Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a problem in the country? If not, why not? - The government has an uneven record in acknowledging TIP. Most stakeholders admit that child labor, some trafficking of female domestic workers, and limited trafficking for sexual exploitation occurs, but few acknowledge the problems experienced by laborers as potential trafficking issues. Officials often characterize situations of exploitation or coerced labor as labor disputes falling under the purview of the labor law. ¶B. (SBU) Are there, or have there been, government-run anti- trafficking information or education campaigns conducted during the reporting period? - Yes. If so, briefly describe the campaign(s),including their objectives and effectiveness. - The National Office for Combating TIP continued to carry out its media action plan. Activities have included the publication and distribution of informational brochures in several targeted languages, distribution of posters in different languages, radio and TV interviews in local and regional media outlets, TV and radio commercials, and a media campaign entitled "No to Trafficking." While the focus has been primarily on women and children, the plight of abused and forced labor was also addressed. The Office has directed educational institutes and training centers in Qatar to include the concept of TIP, its reasons and its negative effects on society in their curriculum. The TIP National Coordinator developed a curriculum on TIP in cooperation with the legal expert at the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of the Interior to be taught at the Supreme Judicial Council and Ministry of Interior. The TIP Office increased government awareness of TIP to include migrant laborers who fall victim to delusion and fraud and who are forced to work in illegal jobs, whether with pay or without payment. To combat this, a circular was distributed to all concerned departments in the Ministry of Interior and other concerned ministries to abide by this definition and to apply it when identifying TIP crimes or investigating TIP victims. Please provide the number of people reached by such awareness efforts if available. - Unknown. Do these campaigns target potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for trafficking (e.g., "clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor)? - None known this reporting period. The TIP Office held the first of what was to be a series of forums with labor DOHA 00000172 007 OF 008 recruitment agencies in September of last year. It was attended by representatives of 42 labor agencies in presence of representatives from the Labor Department and the Research and Follow-up Department of the Ministry of the Interior. It focused on delivering TIP awareness to the labor agencies and making recommendations to authorities concerned with anti-trafficking. ¶C. (SBU) What is the relationship between government officials, NGOs, other relevant organizations and other elements of civil society on the trafficking issue? - The government is cooperating with quasi-independent organizations such as the National Human Rights Committee and the Qatar Foundation for Women and Children Protection on anti-trafficking efforts. There are no independent civil society or non- governmental organizations (national or international) active in anti-trafficking efforts. ¶D. (SBU) Does the government monitor immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking? - It monitors immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking. It previously strengthened visa regulations as a result of shifts in immigration patterns showing evidence of probable prostitution-related activities. Do law enforcement agencies screen for potential trafficking victims along borders? - The government monitors its land border but is not able comprehensively to monitor its extensive shoreline. There were no reported arrests or incidents. ¶E. (SBU) Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication between various agencies, internal, international, and multilateral on trafficking-related matters, such as a multi-agency working group or a task force? - Human rights offices have been established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior to address TIP issues. The Supreme Council for Family Affairs is currently the lead organization for coordination and communication between various internal agencies. Does the government have a trafficking in persons working group or single point of contact? - The government has a National TIP Coordinator under the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. Does the government have a public corruption task force? - Yes. Update. ¶F. (SBU) Does the government have a national plan of action to address trafficking in persons? - The government has a national plan of action to address trafficking in persons. The plan specifies victims of TIP among: child camel jockeys; women exposed to sexual exploitation; and incoming workers. If so, which agencies were involved in developing it? - Representatives from the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Supreme Judicial Council, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Civil Service and DOHA 00000172 008 OF 008 Housing (Labor Department),General Prosecutor, General Health Authority, and the Qatar Foundation for Women and Children Protection were involved in developing the plan of action. Were NGOs consulted in the process? - Representatives from the National Human Rights Committee, a quasi-independent human rights organization, were involved in this process as well. No independent NGOs are known to have participated. What steps has the government taken to disseminate the action plan? - The government has not publicly disseminated the action plan. ¶G. (SBU) For all posts: As part of the new criteria added to the TVPA's minimum standards by the 2005 TVPRA, what measures has the government taken during the reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts? (see ref B, para. 9(3) for examples) - Unknown. ¶H. (SBU) Required of Posts in EU countries and posts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: As part of the new criteria added to the TVPA's minimum standards by the 2005 TVPRA, what measures has the government taken during the reporting period to reduce the participation in international child sex tourism by nationals of the country? - N/A. ¶I. (SBU) Required of posts in countries that have contributed over 100 troops to international peacekeeping efforts: What measures has the government adopted to ensure that its nationals who are deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar mission do not engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking or exploit victims of such trafficking? - Unknown, no information provided. ¶3. (U) Embassy Point of Contact is Political Officer, Timothy ¶J. Fingarson; Tel. 974 496-6753; Fax 974 487-3317. One FS-04 officer spent 45 hours in the preparation of this report cable. RATNEY