EMBASSY STIRS UP HUMAN RIGHTS DEBATE REGARDING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000325

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LABOR FOR I/LAB
DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/ILCSR AND FOR G/TIP
EMBASSIES FOR LABOR OFFICERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2018
TAGS: PHUM PREL KPAO ELAB QA
SUBJECT: EMBASSY STIRS UP HUMAN RIGHTS DEBATE REGARDING
FOREIGN LABOR

REF: DOHA 291

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES MICHAEL A. RATNEY, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Reactions to Embassy's April 8 press
conference on the annual Human Rights Report continued to
appear in Doha's media, including a debate on the role of a
free media in democratic development. Simultaneously, Qatari
authorities shut down more than 80 companies for labor
violations, and leaked a draft copy of a new labor law, on
which the Al Jazeera satellite channel has provided
unprecedented on-air coverage. One local English-language
newspaper, emboldened by this opening up of public discourse,
has published provocative photos and stories about labor
abuses. While the Government has not announced a campaign to
let "a thousand flowers bloom," it has not taken any steps of
which Embassy is aware to stifle the debate, and Doha's
thoughtful journalists and some Qatari officials are taking
advantage of the permissive environment to discuss one of the
Gulf's most existential problems -- the treatment of foreign
workers. END SUMMARY

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EVERYONE HAS THEIR SAY
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2. (U) As reported reftel, immediate reactions to Charge's
press briefing on human rights included largely unbalanced
reporting and a negative editorial within the Arabic press,
with mostly straightforward reporting of his comments in the
English-language newspapers. On April 11, another op-ed
appeared in Arabic daily "Al Sharq," written by political
science professor Mohammed Saleh al-Misfer entitled "Rules of
the Diplomatic Profession." Misfer excoriated diplomats as
"immune spies," and criticized Charge by name for "violating
diplomatic norms by talking about things that fall outside
the scope of his job." Misfer wrote that the state would be
within its rights to declare Charge persona non grata if he
persists in criticizing laws that have been issued and
approved by the Qatari Government.


3. (U) On April 15, Arabic daily "Al Raya" reported comments
by Mariam al-Malki, National Coordinator of the Trafficking
in Persons Office, that the Human Rights Report's examples of
sexually abused domestic workers were "based on old
information." She added, "We do not work because of a
report, but from a belief within that human rights must be
respected," and that Qatar's efforts to improve human rights
were not just an attempt to burnish its international image,
but because of the Qatari leadership's desire to protect
human dignity.


4. (U) On April 17, English daily "Qatar Tribune" ran a
summary of a public seminar organized by the National Council
for Arts and Heritage to discuss human rights. The piece
quoted a Qatari attendee from the al-Marri family who said
that the National Human Rights Council's 2006 report "was not
tough enough," because it focused only on the problems of
expatriates, and not those of Qataris as well, such as those
who had unfairly lost their citizenship. One panelist from
Qatar University was quoted as saying that human rights
should not be seen as a construct imposed by the West, since
Islam addressed human rights problems long ago, particularly
with regard to women.


5. (U) On April 20, "Al Raya" published a front-page
interview with the director of the Central Prison, who
assured his audience that the prison was run in full
compliance with international human rights standards, and
that he welcomed visitors at any time to the facility.

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IN DEFENSE OF PRESS FREEDOM
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6. (C) On April 19, Editor-in-Chief of Arabic daily "Al Arab"
Abdulaziz al-Mahmoud called Information Assistant to seek
input for an op-ed he was considering for the following day.
A senior Qatari official, he said, had questioned why he had
decided to report on Charge's press conference, and wondered
what message the USG was trying to convey. Mahmoud decided
it was time to answer this and other questions arising from
"Al Arab's" coverage. Charge agreed to brief him on the
record, and on April 20, al-Mahmoud ran a half-page op-ed
titled, "No One Owns the Truth." Al-Mahmoud cites reactions

DOHA 00000325 002 OF 002


that flew "fast and furious" after his paper published its
report on the press conference, and said that the U.S. State
Department had every right to comment on human rights abuses
in Qatar. "Discussing a problem," he said, is not shameful;
"what is shameful is not doing anything about it." The media
also has the right and the obligation to report on such
issues "in order to help remove obstacles on our path to
progress" and to "clean our conscience" ahead of Judgement
Day.


7. (C) In a conversation with Information Assistant
following his briefing with the Charge, Mahmoud said he did
not know whether the op-ed would land him in trouble with the
authorities or not. "Everyone here talks about censorship,"
he said, "but no one has ever come to me and said, 'Look,
here are the red lines, don't cross them.'" As of April 21,
Mahmoud had not received any admonitions, official or
otherwise.

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DOHA ABUZZ ABOUT SPONSORSHIP LAW
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8. (SBU) On April 17, "Al Arab" and Al Jazeera ran stories
about a leaked copy of a draft labor law that the Government
had been promising to issue for months. Conflicting accounts
emerged about whether the law would abolish exit visa
regulations for foreigners, and to what extent a laborer
would be free to switch between Qatari sponsors. On April
19, Al Jazeera conducted "person on the street" interviews
with expatriate Doha residents regarding the draft law.
(NOTE: It is rare for Al Jazeera to comment on any Qatari
political issue, much less conduct on-air interviews. END
NOTE)


9. (U) On April 20, English daily Gulf Times ran a
front-page, above the fold article on abuses by companies
that hire foreign workers. A large photo showed South Asian
laborers sleeping on the floor of the airport while waiting
for their Qatari sponsors to pick them up. Meanwhile, all
press outlets reported on the closure of 87 more companies
for labor abuses.

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COMMENT: CARPE DIEM ON HUMAN RIGHTS
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10. (C) It is hard to tell with certainty what effect the
Embassy's press conference is having on the thinking of
senior Qatari leaders, but we have clearly hit a nerve here.
Labor abuses have long been a hot topic of conversation among
diplomats and expatriate journalists. What has changed in
the past two weeks is that "Al Arab" has covered and
commented on labor rights in Qatar for the first time in
Arabic, which has opened up the debate to Qatari citizens,
most of whom only read the Arabic press. The fact that,
since April 8, so many Qatari elites have been commenting on
the Human Rights Report both in the press and among
themselves is a positive development, and a milestone for the
development of Qatar's media freedom.


11. (C) While we do not believe that the Government has made
a conscious decision to "let a thousand flowers bloom," we
believe that officials are indirectly participating in this
debate through, for example, floating a trial balloon with
the leaking of its draft sponsorship law. With no reliable
public opinion polling and a citizenry that makes up a scant
but powerful 12 percent of its total population, the
Government is keen to reform its labor system in such a way
that both expatriates and Qataris are satisfied with the
outcome. It is gratifying to see the Human Rights Report
provide a vehicle for this sensitive discussion to take place
among Qataris in the public sphere.
RATNEY