Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DOHA393
2008-05-20 13:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Doha
Cable title:  

WORKER RIGHTS IN QATAR: NOT JUST A PROBLEM FOR

Tags:  PGOV PHUM ELAB ECON SMIG QA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8693
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHHM RUEHJO RUEHPOD
DE RUEHDO #0393/01 1411352
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201352Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7934
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0669
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 DOHA 000393 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, DRL/ILCSR
LABOR FOR ILAB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB ECON SMIG QA
SUBJECT: WORKER RIGHTS IN QATAR: NOT JUST A PROBLEM FOR
LABORERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 DOHA 000393

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, DRL/ILCSR
LABOR FOR ILAB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB ECON SMIG QA
SUBJECT: WORKER RIGHTS IN QATAR: NOT JUST A PROBLEM FOR
LABORERS


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Qatar's economy is booming and has become
heavily reliant on expatriate workers. The resulting influx
of foreign workers, currently estimated at nearly 90 percent
of the population, has caused the Government of Qatar to take
sometimes stringent measures to ensure that the large
expatriate community does not consume the small citizen
population. This is often seen most vividly in expatriate
workers rights and immigration and sponsorship regulations,
including for mid-level and highly-skilled employees.
"Qatarization" (the process of ensuring that Qatari citizens
receive employment) has been expanded from the public to the
private sector and affects mainly educated expatriates.
Immigration officials keep a close eye on the number of
migrant workers emanating from any one country, and certain
nationalities, particularly Palestinians, Jordanians,
Pakistanis, and Iranians, experience the greatest
difficulties and are often deported when the worker attempts
to change jobs and sponsors. Current Qatari law allows the
Ministry of Interior to restrict and deport foreign workers
"in the public interest" without legal recourse. The
following are examples of this practice. END SUMMARY.

--------------
You're Fired, and We Won't Tell You Why
--------------


2. (SBU) British National Brian Connor described to P/E Chief
May 5 how he lost his job in April as head of security for
the Qatar Museum Authority (QMA),a post he had held since
August 2006. Connor, who previously served as head of
security in London for an internationally recognized bank,
returned from a two-week vacation in January to find an
office e-mail announcing the name of the new security chief,
Hamad Al-Kaabi. Connor speculated that the new chain of
command was a result of "Qatarization," and he sought to make
it work. Ultimately, the new arrangement did not work, and
Human Resources informed Connor in April that QMA had decided
to terminate Connor. To date, no official reason for
Connor's dismissal has been given. The termination letter
Connor received lists no reason for his dismissal in the

appropriate blank.


3. (SBU) Connor speculated that he was dismissed because,
after his demotion, he criticized improper security decisions
that were made by his new boss, Al-Kaabi. Connor said
Al-Kaabi had no previous security experience and previously
worked at the Qatar Foundation (QF),which is headed by the
consort of the Amir, Sheikha Mozah. The daughter of the Amir
and Sheikha Mozah, Sheikha Mayassa, heads the QMA. Connor
said following his demotion in January, QMA circulated a new
written policy prohibiting contact with Sheikha Mayassa
without his authorization. About the same time, Connor's new
boss - Al-Kaabi - instructed Connor not to take any decisions
without his approval. Not long after a scheduled vacation,
Connor returned to find a dismissal notice. Connor said he
had no axe to grind with the QMA, especially since QMA gave
him a generous severance package and Connor has other job
prospects in the region.


4. (SBU) Nonetheless, Connor maintained that Qatarization was
hurting Qatari interests. He said Qatari employees, such as
his former supervisor, were being hired with no regard to
their qualifications. The Qataris, with whom he had worked,
especially men, worked shorter hours than required and were
often unqualified for the jobs they held. Their performance
was also often substandard. The effect on expatriate
employees, Connor said, was debilitating. In April alone, 15
expatriates submitted their resignation at QMA, and another
eight were terminated. The remaining expatriates, who worked
hard and were the most productive employees, feared that they
would be next, observed Connor. Connor concluded that it
will be very difficult for Qatar to achieve its ambitious
plans so long as incompetence is rewarded and bad news is not
conveyed to the top.

--------------
Job Mobility? Don't Try It!
--------------


5. (SBU) Omer (last name withheld) is an American citizen who
had been employed for four years in a private company as an
Information Technology Manager and recently received a job
offer for a better position as a Systems Analyst at the
Aspire Sports Academy, a quasi-governmental institution. He
received a no-objection certificate (NOC) from his current

DOHA 00000393 002 OF 004


employer, the GAC Group, as requested by the Aspire Academy.
(Note: A NOC is a legal requirement that begins the process
of transferring sponsorship from one employer to another.)
He submitted his paperwork to the Immigration Department at
Aspire, which then submitted it to the Ministry of Interior
(MOI). Omer was notified three weeks later by Aspire that
his application for visa transfer had been rejected and that
they could no longer offer him the position. A day later,
the Immigration Department called and asked him to come to
their office. He was then informed that he had received an
order of deportation because his visa application had been
rejected. His passport was held and he was given two weeks
to leave the country.


6. (SBU) POL Specialist suggested that Omer go to the Qatar
National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and meet with the
Chairman, Dr. Khalid Al-Attiya. After explaining the
situation, Al-Attiya told him the cause of the problem was
Qatarization of the government and semi-government sectors
and he suggested that he obtain a letter from Aspire saying
that the position could not be filled by a Qatari citizen in
order for the NHRC to advocate his case. Aspire declined to
issue the letter.


7. (SBU) Omer kept wondering why he was not informed by
either his prospective or previous employer that changing his
workplace could risk his deportation. Furthermore, Omer was
not told why he was being deported, except that it was "for
the public interest." According to Omer, he had not done
anything wrong nor broken any laws.


8. (SBU) The Director of the Human Rights Department (HRD) at
the MOI told POL Specialist that he would help Omer change
his sponsorship if he could obtain another job offer in the
private sector. Omer did so and provided all requested
documents to the HRD. After two months, his application was
again rejected by the MOI and his deportation order stands.
Omer told us he was concerned that being deported from Qatar
would greatly damage his reputation and career opportunities
elsewhere.

-------------- ---
Discrimination in Government and Private Sectors
-------------- ---


9. (SBU) In 2005, an Embassy locally engaged staff employee
applied at QF to work at one of the new U.S. universities in
Education City. On his behalf, the Embassy RSO called the
MOI before the employee began the application process to
ensure that he would not be deported because he wished to
transfer sponsorship, which had too often been the case with
other requests. The MOI replied by saying that he had a
clean record and there would be no problem transferring his
sponsorship to QF. He sent his resume and, after a
successful interview, was given an offer which he accepted.
The applicant then received the required NOC from the Embassy
to transfer his sponsorship. QF signed its acceptance on the
sponsorship application form. The QF Immigration Officer
then took the paperwork to the MOI. A major requirement in
changing sponsorship is that the applicant must receive a
police certificate of good conduct, which usually takes 15
days. In this case, it took almost two months before QF
received word from the Immigration Department at the MOI that
the job should be occupied by a Qatari citizen because QF is
a quasi-governmental organization; hence the application had
been rejected. (Note: The police certificate has not been
received to date.) It is noteworthy that the employee, of
Palestinian origin, was born and spent his entire life in
Qatar.


10. (SBU) In 2008, the same employee applied to a Western
firm in the private sector and faced the same problem.
After applying for a position and receiving a job offer, he
was not issued a police certificate. When he inquired why,
he was told only that he could not work for this particular
employer. When his prospective employer followed up with the
MOI, the employer was told that a person of the employee's
nationality could not be offered such an elevated job title
or high salary.

--------------
Citizenship - Now You See it, Now You Don't!
--------------


11. (SBU) Abeer Al-Tamimi, a naturalized Qatari citizen of

DOHA 00000393 003 OF 004


Jordanian origin, was working at the Supreme Council for
Family Affairs as a Youth Programs Officer and a writer for
Al-Sharq newspaper. Abeer contacted the Embassy in March to
complain that the MOI had stripped her and her two children
of their Qatari citizenship. Abeer had acquired her Qatari
citizenship through marriage in 1993 to her ex-husband, who
was also of Jordanian origin. Their two children acquired
citizenship through their father. All acquired citizenship
in accordance with Qatari law. Abeer and her husband
divorced in 2002.


12. (SBU) Abeer was contacted by the MOI Immigration
Department in 2003 and was told to renounce her Jordanian
nationality or her Qatari nationality would be withdrawn,
since dual citizenship is contrary to Qatari law. Abeer
traveled to Jordan in compliance with the order and renounced
her Jordanian citizenship.


13. (SBU) Abeer's ex-husband's Qatari citizenship was
stripped in July 2007. Abeer told us she did not know why
his citizenship was revoked. The citizenship of Abeer and
her two children were likewise revoked. Because her two
children were vacationing in Jordan at the time, their Qatari
passports were confiscated by officials at the Qatari Embassy
in Amman, while Abeer's was confiscated in Doha. She has not
seen her children since.


14. (SBU) Abeer was told by officials at the MOI that she and
her children were facing deportation or detention at the
Deportation Detention Center if she did not legalize her
residency in Qatar based on her previous Jordanian
nationality. When she attempted to reclaim her Jordanian
citizenship through the Jordanian Embassy in Doha, Embassy
officials confiscated her previous passport, which had
expired in 1994, and presented her with a copy of the Royal
Decision that declared that she had relinquished her right to
Jordanian citizenship. The decision not to take the case
further was frustrated by the fact that Abeer is of
Palestinian origin.


15. (SBU) Abeer was told by Qatari authorities that she was
being deported because her ex-husband, who had also been
stripped of his Qatari citizenship, was being deported in
June. The two had been divorced since 2002 and she was not
made aware why her ex-husband was being deported. According
to Qatari law, the two were married and living together more
than the requisite period for her to claim permanent
citizenship. Also according to Qatari law, the children
acquired citizenship at birth. Unfortunately, however, also
according to the law, the Minister of Interior may
administratively strip the citizenship of naturalized
citizens when such acts are "in the public interest" of the
State.


16. (SBU) Since the American Embassy could not intervene in
Abeer's case; she was referred to the NHRC. After
investigating and communicating with the MOI, the NHRC told
Abeer that there was nothing they could do for her.

--------------
No Legal Recourse
--------------


17. (U) An Administrative Court was established in 2007 to
hear cases involving intra-governmental disputes and
administrative decrees. According to Article 3 of the law,
however, "Emiri orders, decisions and decrees; decrees based
on Society Protection Law No. (17) for the year 2002;
decrees based on the laws of private societies and
foundations, publications; release; licenses for issuing
newspapers and magazines; licenses for firearms, ammunition
and explosives; entry, exit and repatriation of expatriates;
and expropriation for public interest" are all exempt from
review by the court. There are no legal remedies for the
described cases.

--------------
Comment
--------------


18. (SBU) This is a sampling of cases which Embassy Doha is
aware. Even in cases involving American citizens, it is
difficult to advocate on their behalf, since Qatari
authorities are acting in accordance with current Qatari law.
We nonetheless continue to press for legal and immigration

DOHA 00000393 004 OF 004


reforms in our annual Human Rights Report and in our
diplomatic engagements with Qatari stakeholders.
RATNEY