Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08DOHA667
2008-09-17 12:26:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Doha
Cable title:  

UN DISABILITIES RATIFICATION REFLECTS QATAR

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KDEM KTIA QA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4736
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0667/01 2611226
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171226Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8230
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1365
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000667 

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KTIA QA
SUBJECT: UN DISABILITIES RATIFICATION REFLECTS QATAR
COMMITMENT TO DISABLED

--------------
(U) KEY POINTS
--------------

-- On July 12, the Amir signed a decree ratifying the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Local
experts maintain that the ratification was a logical step
given Qatar's increasing commitment to the rights of the
disabled.

-- During the past decade, Qatar has developed a strong
institutional framework to provide a wide array of services
to those afflicted with physical and mental disabilities.

-- Advocates for the disabled praise the Amiri decree but
caution that providing accessible facilities remains a
challenge in Qatar. The ratification of the convention is
not likely to change this or broaden the legal options
available to the disabled, say their advocates.


--------------
(SBU) COMMENTS
--------------

-- The ratification of the UN Convention on Disabilities is
consistent with Qatar's increasing attention to human rights
overall and the rights of the disabled in particular.

-- The next test will be whether Qatar enforces measures to
require greater accessibility in public buildings, in
line with the obligations of the Convention.

-- It is doubtful that the Convention will prompt the Qatari
authorities to improve accessibility, since powerful
business interests will stand in the way. It is even less
likely that its ratification will be recognized by the courts
as creating substantive rights, beyond Qatari civil law, for
the disabled.


END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000667

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KTIA QA
SUBJECT: UN DISABILITIES RATIFICATION REFLECTS QATAR
COMMITMENT TO DISABLED

--------------
(U) KEY POINTS
--------------

-- On July 12, the Amir signed a decree ratifying the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Local
experts maintain that the ratification was a logical step
given Qatar's increasing commitment to the rights of the
disabled.

-- During the past decade, Qatar has developed a strong
institutional framework to provide a wide array of services
to those afflicted with physical and mental disabilities.

-- Advocates for the disabled praise the Amiri decree but
caution that providing accessible facilities remains a
challenge in Qatar. The ratification of the convention is
not likely to change this or broaden the legal options
available to the disabled, say their advocates.


--------------
(SBU) COMMENTS
--------------

-- The ratification of the UN Convention on Disabilities is
consistent with Qatar's increasing attention to human rights
overall and the rights of the disabled in particular.

-- The next test will be whether Qatar enforces measures to
require greater accessibility in public buildings, in
line with the obligations of the Convention.

-- It is doubtful that the Convention will prompt the Qatari
authorities to improve accessibility, since powerful
business interests will stand in the way. It is even less
likely that its ratification will be recognized by the courts
as creating substantive rights, beyond Qatari civil law, for
the disabled.


END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS


1. (U) On July 12, Amir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani issued a
decree ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities. The decree came one year after
Qatar became the 100th nation to sign the pact. The
ratification was expected, and experts say that it was a
logical step in Qatar's commitment to the rights of the
disabled.


2. (SBU) Over the past decade, Qatar has developed an
impressive institutional infrastructure for providing
medical services, physical therapy, and occupational therapy
for the disabled:

-- The Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs:
The Center, located in a state of the art facility in Doha,
offers more than 500 children with severe learning
disabilities classroom instruction, physical therapy, and

vocational training. Children of all nationalities are
eligible, although Qatari children are given priority and
there is currently a waiting list for non-Qatari children.
Hana al-Emadi, Acting Director of Public Relations for the
Center, told Poloff that the Center is in the midst of a
multi-year expansion. When completed, the Shafallah complex
will include a hospital for children with special needs and
an athletic complex that will be suitable for hosting the
Special Olympic and Paralympic Games.

-- The Al Noor Institute for the Blind: This Institute
offers services to more than 800 Qataris with limited or no
vision. An on-site clinic provides initial diagnostic
services and monitors the condition of Al Noor clients
throughout their lives. Staff members develop an
individualized plan for each client. The plans differ
depending upon the severity of the condition and the age at
which the vision loss began. The services of the Al Noor
Institute are available to all residents of Qatar, regardless
of nationality. Dr. Hayat Khalil Hassan Nazar Heji, Director
of Al Noor, told Poloff that she is is a member of a special
committee on the disabled which meets with and advises the
Supreme Council on Family Affairs (Note: The Supreme Council
on Family Affairs was established in 1998 under the
leadership of Sheikha Mozha bint Nasser Al Misnad, wife of
the Amir. It is an advocacy organization active in all areas
relevant to the family and is charged with ensuring the
enforcement of government regulations mandating accessibility
and prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. It has a
generally positive record in enforcing anti-discrimination

DOHA 00000667 002 OF 002


measures, but has a poor record in compelling builders to
comply with accessibility requirements. End note). She
stated that the main priority for Al Noor at this time is
making public facilities and transportation more accessible
to the blind.

-- The Qatar Society for Rehabilitation and Special Needs:
Focuses on the rehabilitation of adults with physical
handicaps or severe learning disabilities. Ameer Al Mulla,
Executive Manager of the Society, told Poloff that he enjoys
a close working relationship with the Supreme Council on
Family Affairs, and sits on the same advisory committee as
Dr. Heji. He praised the ratification of the UN Convention,
but stated that the building codes of Qatar need to provide
greater accessibility for the disabled. He expressed doubt
that the right laws would be put in place any time soon,
given that business interests would rise up against
imposed/enforced accessibility requirements.


3. (SBU) One prominent Qatari expert believes that the
ratification of the UN pact may lead to substantive rights
for Qatari residents that would enable them to bring suit for
discrimination and lack of accessibility against employers
and owners of public buildings. Najeeb bin Mohammed Al
Nauimi, a former Qatari Minister of Justice, stressed to
Poloff that although these rights, based on the Convention
and application of international law, exist in theory, it
would be difficult to translate them into reality. He noted
that political and economic interests in Qatar are
intertwined and he predicted fierce resistance to any effort
to force builders to meet strict accessibility standards. He
predicted even fiercer resistance in the judiciary to the
recognition of a legal theory that would give Qatari
residents the right to sue based upon the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, or any international
standard. The former minister added that western builders
will slowly begin to comply with recognized standards of
accessibility, but only on a voluntary basis. He nonetheless
remains optimistic that as Qatar grows and its attitudes
change, there will be more accessibilty and legal rights for
the disabled based upon the newly ratified Convention.
LeBaron