QATAR: INPUT FOR THE NINTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN

UNCLAS DOHA 000132


STATE FOR G/TIP,G,INL,DRL,PRM,NEA/ARP,NEA/RA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREF KTIP KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC ELAB QA
SUBJECT: QATAR: INPUT FOR THE NINTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS (TIP) REPORT (PART 2 OF 2)


1. Below is Part 2 of 2 of post's input for the Ninth Annual
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) reported. Part 1 has been
communicated by septel.


2. (SBU) PARAGRAPH 26: PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:


A. (SBU) What kind of protection is the government able
under existing law to provide for victims and witnesses?
Does it provide these protections in practice?

-- 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 located 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. Although there have been public campaigns to
heighten awareness of the shelter, it has been underutilized
because of language barriers and because the shelter is seen
as primarily a place for women and children. Potential
victims in the labor sector, being largely male and speaking
a variety of languages, have not made wide-spread use of 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(shelters or drop-in centers) 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.

Where are child victims placed (e.g., in shelters, foster
care,or juvenile justice detention centers)?

-- Child victims are normally housed with their mothers at
the shelter. Separate facilities are available for them if
they are not accompanied by a parent.

Does the country have specialized care for adults in addition
to children?

-- The TIP shelter provides specialized care for adults in
addition to children. All residents of Qatar, including
victims of TIP, have full access to modern medical care at
nominal or no cost.

Does the country have specialized care for male victims as
well as female?

-- The TIP shelter provides specialized care for male
victims as well as female. In addition, all residents of
Qatar, including victims of TIP, have full access to modern
modern medical care at nominal or no cost.

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.

Are these facilities operated by the government or by NGOs?

-- The facility is government-operated.

What is the funding source of these facilities?

-- The facility is government-funded.

Please estimate the amount the government spent (in U.S.
dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities dedicated
to helping trafficking victims during the reporting period.

-- Unknown; statistics not provided.


C. (SBU) Does the government provide trafficking victims with
access to legal, medical and psychological services? If so,
please specify the kind of assistance provided.

-- Legal, medical and psychological services are available
at the TIP shelter. In addition, all residents of Qatar,
including victims of TIP, have full access to modern medical
care at nominal or no cost. Also, under Qatari law, sponsors
must buy tickets home for their employees when their
contracts end. If the employer refuses, the government will
purchase the ticket so that the victim can be repatriated
immediately.

Does the government provide funding or other forms of support
to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or international
organizations for providing these services to trafficking
victims? Please explain and provide any funding amounts in
U.S. dollar equivalent. If assistance provided was in-kind,
please specify exact assistance. Please specify if funding
for assistance comes from a federal budget or from regional
or local governments.

-- The government does not provide such funding.


D. (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.

-- The government sometimes provides relief from
deportation so that victims can testify as witnesses against
their employers in criminal and civil cases.This relief is in
the form of an administrative stay from deportation from the
Ministry of Interior that is not subject to appeal.


E. (SBU) Does the government provide longer-term shelter or
housing benefits to victims or other resources to aid the
victims in rebuilding their lives?

-- Yes.


F. (SBU) Does the government have 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 (either government or


NGO-run)?

-- Yes. There is a process by which the Ministry of
Interior refers victims to the TIP shelter. This process is
underutilized in practice.


G. (SBU) What is the total number of trafficking victims
identified during the reporting period?

-- Unknown; statistics not provided.

Of these, how many victims were referred to care facilities
for assistance by law enforcement authorities during the
reporting period?

-- The TIP shelter housed and assisted 18 persons during
the year, but it is not known how many of those cases were
the result of law enforcement referrals.

By social services officials?

-- Unknown; statistics not provided.

What is the number of victims assisted by government-funded
assistance programs and those not funded by the government
during the reporting period?

-- Unknown; statistics not provided.


H. (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.

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?

-- Not applicable.


I. (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 detained for having violated other
provisions of Qatari law, such as immigration violations.
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 so, for how long?

- The length of detention varies greatly. The NHRC reported
that the average number of detainees at the Deportation
Detention Facility fell during the year to 800-1000, and the
average detention time to two months.

Are victims fined?

-- Some victims are also fined if they are found to be in
violation of immigration or other laws. If they agree,
however, not to seek reentry into the country in the future,
these fines are waived.

Are victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as
those governing immigration or prostitution?

-- Many victims are prosecuted forQmigration violations,
even if the violations are the fault of their sponsors.


J. (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. In addition, the
government, through the TIP shelter, began assisting victims
in filing charges against their employers during 2008. TIP
assisted 5 victims (2 male and 3 female) in filing charges
against their employers during the year. The government also
cooperates with foreign embassies in resolving
employee-sponsor disputes.

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 against their employers
according to the terms of the labor law. 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?

-- If a victim is a material witness in a court case
against the former employer, the victim may be permitted to
obtain other employment only upon approval of the Minister of
the Interior. Victims may generally not leave the country if
there is a pending case. In some cases, a power-of-attorney
may be given to the victim's Embassy to continue pursuing the
case while the victim is repatriated.

Are there means by which a victim may obtain restitution?

-- There are no provisions for restitution.


K. (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 oftrafficked children?

-- Yes. The National Office for Combating TIP and the
Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Interior conducted a
workshop 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.

What is the number of trafficking victims assisted by the
host country's embassies or consulates abroad during the
reporting period?

-- An exact figure is unknown, but based upon our contact
with the foreign embassies, the number is believed to be in
the thousands.

Please explain the type of assistance provided (travel
documents, referrals to assistance, payment for
transportation home).

-- Foreign embassies provide a full range of services to
their nationals who become victims of TIP. These include
travel documents, referrals to assistance, and payment for
direct transportation home. Foreign embassies also intervene
with the government to resolve labor disputes.


L. (SBU) Does the government provide assistance, such as
medical aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who
are repatriated as victims of trafficking?

-- It is not believed that any Qatari nationals are the
victims of trafficking overseas.


M. (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.


3. (SBU) PARAGRAPH 27: PREVENTION:


A. (SBU) Did the government conduct anti-trafficking
information or education campaigns during the reporting
period?

-- Yes.

If so, briefly describe the campaign(s),including their
objectives and effectiveness. Please provide the number of
people reached by such awareness efforts, if available. Do
these campaigns targetpotential trafficking victims and/or
the demand for trafficking (e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or
beneficiaries of forced labor)? (Note: This can be an
especially noteworthy effort where prostitution is legal. End
Note.)

-- 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.


B. (SBU) Does the government monitor immigration and
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking?

-- Yes, 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.


C. (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.


D. (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, according to government officials.
The terms of the plan have not been made public. According
to those officials, the plan identifies those persons most
likely to become victims of TIP as: child camel jockeys;
women exposed to sexual exploitation; and incoming workers.

If the plan was developed during the reporting period, which
agencies were involved in developing it?

-- Not applicable.

Were NGOs consulted in the process?

-- Representatives from the National Human Rights
Committee, a quasi-independent human rights organization,
were involved in this process, according to government
officials. No independent NGOs are known to have
participated.

What steps has the government taken to implement the action
plan?

-- The government has not publicly disseminated the action
plan or the steps taken to implement it.


E. (SBU) What measures has the government taken during the
reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex
acts?

-- There has been an increasing effort to prevent the entry
into the country of prostitutes, and continued effort to
detect and punish it in the country.


F. (SBU) Required of all Posts: What measures has the
government taken during the reporting period to reduce the
participation in international child sex tourism by nationals
of the country?

-- Unknown.


G. (SBU) Required of posts in countries that have contributed
over 100 troops to international peacekeeping efforts
(Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin,
Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China,
Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, ElSalvador, Ethiopia, Fiji,
France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary,
India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Korea (South),
Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Niger,
Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa,
Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda,
Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe):
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? If posts do not provide an answer to this
question, the Department may consider including a statement
in the country assessment to the effect that "An assessment
regarding Country X's efforts to ensure that its troops
deployed abroad for international peacekeeping missions do
not engage in or facilitate trafficking or exploit
trafficking victims was unavailable for this reporting
period."

-- Not applicable.


4. Post contact is David Caudill, Political Officer,
CaudillDR@state.gov. (974) 496-6753 (office),(974) 552-7390
(cell).


LeBaron