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