SOLIDARITY CENTER AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE JOIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000211 SIPDIS DHAKA FOR P/E E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KTIP ELAB MEPI QA SUBJECT: SOLIDARITY CENTER AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE JOIN FORCES TO FIGHT TIP Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d). -------------- (U) KEY POINTS -------------- -- On March 17, National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Chairman Dr. Ali Al-Marri and Solidarity Center Executive Director Ellie Larson signed a Memorandum of Understanding at a ceremony in Doha attended by Ambassador. The event was widely covered in the local print media. -- Under the terms of the MOU, which runs from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2011, subject to renewal by the parties, the Solidarity Center will provide advisory services and technical assistance to the NHRC with the goal of improving labor conditions in Qatar. -- The MOU envisions vigorous outreach to the diplomatic missions and governments of labor-sending countries, with the aim of fighting trafficking in persons (TIP) at its source. -- Unlike the NHRC, the Solidarity Center will not be permitted to contact the media or prepare, issue, or publish reports regarding any part of its work in Qatar. -------------- (C) COMMENTS AND ANALYSIS -------------- -- The NHRC's agreement to enter into a relationship with a foreign labor NGO, represented by an organizer resident in country, was surely approved at the highest levels of the Qatari government. It is an important step by the GOQ leadership to address labor exploitation. -- The GOQ has now made a very public admission that the rights of laborers in Qatar need to be addressed. Moreover, by entering into this partnership, the GOQ has acknowledged publicly the need for outside resources in this effort. -- Despite the forward momentum, Qatari officials will avoid exposing the country to intense scrutiny and criticism from the outside world. The provision barring any publicity by the Solidarity Center, with no corresponding restriction on the NHRC, means that the GOQ will publicize the results of this partnership in terms favorable to itself. -- We expect that the focus of initial activity will be on developing relationships in the labor sending countries. This will allow the NHRC (and, by implication, the senior leadership of the GOQ) to make progress against TIP where there is the most common ground while the comfort level of the partners grows. -- Focusing on the external sources of TIP also requires little domestic political risk, as it allows the GOQ to cling to the fiction that, while TIP is a problem here, the real problem lies in the sending countries. -- As the GOQ becomes more comfortable in discussing labor exploitation openly over time, we expect a deepening partnership with the Solidarity Center on the rights of workers in Qatar. End Key Points, Comments, and Analysis. ¶1. (SBU) On March 17, National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Chairman Dr. Ali Al-Marri and Solidarity Center Executive Director Ellie Larson signed a Memorandum of Understanding at a ceremony in Doha attended by Ambassador. Also in attendance were NHRC staff members and employees, and representatives of the academic community. ¶2. (SBU) Under the terms of the MOU, which runs from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2011, subject to renewal by the parties, the Solidarity Center will provide advisory services and technical assistance to the NHRC in order to improve labor conditions in Qatar. Their work will focus on the rights of laborers in the construction sector, a community particularly vulnerable to TIP victimization. The parties also hope to extend their relationship to GOQ ministries and agencies. ¶3. (SBU) The Solidarity Center and the NHRC will engage in a vigorous outreach to the diplomatic missions of the labor-sending countries. The GOQ has always maintained that the principal source of TIP in Qatar lies not here, but in the source countries, where traffickers sell valid Qatari travel documents illegally and promise their victims jobs DOHA 00000211 002 OF 002 that do not exist. ¶4. (SBU) According to the MOU, the Solidarity Center is forbidden from preparing, issuing, or publishing any report on its work in Qatar. It may not contact the media or transfer information for any reason. There is no reciprocal provision in the MOU that restricts the NHRC in a similar way. ¶5. (SBU) A Solidarity Center organizer will be resident in Doha as soon as his residency permit is approved. Under the terms of the MOU, the NHRC will cooperate with the NHRC to complete the steps necessary to complete the registration process. ¶6. (SBU) Arab-language newspapers provided wide coverage of the event, including the text of remarks made by the parties at the signing ceremony and the answers they provided to reporters' questions afterward. Coverage in the English-language newspapers was widespread but less detailed. The tone of the coverage was positive. LeBaron