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).

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(U) KEY POINTS
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-- 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.

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(C) COMMENTS AND ANALYSIS
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-- 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