QATAR CONDUCTS ANTI-TIP MEDIA AND OUTREACH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000236 SIPDIS DHAKA FOR P/E E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KTIP ELAB QA SUBJECT: QATAR CONDUCTS ANTI-TIP MEDIA AND OUTREACH CAMPAIGN IN WAKE OF NEW SPONSORSHIP LAW REF: DOHA 199 Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d). -------------- (SBU) KEY POINTS -------------- -- On March 2, at a press conference that received wide coverage in the local Arabic-language media, Dr. Ali bin Samaykh Al Marri, Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and Myriam Al Malki, Director of the National Foundation for Combating Trafficking in Persons (NFCTIP),announced the launch of a month-long campaign designed to educate Qatari citizens about trafficking in persons (TIP),its legal and moral consequences, and expatriate worker rights. -- The launch of the campaign came less than a week after a new Sponsorship Law was enacted that criminalized certain practices commonly used to victimize laborers and domestic servants (reftel). -- The campaign focused on heightening TIP awareness among the citizen population as well as outreach to affected communities and diplomatic representatives from labor-sending countries. -- The campaign included two critical components, never before seen in similiar outreach efforts: engaging local imams and warning Qataris that under the new Sponsorship Law they face stiff fines and possible jail time for certain practices commonly associated with TIP. -------------- (C) COMMENTS AND ANALYSIS -------------- -- By bringing imams into the fight against TIP, the GOQ introduced a powerful new element: the authority of Islam and its influence with the population. Thus, TIP is now cast in moral terms in addition to its traditional economic and security grounding. This could have a powerful effect, both in sensitizing Qataris to the evils of TIP and encouraging foreign workers, tens of thousands of whom pray next to Qataris at Friday services, to claim their rights under the new Sponsorship Law. -- The centerpiece of the media campaign is the new Sponsorship Law, which expands the rights of laborers vis-a-vis their sponsors. The media campaign makes clear that the GOQ expects its citizens to abide by the law, and that its passage was not an empty measure. The new law and the campaign surrounding it are encouraging signs that the GOQ is taking action. -- The opening of a more candid dialogue with the Embassies of the labor-sending countries also represents a step forward. In recent years, the GOQ has deepened its cooperation with Embassies in resolving individual labor disputes, but such cooperation has been at the lower levels of the GOQ. There has remained the pervasive sense that senior Qatari officials, even those tasked with fighting TIP, did not grasp the full extent of the problem, either through willful blindness or as a consequence of the social and economic gulf that exists between them and the expatriate workforce. Raising the profile of the issue within society will lead to open discussions. If the representatives of the labor-sending countries are candid, and press for more engagement, there is an opportunity to educate not just workers and ordinary Qataris, but the senior leadership itself. End Key Points and Comments. ¶1. (SBU) On March 2, at a press conference that was widely covered by Arabic-language print and broadcast media, Dr. Ali bin Samaykh Al Marri, Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and Myriam Al Malki, Director of the National Foundation for Combating Trafficking in Persons (NFCTIP),announced the launch of a month-long media and outreach campaign against TIP. The campaign was designed to engage local imams and other Islamic leaders in the fight against TIP, to educate workers about their legal rights, to deepen engagement with the Embassies of labor-sending countries to fight TIP, and to sensitize Qataris about the evils of TIP. ¶2. (SBU) As part of the campaign's goal of engaging local DOHA 00000236 002 OF 002 imams and other Islamic leaders in the anti-TIP fight, a training course was held for them on March 22 in Doha. Besides imams, the 22 participants included officials from the Ministry for Islamic Affairs, and representatives of the Eid Charity and the Qatar Foundation for Charitable Activities. The training focused on Qatar's international obligations to fight TIP and promote human rights, and included an appeal that imams speak out against TIP and other human rights abuses in their Friday sermons. ¶3. (SBU) The campaign was launched only a few days after the enactment of a new Sponsorship Law which gave workers certain additional legal rights and criminalized practices commonly used to victimize workers. A central aspect of the campaign was to educate workers about their rights under the new law. Anti-TIP forces planned to distribute brochures containing information about the new law in Arabic, English, Urdu, and Filipino directly to workers in the industrial area of Doha and at local shopping venues, as well as through labor agents and local expatriate groups. In addition to legal information, the brochures will contain information on how trafficked workers can get help. Also to this end, the National Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons launched a new website on March 22. ¶4. (SBU) The campaign included several programs designed to educate the citizen population about the evils of TIP and to sensitize them about their responsibilities under the new Sponsorship Law. On March 4, Qatar Television aired a special broadcast spotlighting TIP issues and featuring interviews with Dr. Al Marri and Ms. Al Malki. Twenty-five officals, including judges and representatives of the MOI, State Security Service, and Public Prosecutor, attended an anti-TIP training session offered by an NHRC legal advisor. School children received instruction in human rights, and radio and television ads talked about the new Sponsorship Law during the entire month of March. ¶5. (SBU) Anti-TIP forces also laid the groundwork for a better relationship with embassies of the labor-sending countries. On March 16, a meeting between National Anti-TIP Coordinator Al Malki and 20 labor attaches and consular officers from labor-sending countries took place at a local hotel. Ms. Al Malki pledged closer cooperation and gave the representatives her contact information and insights on how to improve their relationships with the Ministry of Labor in dealing with specific TIP cases. LeBaron