MFA HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER PRAISES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

UNCLAS DOHA 000723 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KIRF QA SUBJECT: MFA HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER PRAISES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT ¶1. (SBU) P/E Chief Rice, accompanied by PolOff Caudill, met with MFA Human Rights Officer Shaykha Sumaya Al Thani on December 15 to discuss the 2009 International Religious Freedom Report for Qatar. Also present on the Qatari side were MFA Human Rights Department Legal Counsel Dr. Mohammad Saeed Al Tayeb and an MFA notetaker. ¶2. (SBU) P/E Chief asked Shaykha Sumaya whether she had reviewed the Report and had any reaction to it. Shaykha Sumaya responded that she had read the Report in detail and found it more positive than the 2008 version. She said the Report accurately reflected the actions that the GOQ had taken to advance human rights during the reporting period. LeBaron