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Download Attachment United Nations A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 General Assembly Distr.: General 27 April 2020 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-fourth session 15 June–3 July 2020 Agenda item 9 Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Visit to Qatar Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance* Summary At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Tendayi Achiume, visited Qatar from 24 November to 1 December 2019. The Special Rapporteur commends Qatar for its human rights treaty ratifications, and for a number of legislative and policy reforms that promote racial equality and non- discrimination. She notes, however, that Qatar needs to do more in the light of the persistent complex challenges that undermine its compliance with its international obligations and threaten the achievement of genuine equality and non-discrimination, including the overwhelming role that national origin and nationality currently play in determining access to human rights. She raises concerns regarding a de facto caste system based on national origin, which results in structural discrimination against non-citizens, including as the result of immense power imbalances between employers and migrant workers rooted in the kafala (sponsorship) system that historically structured labour relations in Qatar. She commends the significant labour and immigration reforms implemented by Qatar to improve conditions for low-income migrant workers, including domestic workers, but urges further action in this regard. * The summary of the report is being circulated in all official languages. The report itself, which is annexed to the summary, is being circulated in the language of submission and Arabic only. GE.20-06069(E) A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on her mission to Qatar I. Introduction 1. At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Tendayi Achiume, visited Qatar from 24 November to 1 December 2019 to assess the authorities’ efforts in eliminating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. 2. During the visit, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Doha and its surrounding areas, where she met with government representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs; the Ministry of Public Health; the Ministry of Education and Higher Education; the Ministry of Municipalities and the Environment and the Central Municipal Council; the Ministry of Justice; and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. She also held meetings with high- level authorities, including the State Minister for Foreign Affairs; the Minister of Culture and Sports; and the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. The Special Rapporteur also met with representatives of the Shura Council, the Supreme Judiciary Council and the National Human Rights Committee, and the country’s lawyer, who also serves as the Dean of the Law School of the University of Qatar. 3. The Special Rapporteur also held meetings with other stakeholders, including civil society actors, such as migrant workers, domestic workers, members of the Al-Ghufran clan, and academics, as well as representatives of United Nations entities. She met with the labour disputes committees and visited the central prison, the deportation and detention centre and the police station of the capital security department. She also carried out an on- site visit to the Al-Rayyan stadium, currently under construction for the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, where she met with representatives of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and migrant workers benefiting from the workers’ welfare initiative of the Supreme Committee. 4. The Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate her gratitude to Qatar for its invitation and cooperation during the visit. She appreciates the fact that she was able to meet with high-level representatives of the executive, judicial and legislative branches, demonstrating the importance that Qatar attaches to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to express her gratitude to all those who took the time to meet with her. 5. The Special Rapporteur learned from government officials during her visit that the measures imposed on Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2017 had had a significant impact on the human rights of Qataris in those four neighbouring States. In 2018, Qatar instituted a series of inter-State complaints before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the International Court of Justice alleging a violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 1 The Special Rapporteur strongly urges all parties to these proceedings to respect their obligations under international human rights law and to abide by the findings of the Committee and the International Court of Justice. 1 See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CERD/Pages/InterstateCommunications.aspx and www.icj- cij.org/en/case/172. 2 A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 II. Racial equality and non-discrimination in Qatar 6. Qatar has a population of approximately 2.8 million.2 Of that number, about 2.5 million are non-citizens, who are identified in the Qatar National Vision 2030 framework as central to the nation’s economic growth, development and global ambitions. In short, about 90 per cent of the population are non-citizens, who represent over 70 nationalities.3 About 71 per cent of the national population is comprised of low-income migrant workers.4 A. Legal framework 7. Article 35 of the Permanent Constitution of Qatar enshrines rights to racial equality and non-discrimination: “All persons are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination whatsoever on grounds of gender, race, language or religion.”5 In addition, articles 18, 19 and 34 contain several legal guarantees of equality. Justice, freedom and equality, along with benevolence and high moral standards, are highlighted as core societal values under article 18. Articles 19 and 34 include provisions for equal rights, opportunities and duties for all citizens. 8. The Special Rapporteur commends Qatar on its recent accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This accession significantly expands the State’s existing human rights treaty commitments. Qatar is now party to seven United Nations human rights treaties, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. 9. As noted by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Qatar has not adopted a legal definition of racial discrimination that fully implements article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.6 The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to rectify this shortcoming without delay. She notes the ongoing elaboration of a national action plan for human rights but regrets that Qatar has not yet developed an action plan to combat racism. She urges the Government to adopt a national action plan to combat racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance in accordance with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and to establish an independent equality body mandated to prevent and combat racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination. These measures would represent significant strides towards addressing some of the challenges highlighted below. 10. The Special Rapporteur notes with appreciation that human rights are mainstreamed across several ministries through the establishment of human rights departments, including within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs. She appreciates the establishment of a section within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for the follow-up of treaty body recommendations. The Special Rapporteur commends the Government for such good practices, which could be replicated by other States Members of the United Nations. 11. The Special Rapporteur commends the establishment in 2002 of the National Human Rights Committee, mandated to promote and protect human rights. She welcomes the contribution of that Committee in further advancing racial equality and non-discrimination, 2 See www.psa.gov.qa/en/statistics1/StatisticsSite/Pages/Population.aspx. 3 See Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, “Qatar crisis – report (January 2018)”, available at https://assets.fragomen.com/s3fs-public/fragomen_-_qatar_crisis_report_january_2018.pdf, and Global Detention Project, “Qatar: issues related to immigration detention”, submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, available at www.globaldetentionproject.org/submission-cerd-qatar. 4 Qatar, Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Measuring the Standard of Living
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