United Nations CERD/C/QAT/13-16 International Convention on Distr.: General 13 September 2011 the Elimination of All Forms English of Racial Discrimination Original: Arabic Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Reports submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention Thirteenth to sixteenth periodic reports of States parties due in 2007 Qatar*, ** [18 May 2011] * This document contains the thirteenth to sixteenth periodic reports of Qatar due in 2003, 2005, 2007 and for the ninth to twelfth periodic reports and the summary records of the meetings at which the Committee considered this report, see documents CERD/C/360/Add.1, CERD/C/SR.1503, 1504, 1518. ** In accordance with the information transmitted to the States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not formally edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services. GE.11-45386 (E) 051211 071211 CERD/C/QAT/13-16 Contents Paragraphs Page Introduction............................................................................................................. 1–4 3 I. Basic information about Qatar ................................................................................ 5–48 3 A. Geographical location and topography........................................................... 5–6 3 B. Population....................................................................................................... 7–8 4 C. Historical overview ........................................................................................ 9–12 5 D. Socio-economic indicators ............................................................................. 13–14 6 E. Constitutional, political and legal structure of the State ................................. 15–28 7 F. General framework for the promotion and protection of human rights.......... 29–48 9 II. Comments on the substantive articles of the Convention: measures taken by the State to implement the Convention .............................................................. 49–111 16 Article 2.................................................................................................................. 55–57 17 Article 3.................................................................................................................. 58–59 17 Article 4.................................................................................................................. 60–63 17 Article 5.................................................................................................................. 64–102 18 Article 6.................................................................................................................. 103–107 28 Article 7.................................................................................................................. 108–111 28 III. Follow-up on the observations and recommendations of the Committee against Torture ........................................................................................................ 112–124 29 2 GE.11-45386 CERD/C/QAT/13-16 Introduction 1. The State of Qatar has the honour to submit the present report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in accordance with article 9, paragraph 1, of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1965 and with the Committee’s guidelines and general recommendations. Qatar became a party to the Convention on 22 July 1976 and supports the principles and purposes set forth therein in keeping with the precepts of noble Islam, the State religion, which recognizes that all persons are free and equal without distinction as to race, colour, sex or religion. The present report details the steps taken by Qatar to implement the Convention. 2. The report consists of three parts. Part I contains basic information about Qatar, specifically about the land, the people, general political structures and the legal framework for the protection of human rights. Part II provides information on measures taken to implement articles 2–7 of the Convention in Qatar and related developments. In part III, information is provided on the follow-up to the Committee’s observations and recommendations regarding the State’s previous report. 3. This is a joint national report, in that it was drawn up by an inter-agency governmental committee established pursuant to a decision that the Council of Ministers adopted at its twenty-fourth regular meeting on 2007. In accordance with treaty body reporting guidelines and recommendations, the report was forwarded to the National Human Rights Committee for comments and feedback. In submitting the present document, containing its combined thirteenth to sixteenth periodic reports, the State confirms its willingness to cooperate fully with the Committee by responding to any requests for clarification about the implementation of the Convention. The State furthermore wishes the Committee continuing success in its endeavours to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination. 4. This report was drawn up shortly after the State had prepared its national report on the human rights situation in Qatar and submitted it in accordance with paragraph 5 (e) of United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/251, establishing the Human Rights Council, and in conformity with the guidelines set out in Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 on the Council’s institutional machinery. In that report, the State attempted to provide a comprehensive and transparent account of the human rights situation in Qatar and details of: the steps taken to promote human rights on the ground; the difficulties and challenges encountered by the State in seeking to ensure the effective realization of human rights; and the future steps that the State intends to take, including plans to ratify certain instruments to which Qatar is not yet a party. I. Basic information about Qatar A. Geographical location and topography 5. Qatar is a peninsula midway along the western shoreline of the Arabian Gulf between latitudes 24° 27´ and 26° 10´ north and longitudes 50° 45´ and 51° 40´ east. The peninsula extends northwards, covering a total surface area of 11,521 km2. The territory includes several islands and rocky hills and the shallow waters along the shores of the country’s best-known islands: Halul, Shira`ouh, Al-Ashat, Al-Bashiriya, Al-Aliyah and Al- Safiliyah. The peninsula is 185 km long and 85 km wide. It is almost completely surrounded by the waters of the Arabian Gulf and its land border with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is approximately 60 km long. The United Arab Emirates lies to the east of GE.11-45386 3 CERD/C/QAT/13-16 Qatar. Qatari territorial waters extend around 95 miles eastwards and 51 miles northwards into the Arabian Gulf and occupy a surface area of around 10,500 km2. 6. The terrain is rocky and flat with some low-rising outcrops in the Dukhan area in the west and the Jabal Fiwairit area in the north. It features numerous inlets, coves, depressions and surface rainwater-draining basins, known as rawdat, which are found mainly in the north and centre of the peninsula. These areas have the most fertile soil and rich vegetation. B. Population 7. According to the 2010 census, Qatar has a population of 1,699,435: 1,284,739 males (75.6 per cent of the total) and 411,696 females (24.4 per cent). The fact that males account for such a high proportion of the population can be explained by the fact that most of the inhabitants of Qatar are migrant workers, most of whom are mostly males. Table 1 provides figures, disaggregated by sex, on the size of the population of Qatar between 1986 and 2010. Figure 1 shows the population pyramid for Qatar. Table 1 Population of Qatar, by sex Year Males Females Total 1986 250 095 122 336 372 431 1997 342 459 179 564 522 023 2004 496 382 247 647 744 029 2010 1 284 739 414 696 1 699 435 Source: Qatar Statistics Authority, 2010 census. Figure 1 Population pyramid, 2010 Total population, by age group and sex Male Female Source: Qatar Statistics Authority, 2010 census. 8. Qataris are Muslims, predominantly Sunni Muslims. There are other faith groups as well, since Qatar receives large numbers of workers every year and employs them to carry 4 GE.11-45386 CERD/C/QAT/13-16 out its ambitious development plans at various levels and in various areas. Indeed, migrant workers account for more than four fifths of the population of Qatar. These workers come from various parts of the world and live side by side with people from other faiths and cultures who lead different lifestyles. The experience of Qatar has shown that the presence of a large number of migrant workers and of a highly diverse range of nationalities, faith groups and cultures is no impediment to positive coexistence among different people in a society. Indeed, Qatari society has become a model for coexistence between people of different faiths and cultures. Figure 2 Diversity of groups present in Qatar in 2009 نويبوروأ ; 2.1 نورخﺁ ;Europeans: Others:2.1 ةقرافأ ;Africans:1.51.5 1.1 1.1 برع Arabs:29.7; 29.7 نو65.6يو يسﺁ ;:Asians 65.6 Source: State of Qatar, 2010: State plan for the Alliance of Civilizations, Qatari Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations, 2010. C. Historical overview 9. The Al-Thani family has ruled Qatar ever since the beginning of the eighteenth century. Sheikh Jasim bin Mohammed Al-Thani, who ruled the country from 1878 to 1913, founded the modern State of Qatar. Every year on 18 December, the date on which Sheikh Jasim acceded