US embassy cable - 05DOHA1836

UNCLAS DOHA 001836 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, G/TIP, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, KWMN, PHUM, PREL, QA 
SUBJECT: QATAR: TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 194903 
 
1. (U) Post is submitting the following update on Qatar's 
efforts to address weaknesses identified in the 2005 TIP 
Report for inclusion in the Interim Assessment Report. 
 
2. (U) The GOQ has begun implementing the broad 
recommendations contained in the anti-trafficking national 
action plan. The GOQ has repatriated the underage camel 
jockeys and established a shelter for TIP victims. However, 
further action is still needed in other areas.  The GOQ named 
Major Abdullah Saqr Al-Mohannadi, Director of the Human 
Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior (MOI), National 
Coordinator for TIP issues in July 2005. Major Al-Mohannadi 
oversees all governmental efforts at combating trafficking in 
persons and coordinates and monitors these efforts with the 
different agencies working on this issue. 
 
3. (U) On May 17, 2005, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the 
Heir Apparent, signed a new law banning the use of underage 
camel jockeys. The law was entered into force on July 28, 
2005. The law provides strict penalties for those who are not 
in compliance. There have been no prosecutions to date under 
the new law; nor is post aware of any violations. 
Additionally, there are other criminal codes, such as those 
regarding forced labor, which criminalize other forms of 
trafficking. Between the months of June and August, the GOQ 
repatriated nearly 200 children jockeys to Sudan. According 
to officials at the Embassy of Sudan, no Sudanese camel 
jockeys remain in Qatar. The Qatar Charitable Society, in 
coordination with the Sudanese-based National Council for 
Childhood Care and the Qatari Embassy in Khartoum, will 
administer the Qatari government's program to rehabilitate 
and integrate the repatriated camel jockeys. 
 
4. (U) In September the GOQ opened a shelter for trafficking 
victims to serve the needs of abused domestic workers, other 
laborers and children. The shelter is in a small housing 
compound and is comprised of fully-furnished three-bedroom 
villas, with two villas each for men, women and children. 
Each villa can accommodate between six to seven people. The 
administrative building houses a health clinic with a medical 
doctor working on site. The shelter is under the management 
of the National TIP Coordinator Major Abdullah Saqr 
Al-Mohannadi. Presently, the shelter does not accept walk-ins 
but accepts referrals from the National Human Rights 
Committee, the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, Labor 
Department, the General Prosecutor's Office and the courts. 
There has not been any referral to-date. Prior to and since 
the opening of the shelter, the GOQ held a press conference 
and launched public awareness campaigns to inform laborers 
and domestic employees of their rights and about the 
existence of the shelter. Information about the shelter has 
been publicized on local Arabic television programs and in 
the local press. 
 
5. (U) While the GOQ has yet to institute a formal system to 
identify and protect trafficking victims, government 
officials at the Ministry of Interior have agreed to 
participate in the International Criminal Investigative 
Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), a USDOJ program aimed 
at training officials in addressing and preventing Qatar's 
TIP problems. Also, the Human Rights Department of the MOI 
has three phone lines dedicated for hotlines during working 
hours. These hotlines have been publicized in the local 
newspapers and television. The GOQ has also initiated various 
initiatives to inform the public of available resources to 
trafficking victims. Posters informing laborers of their 
rights and available resources are in the process of being 
printed into different languages for placement at the 
airport, shopping centers and the various cultural clubs of 
the expatriate community. 
 
6. (U) Post is awaiting data on investigations and 
prosecutions of trafficking crimes. Protecting the rights of 
foreign domestic workers remains an area of concern; the GOQ 
has yet to amend the new labor law to extend to domestic 
workers.  Post will remain engaged with the GOQ to urge 
increased action in these areas. 
UNTERMEYER