1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: Throughout 2021, Qatar continued to reform its labour laws aiming at improving the living and working conditions of its large migrant worker community (over 85% of the country’s population). Those reforms entailed the de jure dismantling of the kafala (sponsorship) system in the country. It is the first country in the region to have done so and offers an example for other countries in the region to follow. Further reforms are needed and the recently adopted ones still need to be implemented fully.
In March, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs announced the implementation of the new minimum wage for all workers. Progress is needed to monitor and to sanction violations. In May, the Ministry announced the launch of a single platform for complaints about working conditions. The system also provides a reporting service that allows all citizens and residents of the country to report public labour law violations. The main deficiencies in the implementation of the 2020 reforms dismantling the kafala system are related to the impact on the worker when he/she changes employers and to the payment of wages.
In October, for the first time, 30 out of the 45 members of the Shura Council were elected in public vote. The elections triggered intense public debate and limited demonstrations by representatives of certain tribes discriminated by the electoral regulations. The turnout was 63.5%. No woman candidate was elected. On the occasion of the appointment of the remaining 15 members of the Council, the Emir appointed two women. One of them was elected as Vice-Chairperson. This originally advisory body was to acquire new legislative prerogatives after the elections.
In general, however, civil liberties remain restricted. Legislation limiting freedom of speech, including restrictive procedures on the establishment and closure of newspapers and the confiscation of assets of a publication, remained in place, with self-censorship being the primary result. The Law on Combating Cybercrime continued to apply to digital media, curtailing free speech and press. In May, a Kenyan national and human rights activist was arrested for denouncing, under a pseudonym, the working and living conditions of foreign workers in Qatar. On 29 May, the Government’s Communications Office said the 28-year-old was “formally charged with offences related to payments received by a foreign agent for the creation and distribution of disinformation within the State of Qatar”. After almost three months of detainment, Mr Bidali was released in mid-August and allowed to leave the country after the payment of a QR 25,000 fine. Some concerns also remain about the implementation of the death penalty after Qatar ended a 17 year-long de facto moratorium on the use of capital punishment in 2020.
While gender equality is protected by the Constitution, Qatari women continued to face instances of domestic violence and discrimination in some forms – notably inability to transfer citizenship to their children, and regarding inheritance rights. LGBTI persons continued to risk criminal prosecution under the Qatari Penal Code. While Islam is the state religion as per the Constitution, eight registered Christian denominations continued to hold services in dedicated places of worship. Other non-registered religious groups remained unregulated but allowed to practice their faith in private. The Doha International Center for Inter-faith Dialogue held regular conferences on inter-faith dialogue and religious tolerance.
2. EU action – key focus areas: The EU continued to engage on human rights with the Qatari authorities, including through the EU – Qatar Human Rights Dialogue. Among the recurrent topics featured migrant workers’ rights, labour reforms, women’s rights and freedom of expression. In September 2021, the HR/VP welcomed publically the improvement of migrant workers' rights through the pursuit of labour reforms in Qatar and called for further progress.
In June, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University held a virtual high-level workshop for women leaders, in partnership with the EU Delegation to the State of Kuwait (co-accredited to Qatar). The three-day workshop aimed to further develop the essential skills and capabilities of Qatari women interested in public role. Senior politicians, media experts, campaigners, and legal scholars from the EU, Qatar, Kuwait, and Tunisia shared their knowledge and experience with 11 Qatari women, including potential candidates for the Shura Council elections. This activity was conducted with the help of the FPI funded Enhanced EU-GCC Political Dialogue, Cooperation and Outreach project.
3. EU bilateral political engagement: Human rights remained a recurrent topic in political dialogues and regular diplomatic engagement of the EU representatives. In June, EU held the third round of the human rights dialogue with Qatar. The discussion focused on the latest human rights developments, especially matters related to expatriate and domestic workers, the death penalty, women’s rights and freedom of expression. On 22 September, the Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, met with visiting Members of the European Parliament. The EP delegation also met with high-level Qatari officials and noted progress on labour reforms.
On 30 September, HR/VP Josep Borell paid a visit to Qatar and met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the deputy Prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The HR/VP raised labour reforms and the elections for the Shura Council. On 29 October, the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders had a virtual meeting on human rights with Hassan al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.
In December, the Minister of Labor, Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, former President of the National Human Rights Committee, met in Brussels with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, and the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit. The Minister met also with several representatives of the European Parliament. During his visit, the Minister stressed that "Qatar's strategic vision is to be a model in the region with regard to workers' rights".
4. EU financial engagement: There was no EU financial support provided for human rights[1]related activities in Qatar. FPI funded ‘Enhanced EU-GCC Political Dialogue, Cooperation and Outreach’ project organised an event in support of women’s political participation in June 2021.
5. Multilateral context: In October, Qatar was elected to the UN Human Rights Council by 182 votes, for the period 2022-2024. In 2021, Qatar did not ratify additional international human rights instruments. However, Qatar recently became the first country in the region to ratify two main Covenants: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Full report https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/2021-human-rights-and-democracy-world-country-reports_en
