QNA/Geneva

Qatar has reaffirmed that it is committed to the protection and promotion of human rights, including the rights of migrant workers, and that it values the contributions of expatriate workforce and considers them as true partners in the development of the State.  
This came in a speech delivered by Director of the Human Rights Department at the Foreign Ministry HE Sheikh Khalid bin Jassim al-Thani before the 26th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva during an interactive dialogue with the special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.  
HE Sheikh Khalid bin Jassim al-Thani thanked the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, for his report on the State.  He said the report was characterized by objectivity, professionalism and transparency.  
He said: “The State of Qatar views the visit of the Special Rapporteur within the framework of his mandate on the human rights of migrants from November 3 to 10, 2013, as historic since it is the first of its kind within the mandate of the special rapporteurs, after the State of Qatar made an open invitation in 2010.”  
HE Sheikh Khalid also expressed thanks and appreciation of the State of Qatar for the Special Rapporteur’s appreciation, first, for the level of transparency, openness and the co-operation extended by the Qatari government during his visit to Qatar, and for his praise for allowing him to tour all the institutions and organisations that he requested to visit, and secondly, for the appreciation of many of the positive work the State of Qatar carried out, on the legislative, institutional and procedural levels, to protect the rights of expatriate workforce.
“I share his view that this visit is a positive prelude for a constructive dialogue with the government in order to contribute to the strengthening of measures aimed to give more protection and reinforcement with the view to protecting the rights of migrant workers in the state and also share his view on the pivotal and basic role aspired by the countries that send workforce in the promotion and protection of expatriate workers’ rights.
HE Sheikh Khalid bin Jassim al-Thani said Qatar recently announced that it is intending to initiate sweeping reforms to further promote and protect the rights of migrant workers, explaining that the reforms will include the following:
l The sponsorship system: the State considering a new draft law based on work contracts only under the name of ‘the law of entry and residence of expatriates in Qatar’.
l Exit Visa: the state is considering the cancellation of the current exit visa system which requires the employer’s approval of the departure of the employee. The system is to be replaced by a new automated system to be operative through the Ministry of the Interior.
l Withholding of Passports: Raising the ceiling of violations on the employer who withholds passports from the current fine of QAR 10,000 to QAR 50,000.
l Employment contract: Regarding the employment contract, it should be noted that it governs  the legal relationship between the worker and the employer and the contract shall be officially endorsed. In the case that the contract is concluded according to a fixed term, the employee shall have the right to move, after the end of the period specified in the contract, to any party he opts to work with without the need for employer’s consent, but if the contract is indefinite, the employee can move to another job after 5 years from the date of the contract without the need for the employer’s consent.
l Labour law:  It has been noted that the state will introduce a comprehensive set of measures within the Qatari labour law to allow for the implementation of the new reform mechanisms, noting that such measures are consistent with the State’s commitment to the Social Development Strategy, as shown in Qatar National Vision 2030.
HE Sheikh Khalid bin Jassim al-Thani pointed out that the State has continued its initiatives aimed at promoting and protecting human rights, referring in this respect to the launch of a new global initiative, designed to combat racism and discrimination in sport, by Doha Sports Forum and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.