His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani
The Amir
State of Qatar
Doha, Qatar

Your Highness,

Human Rights Watch is writing to Your Highness to recommend respectfully that the State of Qatar commence the appropriate steps to consider and then ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. We have also written to the other member governments of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, requesting that they also begin the process of ratification or accession to this important new international treaty.

The Convention, which the United Nations General Assembly adopted on December 18, 1990, will enter into force on July 1, 2003. It establishes basic principles for the treatment of migrant workers and their families, and provides international standards to protect the rights of migrants in countries of origin, transit, and destination.

In 2001, the government of Your Highness reported to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that in the State of Qatar “the vast majority of the labor force in the private sector consists of migrant workers of various nationalities employed on a temporary basis.” Human Rights Watch understands that there are about 615,000 foreign workers in Qatar. It is in view of these statistics – and the large number of migrants in other Cooperation Council states – that we urge Your Highness and other leaders to consider becoming a party to the migrant rights treaty. Such a step would send an unmistakably positive signal that the six regional governments wish to take a lead role internationally to ensure the rights of often-vulnerable migrant men and women. Among other Arab states, Egypt and Morocco have acceded to and ratified the Convention, respectively, as of this writing.

The Convention guarantees the full range of internationally recognized human rights to all migrant workers and their families. These rights – enumerated in Part III of the treaty -- include the right to life, the right to not be subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment, the right to due-process of law, and the right to freedom of movement, expression, and religion. With respect to freedom of association, the Convention provides for the right of migrants “to form associations and trade unions in the State of employment for the promotion and protection of their economic, social, cultural and other interests,” in article 40(1). The right to join freely such groups and participate in their meetings and other activities is established in article 26.

The Convention prohibits private and public actions that target and harm migrants. Article 16(2) guarantees to migrants and their families “effective protection by the State against violence, physical injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by private individuals, groups or institutions.” Article 21 prohibits the unauthorized confiscation of any migrant’s documents: “It shall be unlawful for anyone, other than a public official duly authorized by law, to confiscate, destroy or attempt to destroy identity documents, documents authorizing entry to or stay, residence or establishment in the national territory or work permits. No authorized confiscation of such documents shall take place without delivery of a detailed receipt. In no case shall it be permitted to destroy the passport or equivalent document of a migrant worker or a member of his or her family.”

Significantly, the Convention recognizes the serious worldwide problem of migrants without legal status whose situations are thus “irregular,” and seeks to promote lawful conditions of employment. It stipulates that migrant workers and members of their families may not “be held in slavery or servitude” or “required to perform forced or compulsory labor,” pursuant to articles 11(1) and 11(2), respectively, and seeks to eliminate the inherent exploitation and unfair competition that trafficking in persons represents. Article 68(1) of the Convention calls for cooperation among States parties to prevent and eliminate such “illegal or clandestine movements and employment,” and requires states to undertake the following measures:

· prevent the dissemination of misleading information relating to emigration and immigration;
· detect and eradicate illegal or clandestine movements of migrant workers and members of their families;
· impose effective sanctions on persons, groups or entities which organize, operate or assist in organizing or operating such movements;
· impose effective sanctions on persons, groups or entities which use violence, threats or intimidation against migrant workers or members of their families in “irregular” situations; and
· impose sanctions on employers of workers in “irregular” situations, whenever appropriate.

The protections of the Convention cover the entire migration process of each individual – from pre-departure preparations through eventual return to the state of origin -- and do not single out only those states that employ migrant workers. The Convention also grants broad latitude to states to maintain their own policies with respect to the use of migrant workers in their labor forces. For example, it explicitly recognizes “the right of each State Party to establish the criteria governing admission of migrant workers and members of their families” (article 79), and specifies that states may restrict the access of migrants “to limited categories of employment, functions, services or activities where this is necessary in the interests of this State and provided for by national legislation,” pursuant to article 52(2)(a). In addition, article 34 of the Convention requires migrant workers and members of their families “to comply with the laws and regulations of any State of transit and the State of employment,” and “to respect the cultural identity of the inhabitants of such States.”

In closing, we note the comments of the United Nations Secretary General in his report to the General Assembly on July 2, 2002 concerning efforts of governments to protect the rights of migrants. Citing the response of the State of Qatar, the Secretary General wrote:

“The reply of Qatar of 2 August 2001 set forth its efforts to guarantee the protection of migrants. The Government reported that it derives its legislation from Islamic Shari’a law, which establishes the principle of equality of all people in regard to their rights and obligations. Qatar reported that since foreign migrant workers and their families are protected from acts of violence, discrimination and xenophobia under these laws, no such acts occur. In addition, protection measures against offences involving abuse of authority, assault, battery, abortion, endangerment of children and concealment of births are contained in the country’s penal code. The Government also reported that the unlawful arrest or detention of individuals, including migrants, is punishable by law. Foreigners who are held in detention are guaranteed the right to contact their consulates at any time, in compliance with Qatar’s obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
“Large numbers of migrant workers and their families reside in Qatar, where they lead normal lives, engage in their social, educational and cultural activities and benefit from the country’s social, health and other public services in a normal manner. Their respective rights and obligations as employees and migrant workers, including wages, working hours, travel expenses and accommodation, are regulated by numerous agreements. In this regard, the Labour Inspection Unit has not reported any complaints from migrant workers in matters relating to discrimination. In closing, the Government expressed its interest in combating and punishing international smugglers of migrants and protecting the victims of this unlawful activity, pointing out that it is currently studying the question of accession to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols on trafficking and smuggling.”
Human Rights Watch is encouraged by the stated commitment of the government to protect the rights migrants in the State of Qatar, particularly with respect to the crime of trafficking. We therefore hope that Your Highness will conclude that the guarantees and protections for migrant workers and their families, as set forth in the abovementioned Convention, merit support and cooperation from all members of the international community. Human Rights Watch looks forward to timely initiatives in the State of Qatar to become a party to this treaty.

We thank Your Highness in advance for your attention to this important matter, and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss it with responsible officials at the earliest possible convenience.

Sincerely,

Hanny Megally
Executive Director
Middle East and North Africa Division
Human Rights Watch

CC:
His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa al-Thani, Prime Minister
His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Minister of Foreign Affairs