Dr. Marri: There are major efforts exerted by the State in employment legislation and we hope it will improve and upgrade the right to work for citizens and residents and ensure the rights employees and employers
The National Human Rights Committee represented in Dr. Ali Al Marri, participated in the 26th meeting of the Human Rights Council for discussing the report of Mr. Francois Crépeau, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, after his visit to the State of Qatar in November 2013 to assess the situation of workers.
Dr. Al Marri gave a speech on the growing role of national human rights institutions in cooperation with international mechanisms and extended thanks and appreciation to Mr. François Crépeau for the report, praising the role of the National Human Rights Committee, in particular the recommendations urging the government to provide more support to the Committee and consider its recommendations which in turn will increases the credibility of the Committee and stresses the importance of its role.
Dr. Al Marri emphasized that these recommendations are highly appreciated and will be followed up on through cooperation underway between the NHRC and the Qatari government represented in ministries of labor and interior and the United Nations Centre for Training and documentation.
Dr. Al Marri added that “The report came up with important recommendations, relating to legislation, practice, and the development of many proposals on several levels, including abolition of the sponsorship system, and the effective application of existing laws. It also proposed cooperation between the governments of labor-sending and receiving countries to prevent deception over terms and conditions of contracts and labor exploitation during the process of recruitment in the labor-sending countries, in addition to determining the responsibility of the private sector in respecting international human rights standards, and dissemination of clear and transparent information about companies.”
Dr. Al Marri introduced some of the developments that followed the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Qatar, which are considered to be very important in building business relationships and establishing mechanisms to solve most of the issues raised in the report of the Rapporteur. He added “these developments and other developments getting underway, reflect the serious intention of the government to improve working conditions, in line with the recommendations of the National Human Rights Committee, as well as other recommendations included in the reports of treaty bodies and special rapporteurs, including the recent report submitted by Mr. Francois, that we hope to be applied in practice to further improve and upgrade the right to work for citizens and residents and ensure the rights of all parties (employees and employers).”
Mr. Francois Crépeau praised the efforts of major companies in Qatar in protecting the rights of workers and developing standards for the welfare of workers and protect their rights. He added that Qatar has the highest ratio of migrants to citizens in the world, which is a unique challenge. He also praised the efforts of Qatar’s government for its unlimited cooperation with national, regional and international human rights mechanisms, extending open invitations to all United Nations rapporteurs since 2010.
A meeting shall be held on the sidelines of the 26th meeting of the Human Rights Council between Dr. Ali Al-Marri and Mr. Crépeau to discuss ways to deepen cooperation between both sides.
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