Human rights in Qatar - Wikipedia Officials from the ILO joined labor inspectors on several inspections and assisted in the formation of a new strategic plan for strengthening the Labor Inspections Unit. It also criminalizes the spread of false news, forces internet providers to block objectionable content, and bans the publication of personal or family information. There were no reports of violations of the hiring quota requirement during the year. The government did not respect freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining outside of the joint committees. Sexual assault and other gender-based crimes were rarely reported, mostly due to social taboo. A woman who gives birth out of wedlock receives a 12-month jail sentence, on average, which could also include deportation, and even corporal punishment (lashings); however, press reports indicated jail sentences and flogging were rare in such cases. In 2017 the amir appointed four women to the Shura Council for the first time in the legislative bodys history. During the interview the host made negative statements against the Jews when discussing Israel. There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. Islamic instruction is compulsory for Muslims and non-Muslims attending state-sponsored schools. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention reported in 2019 that the detainee tracking system did not allow police to determine the number and status of detainees held in any given institution. Bidoon, however, are unable to own property in the country and cannot travel without a visa to other Gulf Cooperation Council countries. (Beirut) - Qatar Preventive Security Department forces have arbitrarily arrested lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and subjected them to ill-treatment in detention, Human. In the criminal law, the penalty for sexual relations with a person younger than 16 is life imprisonment. Qatar is a constitutional monarchy in which Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani exercises full executive power. Lesser offences might include debt, usury, alcohol and drug abuse, and use of pornography. General Laws and regulations in Doha Qatar - Online Qatar Exorbitant recruitment fees incurred abroad entrapped many workers in long-term debt, making them more vulnerable to exploitation. The constitution and law prohibit torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment . Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is illegal and carries penalties of imprisonment or fines. The law prohibits consensual same-sex sexual conduct between men but does not explicitly prohibit same-sex sexual relations between women. Civil society organizations must obtain approval from the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor, and Social Affairs, which may deny their establishment if it deems them a threat to the public interest. As part of the governments COVID-19 countermeasures, approximately 20 square miles of the Industrial Zone, home to thousands of migrant workers, was completely locked down for two months from March to May. Authorities deported foreigners found to be HIV positive upon arrival. Anyone. Since health screenings are required for nonresidents to obtain work visas, some HIV-positive persons were denied work permits prior to arrival. Dispute settlement committees were established in 2018 to increase the efficiency and speed of decision making in the overloaded labor courts and included court translators who were present throughout all hearings. In many cases the government summarily deported the workers leaders and organizers. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor, c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment, d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation. FIFA The NHRC conducted a number of visits to detention centers and sent a list of recommendations to the government, including accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), establishing an independent commission within the judiciary to investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment, and replacing corporal punishment with voluntary social work. There were sporadic reports via social media that airport authorities prevented women older than 25 from traveling abroad without the approval of the male guardian, although the law allows women older than 25 to travel without a guardians permission. For those few workers covered by the law protecting the right to collective bargaining, the government circumscribed the right through its control over the rules and procedures of the bargaining and agreement processes. Restrictions and inconsistent application of the law prevented stateless persons from acquiring citizenship. A Guide to Qatar's Legal System - GlobaLex Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of government interference in the rights of married couples to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children; to manage their reproductive health; and to have access to the information and means to do so, free from discrimination, coercion, or violence. <p> Qatari Legal Portal (Al-Meezan) is a comprehensive website that encompasses, inter alia: First, all in force, amended and abrogated legisla Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings, c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees, f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence. Education is compulsory for noncitizen children, but they pay a nominal fee. Everything you need to know about Qatar's laws and customs Corruption: In October the Attorney Generals Office opened investigations on five individuals related to charges of money laundering. Sexual Orientation and Morality Laws. The PSRC report mentioned 130 cases of violence against minors in 2018. Egyptian residents also reported discrimination in denial of the right to transfer employment, apply for bank loans, and request family visas. The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor, and Social Affairs inspectors continued to conduct inspection visits to work and labor housing sites. Citizenship derives solely from the father, and women cannot transmit citizenship to their noncitizen spouse or children. A 2018 residency permit law allows children of citizen mothers to gain permanent status in country, even if the father is not a Qatari national. In June the Ministry of Finance instructed government ministries, institutions, and state entities to reduce monthly costs for non-Qatari employees by 30 percent, by either cutting salaries or laying off workers with a two-month notice. Public figures and international organizations criticized the wording of the amendments and associated penalties as interfering with freedom of expression. All . He was charged with disrupting the public interest. Human rights groups and international media condemned the exemption of World Cup projects from the precautionary countermeasures. In May the Supreme Judicial Council established a branch of the Enforcement Court at the worker dispute settlement committees to facilitate the process of implementing the committees verdicts. The Bidoon, who are afforded residency with the sponsorship of a Qatari resident, were able to register for public services such as education and health care. The woman received a court ruling granting her divorce and custody of her child; however, she was threatened with repatriation to Yemen and separated from her child following the cancellation of her residency. An online campaign encouraged the management of the main Qatari shelter to host them for a short time, but authorities deported them to Djibouti. Boozing, swearing, taking photos and even having sex could all land people jail sentences thanks to "vague" and "confusing" laws in the Muslim Gulf State, The Sun reports. Al-Marzoqi added that the verdict stipulated a confiscation of his Twitter account. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Single women younger than age 25 require the permission of their male guardian to travel outside the country, although the requirement was rarely enforced. In December 2019 the UN rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance highlighted the remarkable and commendable progress the country had made to end discrimination but raised concerns regarding discrimination against domestic workers and workers from South Asian and sub-Saharan African countries. The Government Communication Office released a statement expressing regret for the incident and explained that authorities aimed to locate and arrest the mother promptly and prosecute her before she was able to leave the country. Unmarried individuals who reported pregnancies risked prosecution by authorities for extramarital sexual relations. Non-Muslims are punished with fines and up to 7 years imprisonment, and for Muslims, they can technically . In cases of divorce, children generally remain with the mother until age 13 for boys and 15 for girls, at which time custody reverts to the husbands family, regardless of her religion. In April security authorities announced that five social media users were arrested and charged with igniting societal strife. Those charged were accused of making defamatory comments against certain tribes in response to the governments public naming of individuals who violated home quarantine. Local media outlets faced financial difficulty due to COVID-19 countermeasures and consequently underwent massive job cuts, making them depend primarily on the national news agency for content. Users who believed authorities had mistakenly censored a site could request that the site be reviewed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication for suitability; there were no reports that any websites were unblocked based on this procedure.