VZCZCXRO8693
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHHM RUEHJO RUEHPOD
DE RUEHDO #0393/01 1411352
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201352Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7934
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0669
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 DOHA 000393 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, DRL/ILCSR 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB ECON SMIG QA
SUBJECT: WORKER RIGHTS IN QATAR: NOT JUST A PROBLEM FOR 
LABORERS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Qatar's economy is booming and has become 
heavily reliant on expatriate workers.  The resulting influx 
of foreign workers, currently estimated at nearly 90 percent 
of the population, has caused the Government of Qatar to take 
sometimes stringent measures to ensure that the large 
expatriate community does not consume the small citizen 
population.  This is often seen most vividly in expatriate 
workers rights and immigration and sponsorship regulations, 
including for mid-level and highly-skilled employees. 
"Qatarization" (the process of ensuring that Qatari citizens 
receive employment) has been expanded from the public to the 
private sector and affects mainly educated expatriates. 
Immigration officials keep a close eye on the number of 
migrant workers emanating from any one country, and certain 
nationalities, particularly Palestinians, Jordanians, 
Pakistanis, and Iranians, experience the greatest 
difficulties and are often deported when the worker attempts 
to change jobs and sponsors.  Current Qatari law allows the 
Ministry of Interior to restrict and deport foreign workers 
"in the public interest" without legal recourse.  The 
following are examples of this practice.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
You're Fired, and We Won't Tell You Why 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) British National Brian Connor described to P/E Chief 
May 5 how he lost his job in April as head of security for 
the Qatar Museum Authority (QMA), a post he had held since 
August 2006.  Connor, who previously served as head of 
security in London for an internationally recognized bank, 
returned from a two-week vacation in January to find an 
office e-mail announcing the name of the new security chief, 
Hamad Al-Kaabi.  Connor speculated that the new chain of 
command was a result of "Qatarization," and he sought to make 
it work.  Ultimately, the new arrangement did not work, and 
Human Resources informed Connor in April that QMA had decided 
to terminate Connor.  To date, no official reason for 
Connor's dismissal has been given.  The termination letter 
Connor received lists no reason for his dismissal in the 
appropriate blank. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Connor speculated that he was dismissed because, 
after his demotion, he criticized improper security decisions 
that were made by his new boss, Al-Kaabi.  Connor said 
Al-Kaabi had no previous security experience and previously 
worked at the Qatar Foundation (QF), which is headed by the 
consort of the Amir, Sheikha Mozah.  The daughter of the Amir 
and Sheikha Mozah, Sheikha Mayassa, heads the QMA.  Connor 
said following his demotion in January, QMA circulated a new 
written policy prohibiting contact with Sheikha Mayassa 
without his authorization.  About the same time, Connor's new 
boss - Al-Kaabi - instructed Connor not to take any decisions 
without his approval.  Not long after a scheduled vacation, 
Connor returned to find a dismissal notice.  Connor said he 
had no axe to grind with the QMA, especially since QMA gave 
him a generous severance package and Connor has other job 
prospects in the region. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Nonetheless, Connor maintained that Qatarization was 
hurting Qatari interests.  He said Qatari employees, such as 
his former supervisor, were being hired with no regard to 
their qualifications.  The Qataris, with whom he had worked, 
especially men, worked shorter hours than required and were 
often unqualified for the jobs they held.  Their performance 
was also often substandard.  The effect on expatriate 
employees, Connor said, was debilitating.  In April alone, 15 
expatriates submitted their resignation at QMA, and another 
eight were terminated.  The remaining expatriates, who worked 
hard and were the most productive employees, feared that they 
would be next, observed Connor.  Connor concluded that it 
will be very difficult for Qatar to achieve its ambitious 
plans so long as incompetence is rewarded and bad news is not 
conveyed to the top. 
 
--------------------------- 
Job Mobility? Don't Try It! 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Omer (last name withheld) is an American citizen who 
had been employed for four years in a private company as an 
Information Technology Manager and recently received a job 
offer for a better position as a Systems Analyst at the 
Aspire Sports Academy, a quasi-governmental institution.  He 
received a no-objection certificate (NOC) from his current 
 
DOHA 00000393  002 OF 004 
 
 
employer, the GAC Group, as requested by the Aspire Academy. 
(Note:  A NOC is a legal requirement that begins the process 
of transferring sponsorship from one employer to another.) 
He submitted his paperwork to the Immigration Department at 
Aspire, which then submitted it to the Ministry of Interior 
(MOI).  Omer was notified three weeks later by Aspire that 
his application for visa transfer had been rejected and that 
they could no longer offer him the position.  A day later, 
the Immigration Department called and asked him to come to 
their office.   He was then informed that he had received an 
order of deportation because his visa application had been 
rejected.  His passport was held and he was given two weeks 
to leave the country. 
 
¶6. (SBU) POL Specialist suggested that Omer go to the Qatar 
National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and meet with the 
Chairman, Dr. Khalid Al-Attiya.  After explaining the 
situation, Al-Attiya told him the cause of the problem was 
Qatarization of the government and semi-government sectors 
and he suggested that he obtain a letter from Aspire saying 
that the position could not be filled by a Qatari citizen in 
order for the NHRC to advocate his case.  Aspire declined to 
issue the letter. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Omer kept wondering why he was not informed by 
either his prospective or previous employer that changing his 
workplace could risk his deportation.  Furthermore, Omer was 
not told why he was being deported, except that it was "for 
the public interest."  According to Omer, he had not done 
anything wrong nor broken any laws. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Director of the Human Rights Department (HRD) at 
the MOI told POL Specialist that he would help Omer change 
his sponsorship if he could obtain another job offer in the 
private sector.  Omer did so and provided all requested 
documents to the HRD.  After two months, his application was 
again rejected by the MOI and his deportation order stands. 
Omer told us he was concerned that being deported from Qatar 
would greatly damage his reputation and career opportunities 
elsewhere. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Discrimination in Government and Private Sectors 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶9. (SBU) In 2005, an Embassy locally engaged staff employee 
applied at QF to work at one of the new U.S. universities in 
Education City.  On his behalf, the Embassy RSO called the 
MOI before the employee began the application process to 
ensure that he would not be deported because he wished to 
transfer sponsorship, which had too often been the case with 
other requests.  The MOI replied by saying that he had a 
clean record and there would be no problem transferring his 
sponsorship to QF.  He sent his resume and, after a 
successful interview, was given an offer which he accepted. 
The applicant then received the required NOC from the Embassy 
to transfer his sponsorship.  QF signed its acceptance on the 
sponsorship application form.  The QF Immigration Officer 
then took the paperwork to the MOI.  A major requirement in 
changing sponsorship is that the applicant must receive a 
police certificate of good conduct, which usually takes 15 
days.  In this case, it took almost two months before QF 
received word from the Immigration Department at the MOI that 
the job should be occupied by a Qatari citizen because QF is 
a quasi-governmental organization; hence the application had 
been rejected.   (Note: The police certificate has not been 
received to date.)  It is noteworthy that the employee, of 
Palestinian origin, was born and spent his entire life in 
Qatar. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In 2008, the same employee applied to a Western 
firm in the private sector and faced the same problem. 
After applying for a position and receiving a job offer, he 
was not issued a police certificate.  When he inquired why, 
he was told only that he could not work for this particular 
employer.  When his prospective employer followed up with the 
MOI, the employer was told that a person of the employee's 
nationality could not be offered such an elevated job title 
or high salary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Citizenship - Now You See it, Now You Don't! 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Abeer Al-Tamimi, a naturalized Qatari citizen of 
 
DOHA 00000393  003 OF 004 
 
 
Jordanian origin, was working at the Supreme Council for 
Family Affairs as a Youth Programs Officer and a writer for 
Al-Sharq newspaper.  Abeer contacted the Embassy in March to 
complain that the MOI had stripped her and her two children 
of their Qatari citizenship.  Abeer had acquired her Qatari 
citizenship through marriage in 1993 to her ex-husband, who 
was also of Jordanian origin.  Their two children acquired 
citizenship through their father.   All acquired citizenship 
in accordance with Qatari law.   Abeer and her husband 
divorced in 2002. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Abeer was contacted by the MOI Immigration 
Department in 2003 and was told to renounce her Jordanian 
nationality or her Qatari nationality would be withdrawn, 
since dual citizenship is contrary to Qatari law.  Abeer 
traveled to Jordan in compliance with the order and renounced 
her Jordanian citizenship. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Abeer's ex-husband's Qatari citizenship was 
stripped in July 2007.  Abeer told us she did not know why 
his citizenship was revoked.  The citizenship of Abeer and 
her two children were likewise revoked.  Because her two 
children were vacationing in Jordan at the time, their Qatari 
passports were confiscated by officials at the Qatari Embassy 
in Amman, while Abeer's was confiscated in Doha.  She has not 
seen her children since. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Abeer was told by officials at the MOI that she and 
her children were facing deportation or detention at the 
Deportation Detention Center if she did not legalize her 
residency in Qatar based on her previous Jordanian 
nationality.  When she attempted to reclaim her Jordanian 
citizenship through the Jordanian Embassy in Doha, Embassy 
officials confiscated her previous passport, which had 
expired in 1994, and presented her with a copy of the Royal 
Decision that declared that she had relinquished her right to 
Jordanian citizenship.  The decision not to take the case 
further was frustrated by the fact that Abeer is of 
Palestinian origin. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Abeer was told by Qatari authorities that she was 
being deported because her ex-husband, who had also been 
stripped of his Qatari citizenship, was being deported in 
June.  The two had been divorced since 2002 and she was not 
made aware why her ex-husband was being deported.   According 
to Qatari law, the two were married and living together more 
than the requisite period for her to claim permanent 
citizenship.  Also according to Qatari law, the children 
acquired citizenship at birth.  Unfortunately, however, also 
according to the law, the Minister of Interior may 
administratively strip the citizenship of naturalized 
citizens when such acts are "in the public interest" of the 
State. 
 
¶16. (SBU) Since the American Embassy could not intervene in 
Abeer's case; she was referred to the NHRC.   After 
investigating and communicating with the MOI, the NHRC told 
Abeer that there was nothing they could do for her. 
 
----------------- 
No Legal Recourse 
----------------- 
 
¶17. (U) An Administrative Court was established in 2007 to 
hear cases involving intra-governmental disputes and 
administrative decrees.  According to Article 3 of the law, 
however, "Emiri orders, decisions and decrees; decrees based 
on Society Protection Law No. (17) for the year 2002; 
decrees based on the laws of private societies and 
foundations, publications; release; licenses for issuing 
newspapers and magazines; licenses for firearms, ammunition 
and explosives; entry, exit and repatriation of expatriates; 
and expropriation for public interest" are all  exempt from 
review by the court.  There are no legal remedies for the 
described cases. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶18. (SBU) This is a sampling of cases which Embassy Doha is 
aware.  Even in cases involving American citizens, it is 
difficult to advocate on their behalf, since Qatari 
authorities are acting in accordance with current Qatari law. 
 We nonetheless continue to press for legal and immigration 
 
DOHA 00000393  004 OF 004 
 
 
reforms in our annual Human Rights Report and in our 
diplomatic engagements with Qatari stakeholders. 
RATNEY