VZCZCXRO4736
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0667/01 2611226
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171226Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8230
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1365

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000667 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KTIA QA
SUBJECT: UN DISABILITIES RATIFICATION REFLECTS QATAR 
COMMITMENT TO DISABLED 
 
-------------- 
(U) KEY POINTS 
-------------- 
 
-- On July 12, the Amir signed a decree ratifying the UN 
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  Local 
experts maintain that the ratification was a logical step 
given Qatar's increasing commitment to the rights of the 
disabled. 
 
-- During the past decade, Qatar has developed a strong 
institutional framework to provide a wide array of services 
to those afflicted with physical and mental disabilities. 
 
-- Advocates for the disabled praise the Amiri decree but 
caution that providing accessible facilities remains a 
challenge in Qatar.  The ratification of the convention is 
not likely to change this or broaden the legal options 
available to the disabled, say their advocates. 
 
 
-------------- 
(SBU) COMMENTS 
-------------- 
 
-- The ratification of the UN Convention on Disabilities is 
consistent with Qatar's increasing attention to human rights 
overall and the rights of the disabled in particular. 
 
-- The next test will be whether Qatar enforces measures to 
require greater accessibility in public buildings, in 
line with the obligations of the Convention. 
 
-- It is doubtful that the Convention will prompt the Qatari 
authorities to improve accessibility, since powerful 
business interests will stand in the way.  It is even less 
likely that its ratification will be recognized by the courts 
as creating substantive rights, beyond Qatari civil law, for 
the disabled. 
 
 
END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS 
 
  ¶1. (U) On July 12, Amir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani issued a 
decree ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of 
Persons with Disabilities.  The decree came one year after 
Qatar became the 100th nation to sign the pact. The 
ratification was expected, and experts say that it was a 
logical step in Qatar's commitment to the rights of the 
disabled. 
 
  ¶2. (SBU) Over the past decade, Qatar has developed an 
impressive institutional infrastructure for providing 
medical services, physical therapy, and occupational therapy 
for the disabled: 
 
  -- The Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs: 
The Center, located in a state of the art facility in Doha, 
offers more than 500 children with severe learning 
disabilities classroom instruction, physical therapy, and 
vocational training.  Children of all nationalities are 
eligible, although Qatari children are given priority and 
there is currently a waiting list for non-Qatari children. 
Hana al-Emadi, Acting Director of Public Relations for the 
Center, told Poloff that the Center is in the midst of a 
multi-year expansion.  When completed, the Shafallah complex 
will include a hospital for children with special needs and 
an athletic complex that will be suitable for hosting the 
Special Olympic and Paralympic Games. 
 
  --  The Al Noor Institute for the Blind:   This Institute 
offers services to more than 800 Qataris with limited or no 
vision.  An on-site clinic provides initial diagnostic 
services and monitors the condition of Al Noor clients 
throughout their lives.  Staff members develop an 
individualized plan for each client. The plans differ 
depending upon the severity of the condition and the age at 
which the vision loss began.  The services of the Al Noor 
Institute are available to all residents of Qatar, regardless 
of nationality.  Dr. Hayat Khalil Hassan Nazar Heji, Director 
of Al Noor, told Poloff that she is is a member of a special 
committee on the disabled which meets with and advises the 
Supreme Council on Family Affairs (Note:  The Supreme Council 
on Family Affairs was established in 1998 under the 
leadership of Sheikha Mozha bint Nasser Al Misnad, wife of 
the Amir.  It is an advocacy organization active in all areas 
relevant to the family and is charged with ensuring the 
enforcement of government regulations mandating accessibility 
and prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.  It has a 
generally positive record in enforcing anti-discrimination 
 
DOHA 00000667  002 OF 002 
 
 
measures, but has a poor record in compelling builders to 
comply with accessibility requirements.  End note).  She 
stated that the main priority for Al Noor at this time is 
making public facilities and transportation more accessible 
to the blind. 
 
  --  The Qatar Society for Rehabilitation and Special Needs: 
 Focuses on the rehabilitation of adults with physical 
handicaps or severe learning disabilities.  Ameer Al Mulla, 
Executive Manager of the Society, told Poloff that he enjoys 
a close working relationship with the Supreme Council on 
Family Affairs, and sits on the same advisory committee as 
Dr. Heji.  He praised the ratification of the UN Convention, 
but stated that the building codes of Qatar need to provide 
greater accessibility for the disabled. He expressed doubt 
that the right laws would be put in place any time soon, 
given that business interests would rise up against 
imposed/enforced accessibility requirements. 
 
  ¶3. (SBU) One prominent Qatari expert believes that the 
ratification of the UN pact may lead to substantive rights 
for Qatari residents that would enable them to bring suit for 
discrimination and lack of accessibility against employers 
and owners of public buildings.  Najeeb bin Mohammed Al 
Nauimi, a former Qatari Minister of Justice, stressed to 
Poloff that although these rights, based on the Convention 
and application of international law, exist in theory, it 
would be difficult to translate them into reality.  He noted 
that political and economic interests in Qatar are 
intertwined and he predicted fierce resistance to any effort 
to force builders to meet strict accessibility standards.  He 
predicted even fiercer resistance in the judiciary to the 
recognition of a legal theory that would give Qatari 
residents the right to sue based upon the Convention on the 
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, or any international 
standard.  The former minister added that western builders 
will slowly begin to comply with recognized standards of 
accessibility, but only on a voluntary basis.  He nonetheless 
remains optimistic that as Qatar grows and its attitudes 
change, there will be more accessibilty and legal rights for 
the disabled based upon the newly ratified Convention. 
LeBaron