P 191034Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8770
INFO GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 
AMEMBASSY AMMAN 
AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 
AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMEMBASSY CAIRO 
AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 
AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 
AMEMBASSY DHAKA 
AMEMBASSY HANOI 
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 
AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 
AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 
AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 
AMEMBASSY MANILA 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS DOHA 000132 
 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP,G,INL,DRL,PRM,NEA/ARP,NEA/RA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF KTIP KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC ELAB QA
SUBJECT: QATAR: INPUT FOR THE NINTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS (TIP) REPORT (PART 2 OF 2) 
 
¶1.  Below is Part 2 of 2 of post's input for the Ninth Annual 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) reported.  Part 1 has been 
communicated by septel. 
 
¶2. (SBU) PARAGRAPH 26: PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
¶A.  (SBU) What kind of protection is the government able 
under existing law to provide for victims and witnesses? 
Does it provide these protections in practice? 
 
  -- In 2005, the government opened a shelter for trafficking 
victims to serve the needs of abused domestic workers, other 
laborers and children.  The shelter is located in a small 
housing compound and is comprised of fully furnished 
three-bedroom villas, with two villas each for men, women and 
children.  Each villa can accommodate up to seven people. 
The shelter is under the management of the National TIP 
Coordinator.  Although there have been public campaigns to 
heighten awareness of the shelter, it has been underutilized 
because of language barriers and because the shelter is seen 
as primarily a place for women and children.  Potential 
victims in the labor sector, being largely male and speaking 
a variety of languages, have not made wide-spread use of the 
shelter.  The government has stated that it hopes to 
construct a larger shelter to accommodate potential labor 
victims. 
 
¶B.  (SBU) Does the country have victim care 
facilities(shelters or drop-in centers) which are accessible 
to trafficking victims? 
 
  -- The administrative building of the TIP shelter houses a 
health clinic with a medical doctor working on site.  Mental 
health services are available to the victims. 
 
Do foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic 
trafficking victims? 
 
  -- There are no known cases of domestic trafficking. 
 
Where are child victims placed (e.g., in shelters, foster 
care,or juvenile justice detention centers)? 
 
  -- Child victims are normally housed with their mothers at 
the shelter.  Separate facilities are available for them if 
they are not accompanied by a parent. 
 
Does the country have specialized care for adults in addition 
to children? 
 
  -- The TIP shelter provides specialized care for adults in 
addition to children.  All residents of Qatar, including 
victims of TIP, have full access to modern medical care at 
nominal or no cost. 
 
Does the country have specialized care for male victims as 
well as female? 
 
  -- The TIP shelter provides specialized care for male 
victims as well as female.  In addition, all residents of 
Qatar, including victims of TIP, have full access to modern 
modern medical care at nominal or no cost. 
 
Does the country have specialized facilities dedicated to 
helping victims of trafficking? 
 
  -- The TIP shelter provides assistance to workers who have 
suffered from abuse in the form of payment of back wages and 
repatriation, and it will facilitate change of employer 
rather than deportation in cases where abuse has been proven. 
 
 The shelter has provided financial support to some of the 
victims.  The shelter also pays for the lodgers' calls to 
their families back home and provides them with personal 
necessities.  TIP victims lodged in the shelter are not 
repatriated unless they wish.  Legal assistance is also 
available to the victims while in the shelter.  The 
government has widely publicized the existence of the shelter 
and the hotlines in local newspapers, on TV (local and 
regional), and via brochures, posters, and leaflets. 
 
Are these facilities operated by the government or by NGOs? 
 
  -- The facility is government-operated. 
 
What is the funding source of these facilities? 
 
  -- The facility is government-funded. 
 
Please estimate the amount the government spent (in U.S. 
dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities dedicated 
to helping trafficking victims during the reporting period. 
 
  -- Unknown; statistics not provided. 
 
¶C. (SBU) Does the government provide trafficking victims with 
access to legal, medical and psychological services?  If so, 
please specify the kind of assistance provided. 
 
  -- Legal, medical and psychological services are available 
at the TIP shelter.  In addition, all residents of Qatar, 
including victims of TIP, have full access to modern medical 
care at nominal or no cost.  Also, under Qatari law, sponsors 
must buy tickets home for their employees when their 
contracts end.  If the employer refuses, the government will 
purchase the ticket so that the victim can be repatriated 
immediately. 
 
Does the government provide funding or other forms of support 
to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or international 
organizations for providing these services to trafficking 
victims?  Please explain and provide any funding amounts in 
U.S. dollar equivalent.  If assistance provided was in-kind, 
please specify exact assistance.  Please specify if funding 
for assistance comes from a federal budget or from regional 
or local governments. 
 
  -- The government does not provide such funding. 
 
¶D. (SBU) Does the government assist foreign trafficking 
victims, for example, by providing temporary to permanent 
residency status, or other relief from deportation?  If so, 
please explain. 
 
  -- The government sometimes provides relief from 
deportation so that victims can testify as witnesses against 
their employers in criminal and civil cases.This relief is in 
the form of an administrative stay from deportation from the 
Ministry of Interior that is not subject to appeal. 
 
¶E. (SBU) Does the government provide longer-term shelter or 
housing benefits to victims or other resources to aid the 
victims in rebuilding their lives? 
 
  -- Yes. 
 
¶F. (SBU) Does the government have a referral process to 
transfer victims detained, arrested or placed in protective 
custody by law enforcement authorities to institutions that 
provide short- or long-term care (either government or 
 
 
NGO-run)? 
 
  -- Yes.  There is a process by which the Ministry of 
Interior refers victims to the TIP shelter.  This process is 
underutilized in practice. 
 
¶G. (SBU) What is the total number of trafficking victims 
identified during the reporting period? 
 
  -- Unknown; statistics not provided. 
 
Of these, how many victims were referred to care facilities 
for assistance by law enforcement authorities during the 
reporting period? 
 
  -- The TIP shelter housed and assisted 18 persons during 
the year, but it is not known how many of those cases were 
the result of law enforcement referrals. 
 
By social services officials? 
 
  -- Unknown; statistics not provided. 
 
What is the number of victims assisted by government-funded 
assistance programs and those not funded by the government 
during the reporting period? 
 
  -- Unknown; statistics not provided. 
 
¶H. (SBU) Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, 
and social services personnel have a formal system of 
proactively identifying victims of trafficking among 
high-risk persons with whom they come in contact 
(e.g.,foreign persons arrested for prostitution or 
immigration violations)? 
 
  -- Health care facilities have instituted a system to refer 
suspected abuse cases to the TIP shelter for investigation. 
 
For countries with legalized prostitution, does the 
government have a mechanism for screening for trafficking 
victims among persons involved in the legal/regulated 
commercial sex trade? 
 
  -- Not applicable. 
 
¶I. (SBU) Are the rights of victims respected? 
 
  -- The rights of laborers and domestic workers are 
generally not respected. 
 
Are trafficking victims detained or jailed? 
 
  -- They are often detained for having violated other 
provisions of Qatari law, such as immigration violations. 
Laborers are often kept in the Deportation Detention Center 
until their civil cases with their sponsors are resolved. 
Domestic workers are also detained and placed in the 
Deportation Detention Center.  After their cases have been 
resolved, they are deported, but sometimes only after long 
administrative delays. 
 
If so, for how long? 
 
  - The length of detention varies greatly.  The NHRC reported 
that the average number of detainees at the Deportation 
Detention Facility fell during the year to 800-1000, and the 
average detention time to two months. 
 
Are victims fined? 
 
-- Some victims are also fined if they are found to be in 
violation of immigration or other laws.  If they agree, 
however, not to seek reentry into the country in the future, 
these fines are waived. 
 
Are victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as 
those governing immigration or prostitution? 
 
  -- Many victims are prosecuted forQmigration violations, 
even if the violations are the fault of their sponsors. 
 
¶J. (SBU) Does the government encourage victims to assist in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking? 
 
  -- 
The government encourages some victims to assist in their own 
cases of abuse or withholding of pay.  In addition, the 
government, through the TIP shelter, began assisting victims 
in filing charges against their employers during 2008. TIP 
assisted 5 victims (2 male and 3 female) in filing charges 
against their employers during the year.  The government also 
cooperates with foreign embassies in resolving 
employee-sponsor disputes. 
 
How many victims assisted in the investigation and 
prosecution of traffickers during the reporting period? 
 
  -- Unknown; statistics not provided. 
 
May victims file civil suits or seek legal action against 
traffickers? 
 
  -- Laborers may file civil suits against their employers 
according to the terms of the labor law.  Domestic workers 
are not covered under the labor law. 
 
Does anyone impede victim access to such legal redress? 
 
  -- Some sponsors and employers have been known to threaten 
victims in an attempt to keep them from seeking legal redress. 
 
If a victim is a material witness in a court case against a 
former employer, is the victim permitted to obtain other 
employment or to leave the country pending trial proceedings? 
 
  -- If a victim is a material witness in a court case 
against the former employer, the victim may be permitted to 
obtain other employment only upon approval of the Minister of 
the Interior.  Victims may generally not leave the country if 
there is a pending case.  In some cases, a power-of-attorney 
may be given to the victim's Embassy to continue pursuing the 
case while the victim is repatriated. 
 
Are there means by which a victim may obtain restitution? 
 
  -- There are no provisions for restitution. 
 
¶K. (SBU) Does the government provide any specialized training 
for government officials in identifying trafficking victims 
and in the provision of assistance to trafficked victims, 
including the special needs oftrafficked children? 
 
  -- Yes.  The National Office for Combating TIP and the 
Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Interior conducted a 
workshop on the legal, social and security dimensions of TIP. 
 Participants have included a selection of police 
officers, Internal Security Force staff and other personnel 
related to this subject.  The purpose of the workshop was to 
"deepen the awareness of the notions related to the combating 
of TIP and the activation of the role of organizations and 
security bodies for active participation and confrontation of 
this crime and its combat and protection of its victims who 
are mostly children, women and housemaids." TIP training has 
been incorporated into basic and continuing training at the 
police academy. 
 
Does the government provide training on protections and 
assistance to its embassies and consulates in foreign 
countries that are destination or transit countries? 
 
  -- Unknown. 
 
What is the number of trafficking victims assisted by the 
host country's embassies or consulates abroad during the 
reporting period? 
 
  -- An exact figure is unknown, but based upon our contact 
with the foreign embassies, the number is believed to be in 
the thousands. 
 
Please explain the type of assistance provided (travel 
documents, referrals to assistance, payment for 
transportation home). 
 
  -- Foreign embassies provide a full range of services to 
their nationals who become victims of TIP.  These include 
travel documents, referrals to assistance, and payment for 
direct transportation home.  Foreign embassies also intervene 
with the government to resolve labor disputes. 
 
¶L. (SBU) Does the government provide assistance, such as 
medical aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who 
are repatriated as victims of trafficking? 
 
  -- It is not believed that any Qatari nationals are the 
victims of trafficking overseas. 
 
¶M. (SBU) Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, 
work with trafficking victims? 
 
  -- The Solidarity Center is working with expatriate 
community support groups to help assist trafficking victims. 
 
What type of services do they provide? 
 
  -- Networking and consultation. 
 
What sort of cooperation do they receive from local 
authorities? 
 
  -- Thus far, non-interference. 
 
¶3. (SBU) PARAGRAPH 27:  PREVENTION: 
 
¶A. (SBU) Did the government conduct anti-trafficking 
information or education campaigns during the reporting 
period? 
 
  -- Yes. 
 
If so, briefly describe the campaign(s), including their 
objectives and effectiveness.  Please provide the number of 
people reached by such awareness efforts, if available.  Do 
these campaigns targetpotential trafficking victims and/or 
the demand for trafficking (e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or 
beneficiaries of forced labor)?  (Note: This can be an 
especially noteworthy effort where prostitution is legal. End 
Note.) 
 
  -- The National Office for Combating TIP continued to carry 
out its media action plan.  Activities have included the 
publication and distribution of informational brochures in 
several targeted languages, distribution of posters in 
different languages, radio and TV interviews in local and 
regional media outlets, TV and radio commercials, and a media 
campaign entitled "No to Trafficking." While the focus has 
been primarily on women and children, the plight of abused 
and forced labor was also addressed.  The Office has directed 
educational institutes and training centers in Qatar to 
include the concept of TIP, its reasons and its negative 
effects on society in their curriculum.  The TIP National 
Coordinator developed a curriculum on TIP in cooperation with 
the legal expert at the Human Rights Office of the Ministry 
of the Interior to be taught at the Supreme Judicial Council 
and Ministry of Interior.  The TIP 
Office increased government awareness of TIP to include 
migrant laborers who fall victim to delusion and fraud and 
who are forced to work in illegal jobs, whether with pay or 
without payment.  To combat this, a circular was distributed 
to all concerned departments in the Ministry of Interior and 
other concerned ministries to abide by this definition and to 
apply it when identifying TIP crimes or investigating TIP 
victims. 
 
¶B. (SBU) Does the government monitor immigration and 
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking? 
 
  -- Yes, it monitors immigration and emigration patterns for 
evidence of trafficking.  It previously strengthened visa 
regulations as a result of shifts in immigration patterns 
showing evidence of probable prostitution-related activities. 
 
Do law enforcement agencies screen for potential trafficking 
victims along borders? 
 
  -- The government monitors its land border but is not able 
comprehensively to monitor its extensive shoreline.  There 
were no reported arrests or incidents. 
 
¶C. (SBU) Is there a mechanism for coordination and 
communication between various agencies, internal, 
international, and multilateral on trafficking-related 
matters, such as a multi-agency working group or a task force? 
 
- Human rights offices have been established at the Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior to address 
TIP issues.  The Supreme Council for Family Affairs is 
currently the lead organization for coordination and 
communication between various internal agencies. 
 
¶D. (SBU) Does the government have a national plan of action 
to address trafficking in persons? 
 
  -- The government has a national plan of action to address 
trafficking in persons, according to government officials. 
The terms of the plan have not been made public.  According 
to those officials, the plan identifies   those persons most 
likely to become victims of TIP as: child camel jockeys; 
women exposed to sexual exploitation; and incoming workers. 
 
If the plan was developed during the reporting period, which 
agencies were involved in developing it? 
 
  -- Not applicable. 
 
Were NGOs consulted in the process? 
 
  -- Representatives from the National Human Rights 
Committee, a quasi-independent human rights organization, 
were involved in this process, according to government 
officials.  No independent NGOs are known to have 
participated. 
 
What steps has the government taken to implement the action 
plan? 
 
  -- The government has not publicly disseminated the action 
plan or the steps taken to implement it. 
 
¶E. (SBU) What measures has the government taken during the 
reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex 
acts? 
 
  -- There has been an increasing effort to prevent the entry 
into the country of prostitutes, and continued effort to 
detect and punish it in the country. 
 
¶F. (SBU) Required of all Posts: What measures has the 
government taken during the reporting period to reduce the 
participation in international child sex tourism by nationals 
of the country? 
 
  -- Unknown. 
 
¶G. (SBU) Required of posts in countries that have contributed 
over 100 troops to international peacekeeping efforts 
(Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, 
Bolivia, Brazil,  Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, 
Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, ElSalvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, 
France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, 
India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Korea (South), 
Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal,  Niger, 
Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, 
Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, 
Spain, Sri Lanka,  Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, 
Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe): 
What measures has the government adopted to ensure that its 
nationals who are deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping 
or other similar mission do not engage in or facilitate 
severe forms of trafficking or exploit victims of such 
trafficking?  If posts do not provide an answer to this 
question, the Department may consider including a statement 
in the country assessment to the effect that "An assessment 
regarding Country X's efforts to ensure that its troops 
deployed abroad for international peacekeeping missions do 
not engage in or facilitate trafficking or exploit 
trafficking victims was unavailable for this reporting 
period." 
 
  -- Not applicable. 
 
¶4.  Post contact is David Caudill, Political Officer, 
CaudillDR@state.gov. (974) 496-6753 (office), (974) 552-7390 
(cell). 
 
 
LeBaron