VZCZCXRO9443
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0211/01 0841334
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 251334Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8901
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000211 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DHAKA FOR P/E 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KTIP ELAB MEPI QA
SUBJECT: SOLIDARITY CENTER AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE JOIN 
FORCES TO FIGHT TIP 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d). 
 
------------- 
(U) KEY POINTS 
-------------- 
 
-- On March 17, National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) 
Chairman Dr. Ali Al-Marri and Solidarity Center Executive 
Director Ellie Larson signed a Memorandum of Understanding at 
a ceremony in Doha attended by Ambassador.  The event was 
widely covered in the local print media. 
 
-- Under the terms of the MOU, which runs from January 1, 
2009 through December 31, 2011, subject to renewal by the 
parties, the Solidarity Center will provide advisory services 
and technical assistance to the NHRC with the goal of 
improving labor conditions in Qatar. 
 
-- The MOU envisions vigorous outreach to the diplomatic 
missions and governments of labor-sending countries, with the 
aim of fighting trafficking in persons (TIP) at its source. 
 
-- Unlike the NHRC, the Solidarity Center will not be 
permitted to contact the media or prepare, issue, or publish 
reports regarding any part of its work in Qatar. 
 
------------------------- 
(C) COMMENTS AND ANALYSIS 
------------------------- 
 
-- The NHRC's agreement to enter into a relationship with a 
foreign labor NGO, represented by an organizer resident in 
country, was surely approved at the highest levels of the 
Qatari government.  It is an important step by the GOQ 
leadership to address labor exploitation. 
 
-- The GOQ has now made a very public admission that the 
rights of laborers in Qatar need to be addressed.  Moreover, 
by entering into this partnership, the GOQ has acknowledged 
publicly the need for outside resources in this effort. 
 
-- Despite the forward momentum, Qatari officials will avoid 
exposing the country to intense scrutiny and criticism from 
the outside world.  The provision barring any publicity by 
the Solidarity Center, with no corresponding restriction on 
the NHRC, means that the GOQ will publicize the results of 
this partnership in terms favorable to itself. 
 
-- We expect that the focus of initial activity will be on 
developing relationships in the labor sending countries. This 
will allow the NHRC (and, by implication, the senior 
leadership of the GOQ) to make progress against TIP where 
there is the most common ground while the comfort level of 
the partners grows. 
 
-- Focusing on the external sources of TIP also requires 
little domestic political risk, as it allows the GOQ to cling 
to the fiction that, while TIP is a problem here, the real 
problem lies in the sending countries. 
 
-- As the GOQ becomes more comfortable in discussing labor 
exploitation openly over time, we expect a deepening 
partnership with the Solidarity Center on the rights of 
workers in Qatar. 
 
End Key Points, Comments, and Analysis. 
 
¶1. (SBU) On March 17, National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) 
Chairman Dr. Ali Al-Marri and Solidarity Center Executive 
Director Ellie Larson signed a Memorandum of Understanding at 
a ceremony in Doha attended by Ambassador.  Also in 
attendance were NHRC staff members and employees, and 
representatives of the academic community. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Under the terms of the MOU, which runs from January 
1, 2009 through December 31, 2011, subject to renewal by the 
parties, the Solidarity Center will provide advisory services 
and technical assistance to the NHRC in order to improve 
labor conditions in Qatar.  Their work will focus on the 
rights of laborers in the construction sector, a community 
particularly vulnerable to TIP victimization.  The parties 
also hope to extend their relationship to GOQ ministries and 
agencies. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Solidarity Center and the NHRC will engage in a 
vigorous outreach to the diplomatic missions of the 
labor-sending countries.  The GOQ has always maintained that 
the principal source of TIP in Qatar lies not here, but in 
the source countries, where traffickers sell valid Qatari 
travel documents illegally and promise their victims jobs 
 
DOHA 00000211  002 OF 002 
 
 
that do not exist. 
 
¶4. (SBU) According to the MOU, the Solidarity Center is 
forbidden from preparing, issuing, or publishing any report 
on its work in Qatar.  It may not contact the media or 
transfer information for any reason.  There is no reciprocal 
provision in the MOU that restricts the NHRC in a similar way. 
 
¶5. (SBU) A Solidarity Center organizer will be resident in 
Doha as soon as his residency permit is approved.  Under the 
terms of the MOU, the NHRC will cooperate with the NHRC to 
complete the steps necessary to complete the registration 
process. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Arab-language newspapers provided wide coverage of 
the event, including the text of remarks made by the parties 
at the signing ceremony and the answers they provided to 
reporters' questions afterward.  Coverage in the 
English-language newspapers was widespread but less detailed. 
 The tone of the coverage was positive. 
LeBaron