The Secretary-General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty (centre) addressing the media at the The InterContinental Hotel in Doha yesterday. With him are Amnesty International Senior Director of Research, Nicola Duckworth (left), and Researcher on Gulf Migrants' Rights, James Lynch.Salim Matramkot
DOHA: The London-based Amnesty International yesterday urged Qatar to step up measures to protect the rights of migrant construction workers but said the country’s leadership was much more open to suggestions on human rights issues.
Releasing a report on Qatar “The Dark Side of Migration” yesterday, Amnesty’s Secretary General Salil Al Shetty said: “It is simply inexcusable that so many workers are being exploited in one of the richest countries in the world.”
Qatar responded to the comments, saying on October 3, the Foreign Ministry had appointed DLA, an international law firm, to examine issues mentioned in the Amnesty’s report, according to Qatar News Agency.
A source at the ministry told the QNA: “Qatar attached great importance to promoting and protecting human rights by acting to consolidate these rights in its legislations and laws as well as establishing the appropriate institutions.”
The report, based on interviews with workers, employers and government officials, documents a range of alleged abuses against migrant workers in Qatar, including non-payment of wages, “harsh and dangerous” working conditions, “shocking standards” of accommodation and some cases of “forced labour.”
The rights watchdog said Qatar should see 2022 FIFA World Cup as an opportunity to “address a problem which everyone thinks should be solved.” “In the Gulf region, Qatar is much more open and accessible on human rights issues. In all our meetings one of the refreshing things is that, across the board they are very willing to acknowledge that there is a problem and oriented towards finding a solution,” said Shetty.
He said the Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022 had told Amnesty that it would issue conditions related to workers’ safety to be followed by contractors of the World Cup projects.
“Companies must ensure that migrant workers employed on construction projects linked to their operations are not being abused. They should be proactive and not just take action when abuses are drawn to their attention,” said Shetty.
He further welcomed the government’s move to increase the number of labour inspectors and said, “It’s a good move taken.”
The report has come out with 10 recommendations to improve the condition of migrant workers, including the abolition of the sponsorship and exit permit system.
During a two-day visit to Doha, Shetty met the Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs H E Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi and officials at the National Human Rights Committee and Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022.
The report is based 210 migrant workers in the construction sector, including 101 individual interviews, during two visits to Qatar in October 2012 and March 2013.
Amnesty said it had engaged with 22 companies involved in construction projects, to prepare the report.
Researchers held at least 14 meetings with representatives from the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Interior. They had also visited the central prison and the Search and Follow Up Department, said the watchdog. The peninsula
