An annual report by the U.S. State
Department for 2016 shows the Qatari government has a long way to go
in securing broader human rights assurances by ending human trafficking within
the nation’s borders.
The Trafficking
in Persons or TIP Report is put out by the U.S. State Department’s Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, which was created in 2001 as part of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. It lists status updates and
human rights details for nation states around the world, categorizing
governments according to their responses to human trafficking problems and
compliance with certain international human rights standards.
The 2016 report reveals that Qatar,
for the third consecutive year, remains on a tier two watch list for countries
which are seen as making efforts toward compliance. In 2008, the U.S. Congress
mandated an automatic downgrade from the tier two watch list to tier three for
countries that have appeared on the tier two watch list for two consecutive
years unless granted a waiver by the U.S. secretary of state. Qatar has received a waiver for the downgrade.
“The government of Qatar does not
fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” the U.S. State Department’s 2016 report said. “However, it is making a significant effort to
do so.”
Regarding the waiver, the department
report said the Qatari government has devoted sufficient resources to
a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to
meet minimum standards.
The report also shows that Qatar
prosecuted 24 suspected traffickers throughout the year, including two
employers, while the State Department admits that existing labor laws remain
weak and leave domestic workers vulnerable to abuse.
It is this abuse that concerns
Martina Vandenberg, president of The Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center.
In an interview with the Gulf News Journal, Vandenberg expressed disappointment and frustration with a system that, in her view, is not hard
enough on the Qatar government.
“Qatar is one of the worst
offenders.” Vandenberg said, describing situations in which Qatar diplomats are
alleged to have abused domestic workers brought with them to the United States.
Vandenberg said her office is
calling for the U.S. State Department to drop Qatar to tier three, in which case
the diplomats would no longer be allowed to bring in their domestic workers.
“There was a political decision,
thwarting an automatic downgrade to tier three.” Vandenberg said of the waiver for
2016.
As evidence of the scope of alleged
human rights abuses by Qatar’s employers, Vandenberg cited a case litigated in
a court in Virginia, that appears in the 2016 TIP report, in which a
federal district court in 2014 found in favor of a former domestic worker employed by a
Qatari diplomat who said she was subjected to forced labor. The diplomat, the
report states, never paid the judgment after leaving the U.S.
A re-classification to tier three would hurt Qatar, Vandenberg said.
“It makes a difference.” Vandenberg
said. “Countries fight to stay off of tier three – there are, at least in theory,
real consequences.”
The U.S. State Department will
continue to monitor human trafficking status through annual reports.
In regard to Qatar’s waiver, U.S. State Department personnel contacted by the Gulf
News Journal declined to return calls.
