COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD EXAMINES REPORT OF QATAR

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the second periodic report of Qatar on how that country is implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Saif Mugaddam Al Buainain, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, said his Government had made enormous efforts since the Committee had examined the first periodic report, and Qatar had made very good progress in implementing programmes to improve and safeguard children’s rights. The improvement of human rights infrastructures, including the on the rights of the child, had been made a top priority by the State. In Qatari society, the child was the nucleus of the family and was, therefore, at the forefront of the authorities’ efforts so that the best possible services could be offered children in health, education and justice. Moreover, the Constitution ensured the social and cultural rights of children through a number of articles. In particular, over the past three decades there had been a great improvement in the availability of health care. For children with special needs, Qatar had established several health centres that provided care and support for the families that needed extra help.

Mr. Al Buainain said Qatar was keen to implement the recommendations of the Committee and would continue to try and improve the rights and living conditions of children in all possible ways. Qatar had also financed a number of initiatives and programmes to assist children in need in other countries, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kamla Devi Varmah, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of Qatar, in preliminary concluding observations, congratulated Qatar for the many achievements and the progress it had made since the last time it had come before the Committee. The Committee, in its concluding observations, would recommend measures to improve areas within the legislative and judiciary system, health care and the situation of children with special needs, among others.

Other Committee Experts also asked questions and raised concerns on a number of issues, including the relationship between Sharia law and the provisions set out in the Convention; if foreign children had the same rights as Qatari children; how the various organs and institutions working in the area of children and families were coordinated; the availability of pre-school care and if that was available for foreigners as well as Qataris; the amount of the budgets in the health, social services and education areas; and information on early marriages.

The delegation of Qatar also included Abdulla Falah Abdulla Al-Dosari, the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as well as other representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Higher Council for Family Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Foundation for the Protection of Children and Family, the Foundation to Combat Trafficking and the Ministry of Justice.

When the Committee reconvenes on Wednesday, 30 September, at 10 a.m., it will consider the initial report of Yemen under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/YEM/1).


Report of Qatar

The second periodic report of Qatar (CRC/C/QAT/2) says that childhood and children’s issues were matters of the utmost importance for political leaders, planners and governmental and non-governmental experts, who spared no efforts to establish national mechanisms and institutions for children throughout the State that were accessible to the entire population and ensuring the survival, safety, development and protection of children from all forms of violence and exploitation. Children were guaranteed the right to health care, education, social and economic welfare and full protection from all forms of violence and exploitation under the Permanent Constitution and laws of Qatar. Over the past four decades, the State’s efforts to construct and expand the primary healthcare network and mother’s and children’s health centres has had great success and has helped to deliver health services to the entire population of the State. Education at all stages had expanded and was now available to all children. Qatar had done much to bring about changes in lifestyles and deliver greater prosperity and social welfare to all segments of society. These achievements were reflected in major improvements in the indicators on children and mothers, in particular falling infant mortality rates, rising rates of enrolment in all stages of education among both males and females and better standards of social welfare provision for all citizens. The robust state of the national economy had helped improving living standards among all inhabitants of Qatar.

Since 2001, when Qatar’s initial report was considered, significant advances had been made in the health and healthcare sectors. The National Health Authority was established in 2005 to provide Qatar with the best possible standard of health care and offer world class preventive and treatment services. The National Health Authority had now embarked on an ambitious health improvement programme for Qatar with the aim of creating a healthy, productive and vital society in the present and for the future. Health institutions in Qatar provided free health services to, among others, children and mothers. With regard to the formulation and implementation of immunization policies, the National Health Authority ensured that children were vaccinated since this was an important way of protecting the children from many diseases. In 2005 and 2006, the National Health Authority conducted immunization campaigns against infant poliomyelitis and tuberculosis for all children under 5 in Qatar (Qataris and foreigners). Roving medical teams were set up, in cooperation with primary healthcare centres across the State, and were dispatched to kindergartens. In 2005, the National Health Authority added a fifth vaccine to the basic set for children, which includes vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenzae. The vaccine for rotavirus, which is a cause of diarrhoea among children, will soon be introduced, and will be included in a national immunization campaign; according to a study on the incidence of diarrhoea among children in the State, 16 to 17 per cent of cases were caused by the rotavirus.

Presentation of the Report

SAIF MUGADDAM AL BUAINAIN, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, presented the second periodic report, said his Government appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Committee and would cooperate fully with it in the future. The State had made enormous efforts since the Committee had examined the first periodic report, and Qatar had made very good progress in implementing programmes to improve and safeguard children’s rights.

The improvement of human rights infrastructures, including the on the rights of the child, had been made a top priority by the State, Mr. Al Buainain said. In Qatari society, the child was the nucleus of the family and was, therefore, at the forefront of the authorities’ efforts so that the best possible services could be offered children in health, education and justice. Moreover, the Constitution ensured the social and cultural rights of children through a number of articles.

Over the past three decades there had been a great improvement in the availability of health care, which was a direct result of social end economic developments that had taken place in the country. Religion, morality and patriotism were important pillars of the Qatari State, and the rights of the child were a natural extension of those principles.

Mr. Al Buainain said Qatar was keen to implement the recommendations of the Committee and would continue to try and improve the rights and living conditions of children in all possible ways. In that regard, the work to coordinate the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention and the preparation of the report had provided an opportunity for all mechanisms that dealt with children to work together. In that connection, they had decided to set up a National Committee to prepare the present report under the Chairmanship of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs as the lead institution.

For children with special needs, Qatar had established several health centres that provided care and support for the families that needed extra help.

On related issues, Mr. Al Buainain noted that the State of Qatar ensured the legal rights of women and that there was no discrimination against women in Qatar. In addition, an organization had been established solely to work against human trafficking and, in response to the Committee’s recommendations, Qatar had established an independent organ in 2002 - the National Human Rights Committee.

Finally, Mr. Al Buainain observed that Qatar had financed a number of initiatives and programmes to assist children in need in other countries, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that it expected to benefit further from its existing cooperation with United Nations bodies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Questions by Experts

KAMEL FILALI, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Qatar, said there were many positive aspects worth mentioning, particularly on legislation that had been enacted, and ratifications of international human rights treaties. Since its initial report in 2002, Qatar had made great efforts to improve its mechanisms and infrastructures to safeguard children’s rights. Qatar was also commended for creating, in coordination with OHCHR, the Documentation and Training Centre.

However, Mr. Filali expressed some concerns about certain aspects of the report where acts had been adopted with “partial reservations”, and wanted to know what those partial reservations were and why? The Rapporteur also wanted the delegation to elaborate on what mechanisms and which procedures were set in motion when they received complaints regarding mistreatment of children. It was his impression that the legal procedure in Qatar was somewhat “heavy”, in the sense that the procedure going from a received complaint to an outcome took too long. When children were involved a greater sense of urgency should prevail. Were there any plans to improve those procedures and make them more efficient and less time-consuming? Finally, he wanted to know if the authorities planned to establish an Ombudsman for children?

KAMLA DEVI VARMAH, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of Qatar, asked the delegation to elaborate on their definition of the child, as the minimum age for marriage was unclear under Qatari law.

Could the delegation also clarify the policies with regard to corporal punishment, which was apparently legal under Qatari law in the home and there was no explicit legislation concerning corporal punishment in schools or other settings. Under the Convention, no child under 18 could be punished corporally, while Qatar legislation allowed for corporal punishment to children of 16 and 17 through stoning, flogging and amputation. They had been told that the Qatari authorities had conducted a review of those issues and the Rapporteur wanted to hear the outcome.

Finally, Ms. Varmah asked why a Qatari woman married to a non-national could not pass on her nationality to her child while a Qatari man could do so. In such cases, if the father could not pass on his nationality to the child, there would be a clear risk that the child in question could become stateless. What would happen to that child under such circumstances, she asked?

Other Committee Experts then asked questions and raised concerns on a number of issues, including the relationship between Sharia law and the provisions set out in the Convention; if foreign children had the same rights as Qatari children; how the various organs and institutions working in the area of children and families were coordinated, and what were their specific mandates; more information on children’s right to freedom of expression; and whether there were any figures regarding the number of child deaths by accident, illness or suicide.


Response by the Delegation

Responding to the questions just put, the delegation explained that the Higher Council for Family Affairs was the supreme council with regard to the rights of the child in Qatar. The Council had wide competencies with regard to the rights of children, women and families, and was highly competent to draw up strategies and draft and propose laws and legislation.

Qatari citizens and foreign residents were on equal terms, the delegation said, stressing that there was a policy of non-discrimination between foreign and Qatari children and that they were equal before the law. Housing policies were equal for all as well, she added.

The delegation explained that the draft Bill on Childhood had taken time because they wanted to make sure that it would be comprehensive. After much effort they now felt that the draft Bill was very comprehensive but that they would like to follow-up further. The provisions of the Convention could be convoked in the courts, but so far had not been used in the legislation or the courts.

With regard to the legal age of children, it was important to note that in the context of the cultural situation in Qatar they had achieved a lot of progress both in the legislation and on the ground. It was important to take into account the customs and traditions of the country, as well as its culture and their achievements so far had been quite progressive. The main priority in all new legislation was to put the best interest of the child first. Regarding the Qatari definition of the child, by law as well as in the Family Code that was 18 years of age.

Concerning custody of children, the right to custody was always given to the mother while the right to maintenance was included in the Family Code but would have to be evaluated by the courts in view of means and incomes of the parties.

Responding to the questions on foreign children and the possibility of children becoming stateless, the delegation informed the Committee that the Qatari Status Code of Nationality explicitly stipulated that Qatari nationality was granted to any Qatari woman who has a child born in Qatar, while foreigners in Qatar would have to follow a normal procedure after having lived in the country a certain time. Thus, any child born in Qatar could not end up stateless.

With regard to corporal punishment, the new Law of 2003 stipulated that no corporal punishments were allowed in any form in prisons. With reference to schools, there was a new bill being prepared to set new guidelines for discipline and awareness-raising in the school environment.

Further Questions by Experts

KAMEL FILALI, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Qatar, in a second round of questions, wanted the delegation of Qatar to inform the Committee on the situation of migrant children as he could not see any information in the report on that issue. He also wanted further clarification on why Qatar rewarded residency only to men up to 24 years old and what legislation existed, if any, relating to the status of refugees and asylum-seekers.

Mr. Filali said it would also be helpful if the delegation could provide any numbers and statistics on refugees in Qatar. It was known that Qatar had received a number of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees and he wondered what access they had to health and social services. He also wanted to know if Qatar had any plans to ratify the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees.

Finally, Mr. Filali asked for further details on the judicial system for minors and whether minors could be sentenced to the death penalty.

KAMLA DEVI VARMAH, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of Qatar, wanted further information on the accessibility of children to the national hotline. She also wondered why there was such a low rate of breastfeeding in Qatar. Furthermore, would there be any programmes implemented to create “baby-friendly” hospitals so that exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months could be achieved?


Other Experts then asked, among other things, for more information on the availability of pre-school care and if that was available for foreigners as well as Qataris; information on the budgets in the health, social services and education areas; and information on issues of mental disorders, malnutrition, and eating disorders in Qatar. Further questions were asked concerning early marriages and drug abuse among youths.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, regarding the hotline for children in Qatar, the delegation said the hotline first and foremost provided legal and psychological advise in cases of neglect.

With regard to juvenile justice, there was a Juvenile Department, a Juvenile Court and a Juvenile Police. Ninety-two cases has been submitted to the juvenile court over the past year, the delegation added.

On human trafficking, Qatar had established a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking in coordination with the relevant bodies, including human rights bodies, and the judicial authorities. They had also established organs which, in close cooperation with a number of different international organizations, helped combat drug abuse and trafficking.

Camel racing with children had been totally eradicated and they now used robots instead of children. The child jockeys, who often came from Sudan, had been resettled and compensated and no violations of the new law against child jockeys had been reported.

Domestic and migrant workers were generally in Qatar alone on temporary contracts, but the children who came with their families to Qatar were part of the social fabric of Qatar and had the same right to education as Qatari children, as well as the children of refugees from Iraq and Palestine. The State of Qatar had also many programmes to help Iraqis and Palestinians whether it was in Qatar, or in their home countries, where Qatar financed a number of programmes in a wide variety of fields, ranging from health to education.

In response to an Expert’s suggestion that Qatar adopt a law on refugees, despite assertions that there were no refugees in the country, in case there should one day be an influx of refugees, the delegation said that Qatar was in the process of reviewing a number of conventions and international laws and they would relate their conclusions in due time. Palestinians and Iraqis living in Qatar were not considered as refugees but as brothers living normally in Qatar and were enjoying the same rights and privileges as Qatari citizens.

Regarding breastfeeding, there were no legal hindrances for women to breastfeed. Women were allowed to leave work to breastfeed and working women were automatically given two months’ full paid maternity leave, which was also followed up with the possibility for up to three years of maternity leave with less pay but with full rights to return to their job afterwards.

Concerning accidents on the roads or in the household, the figures showed there had been a marked reduction in the number of accidents involving children, the delegation affirmed.

As to the reduction of fertility, the delegation said it could be considered as a positive socio-economic indicator of the present Qatari society.

Concerning drug abuse among adolescents, the delegation said some institutions that dealt with substance abuse did exist. However, drug abuse had not seemed to have made a foothold in Qatari society and few such problems had been reported. They had a National Committee to Combat Drugs, which carried out its work according to Qatari law.

Children with disabilities received special care on all levels, even before the child was born, provided the disabilities were discovered. Qatar provided specialists for all those issues and three years ago they had established an early detection programme. In every school there were health officers informing and advising children and students on obesity, drug abuse, transmissible diseases and other illnesses.

With regard to the freedom of expression for children, there was full freedom of expression for all children through the media and various organizations such as student councils, whose members were elected by fellow students. Students were also encouraged to express their views on the curricula.

There were programmes for teachers to further their education, as well as schools for excellence for very gifted students. Some Koranic schools did exist in Qatar at the secondary level. However, students were free to choose whichever schools they wanted to go to, whether they were abroad or at home, international or religious. Furthermore, the Convention on Human Rights was taught in all schools, also the Koranic ones.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

Kamla Devi Varmah, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of Qatar, thanked the delegation for a very useful dialogue they had had today. She congratulated Qatar for the many achievements and the progress it had made since the last time it had come before the Committee. The Committee would continue to follow-up on the progress made by Qatar and would recommend measures to improve areas within the legislative and judiciary system, health care, the situation of children with special needs and other areas.


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