Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Qatar (Ratification: 1998)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking (NCCHT) continues to make efforts to train and build the capacities of national and law enforcement personnel to better detect cases of human trafficking and identify victims. The Government shares information regarding several training courses and workshops held for that purpose on such topics as investigative methods, the initiation of proceedings, institutional coordination, victim protection, and trafficking indicators (to make the distinction from labour disputes). The Committee takes note of the Government’s information regarding the number of court cases initiated for human trafficking-related crimes, convictions and penalties imposed during the 2021-2023. It observes that in six of the 29 cases, convictions were obtained and penalties imposed ranging from one year to ten years of imprisonment in addition to fines.

The Government further indicates that it has inaugurated the “Comprehensive Safety Home”, affiliated with the Protection and Social Rehabilitation Centre (AMAN), for the protection and assistance of trafficking victims. The Centre provides protection and rehabilitation services to target groups, including victims of human trafficking – in particular women domestic workers. The “Humanitarian Care Home” was also recently opened in cooperation with the Qatar Red Crescent and the NCCHT, which seeks to provide legal assistance, protection, rehabilitation and social integration to victims of human trafficking, as well as temporary housing for workers until their departure from the country has been arranged. The Home can cater for up to 200 affected persons, who are admitted on the basis of an assessment of their situation conducted by the NCCHT.

The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that Act No.15 of 2011 on combating human trafficking is effectively applied and enforced and requests it to continue to provide statistical data on the number of prosecutions initiated, victims identified, and convictions and penalties imposed for the offences related to trafficking in persons. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of victims of trafficking detected and referred to the various centres established for their protection, as well as information the protection and rehabilitation services received.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). Freedom of public officials to leave their service. The Committee previously noted that the approval of a request for resignation submitted by civil servants, which must generally take place within 30 days, may be postponed for a similar period of 30 days for reasons related to the interest of the work, during which civil servant shall continue to work (sections 161 and 162 of Act No. 8 of 2009 on human resources management). The Committee recalled that the effect of statutory provisions preventing termination of employment of indefinite duration by means of notice of reasonable length was to turn a contractual relationship based on the will of the parties into service by compulsion of law, and was thus incompatible with the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the legislator considers that section 161 does not violate Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention, since a balance must be established between the public interest by keeping the public facility functioning and giving the employer opportunity to find a substitute, and the employee’s right to leave the service. The Government indicates that, in practice requests for resignation requests are not rejected, but that the decision on accepting the resignation is postponed in certain cases, for example if the applicant for resignation is referred to investigation committees; or the applicant requesting the resignation is indebted to the entity he works for; or is committed to working for a specific period, such as studying at the expense of the establishment.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of cases of resignation under sections 161 and 162 of Act No. 8 of 2009 that were accepted, the number of resignations refused, the grounds for such refusals and the total period during which the resignations were refused.

Article 2(2)(c). Compulsory prison labour for outside the institutions. The Committee notes that section 62 of the Penal Code provides that whoever is sentenced to imprisonment shall be charged to do work, as provided for in the penitentiary establishments. Under section 25 of Law No. 3 of 2009 on the Regulations of Penal and Correctional Institutions, the “implementing regulations” of this law shall define the types and nature of work which judicial detainees (defined, under section 1, as any person detained pursuant to the provisions of an enforceable judicial order) may undertake, within or outside the institutions, and the maximum daily working hours. In addition, section 27 of this law provides that judicial detainees are granted remuneration in respect of their work and compensation for injuries sustained through work or occupational disease. This is also regulated by the implementing regulations.

The Committee recalls that, under the terms of the Convention, any work or service exacted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law is only excluded from the scope of the Convention if the said work or service is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations. Moreover, in order to comply with the Convention, private employment of prison labour must depend on the formal consent of the prisoner concerned (see paragraph 60 of the General Survey of 2007 on eradication of forced labour). In order to assess the conformity of the national provisions regulating prison labour with the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on whether, in practice, convicted prisoners are hired, inside or outside prisons, to private individuals, companies or associations, as well as on the type of work they may be called on to perform. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the implementing regulations to Law No. 3 of 2009 on the Regulations of Penal and Correctional Institutions.