THE WORLD CUP. NOW TO WIN OUR HEARTS
by our neighbours. But on the other side our exit from the GCC has liberated us. Before, we’d recommend reform on migrant workers rules and the GCC would block it, because it’s something that affects all members and needed the agreement of all.
“It was in 2007 that we first recommended the adoption of two major UN resolutions – the international convention for political and civil rights, and the international convention for social, economical and cultural rights. It took until 2017, after we had left, for us to be able to follow through.”
Earlier this week, the NHRC hosted its sixth annual human rights conference. More than 300 delegates from 90 countries, including UN, EU and
NGO officials, met at Doha’s Ritz-carlton hotel to discuss the challenges of social media and ways to promote freedoms and protect online activists.
Critics pointed out that in 2014, the Qatari government passed cyber-crime laws threatening jail sentences for anyone convicted of creating a digital platform for “fake news”. This was condemned as a clamp on free speech.
Dr Al Marri says: “There are still many challenges.we are not a paradise. It is one thing to have laws, another to see them implemented, and our bureaucracy – our mid-level administration – is problematic.
“But our political leaders want change. They have vision. They truly want to open up Qatar and protect human rights, and in the end they will succeed.”
Amnesty International believes that Qatar has the potential for a “dramatic transformation” in human rights, and the World Cup win has been key.
The movement’s Stephen Cockburn says: “Qatar is definitely on a journey to open up to the world and that’s mainly due to theworld Cup bid.
“Both it and Fifa were suddenly under more scrutiny. The International Labour Organisation threatened it with sanctions. It all came to a head in 2017 with the blockade.
“That was the moment where Qatar made a choice to take reform seriously. Now the ILO has an office in Doha.
“If the changes promised are fully implemented and delivered, it will result in a dramatic transformation. The problem is that there is still a gap between promise and reality. As the richest country in the world, it could do more.
“Fifa now agrees with us that any future bid – after China’s hosting of the 2021 Club World Cup – must have a human rights impact assessment. It happened for the 2026 bid by the US, Canada and Mexico. This came out of the Qatar experience,” he adds.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll see real progress in Qatar.the question is, how much?”
But Hiba Zayadin, of Human Rights Watch, warns: “Qatar has come a long way, at least with legislation. But we’re just two years away from the World Cup and we’ve yet to see the real change on the ground.”