UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 39) ... Qatar has formed a committee to consider accession to the ICESCR.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 28) According to AI, laws that discriminate against women came particularly to the fore in the context of the Gulf crisis that began in June 2017, when some governments severely restricted ties with Qatar as part of a political dispute. In line with citizenship and family laws across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the children of Qatari mothers and non-Qatari fathers are not automatically entitled to citizenship. So when some countries called their nationals back from Qatar and prevented Qatari nationals from entering their territory many families were split up.
Para 51) ODVV stated that Qatar women faced discrimination in law and practice, and that personal status laws continued to discriminate against women in relation to marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody, nationality and freedom of movement.
Para 52) AI stated that in Qatar, women continued to face discrimination in law and practice. Family law discriminates against women, including by making it much harder for women to seek a divorce than for men, and placing women at a severe economic disadvantage if they seek a divorce or if their husbands leave them.
Para 66) AI informed that in September 2018, Law no. 11 of 2018 was issued, which allows for children of Qatari women married to non-Qataris to acquire permanent residency, although they are not able to pass on their nationality and citizenship to their children. AI said that women were not adequately protected against violence within the family.

National Report:
Para 19) Overall Family Strategy 2010: The Overall Family Strategy aims to empower, protect and ensure the welfare of the family and family members. It consists of eight main themes, namely: affirmation of the Arab and Islamic identity of the family; promotion of the status of the family in society; dissemination of education, including within the family; eradication of illiteracy; family health care and improvement of the available preventive and therapeutic services; improvement of family living conditions; promotion of cultural values in the family; development of the scientific and technological potential of the family; broadening the participation of family members in decision-making; and protection of the family against all forms of exploitation and violence.

Para 20) Family Cohesion and Empowerment of Women Strategy 2011-2016: This strategy is one of the 14 component sectoral strategies of the National Development Strategy and comes under the umbrella of social development. Responsibility for the launch and follow-up to this strategy has been assigned to the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, in coordination with founding partners. The three main themes of the strategy are family cohesion, family welfare and the empowerment of women.

Para 61) Since the submission of the initial report, the Council has established a number of institutions for the family, children, women, persons with disabilities and the elderly and has implemented numerous activities and programmes including, by way of example, the following: ...
- Implementation by the Council of an annual programme bringing together experts and others concerned with issues related to the family at which the problems and challenges facing the family in Qatar are addressed. The first meeting, entitled "Curbing divorce in Qatar: policy proposals", was held in April 2011 and was followed by the second meeting of experts, entitled "Family counselling services in Qatar: challenges and goals", in April 2012. The third meeting, entitled "Towards achieving work-life balance for women", was held in April 2013;
- Celebration of National Family Day on 15 April every year, as established by the Council of Ministers at its first ordinary session on 5 January 2011. Numerous meetings and seminars are held to mark the day at which issues pertaining to the family and family counselling services are discussed, in addition to social phenomena relating to the family;
- Preparation of a guide for welfare and protection service providers in order to enhance the role of the family, to protect the family and to empower individual family members by means of access to those services, and also to enhance the role of service providers by highlighting the services and the activities that they offer;
- Publication in 2013 by the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Family Counselling Centre, the Qatari Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children (Al-Aman), the Social Rehabilitation Centre (Al-Uwayn), the Qatari Foundation for the Elderly (Al- Ihsan), the Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs and the Cultural Centre for Childhood of a report, entitled "The family from the perspective of social protection and welfare institutions". The report reviews and assesses the situation of families in particular circumstances (such as families caring for the elderly or the young or for persons with disabilities, low-income families, family members from broken homes and victims of domestic violence) and other categories targeted by welfare and social protection programmes in terms of the services provided to them. In addition, the report highlights the need to develop policies, to lobby and to develop relevant statistics and indicators to keep pace with policymaking and planning needs. The report is aimed at decision makers and programme planners working in government agencies, civil society institutions, universities and scientific research centres, regional and international organizations, the media and interested members of the community.

National Report:
Para 49) ... The Qatar National Vision 2030 reaffirms the need to strengthen women's capacities and to empower them to participate in political and economic life and, in particular, in decision-making. The specific goals of the national population policy include the empowerment of women and the promotion of gender equity and justice and the executive plan includes specific executive programmes for the achievement of those goals.

Para 50) The establishment of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs represents an important shift in concern for the family in general and for women in particular. Whereas previously women's issues were considered only in terms of welfare and protection, since the establishment of the Council the concepts of women's empowerment and participation have emerged for the first time in dealing with those issues in Qatari society. The Council has played a key role in developing legislation relating to women including, for example, by contributing to the drafting of the Family Code, setting the minimum age for marriage, establishing the premarital medical examination policy, establishing the age to which mothers have custody of children as 13 years for boys and 15 years for girls, contributing to the drafting of the Housing Act and establishing the right of women to access the housing system. In addition, the Council has adopted a human rights perspective in dealing with issues relating to women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly. It has contributed to spreading awareness of women's rights and issues through the implementation of numerous training courses, workshops, discussion panels and seminars and has contributed to strengthening scientific research on women's issues through conducting and publishing studies and research.

Para 55) Moreover, the Ministry of the Interior established the Committee for Women's Affairs by Ministerial decision No. 31 of 2010. The Committee is responsible for monitoring the situation of women in the Ministry and for the implementation of related public policies, for studying issues affecting women, for coordination with various governmental and non-governmental bodies with a view to achieving the objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030, representing the Ministry at events and conferences, participating in the preparation of the Ministry's strategy for women and giving impetus to dialogue and communication with the agencies responsible for women's issues.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 9) NHRC warned that women's participation in the decision-making process is still limited, in particular with regards to their participation in the Parliament. There are currently no female representatives in The Shura Council (the legislative branch) as the current law only authorizes nomination of males.

National Report:
Para 15) Two major outpatient health centres have been established at Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, together with several other screening centres in other towns. Permanent information campaigns in the media and condom distribution in streets, hotels and at border posts by State agencies and NGOs are noteworthy activities. Thanks to these grass-roots activities, the disease is regressing in the country.

Para 81) A number of initiatives have been planned as part of strategies to protect the victims of prostitution and keep the problem in check:
- The involvement of the National AIDS Control Council (CNLS) and the National AIDS Control Programme (PNLS) in preventive measures and treatment for prostitutes.

Para 122) Following an intense campaign in its favour, Act No. 30-2011, of 3 June 2011, on efforts to control HIV/AIDS and protection for people living with HIV was adopted by both houses of parliament (the National Assembly and the Senate) and promulgated by the President of the Republic. It has been in force since that date and implementing legislation is now being drafted.

Para 123) In the wake of the Act's introduction, numerous activities were organized to publicize the Act. An information handbook on HIV/AIDS control and protection of the rights of infected or affected persons, which was drafted with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was approved in February 2013.

UN Compilation:
Para 8) Several treaty bodies welcomed ... the 2011 Law on the fight against HIV/AIDS and protection of the rights of the persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Para 23) CEDAW welcomed the 2009-2013 National Multisectoral Strategic Framework against HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections and the Programme for Prevention of Mother-to-child Transmission of HIV.