The chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Maria Arena, acknowledged Qatar’s many human rights reforms, especially those implemented by the Ministry of Labour.
Arena’s statement came today following a workshop on “European Union and Human Rights” organised by the Qatari National Human Rights Committee.
“Since 2018, many reforms have been adopted with the impetus of the Qatar National Human Rights Committee and the action of the Minister of Labour, Dr Ali Al Marri. These include the abolition of the Kafala system, workers’ mobility, the introduction of the minimum wage, workplace health and safety mechanisms, the creation of a social fund, the establishment of collective bargaining arrangements, and more,” Arena said.
“These reforms are important, but they need to be correctly implemented, evaluated and followed up, which is why we welcome the International Labour Organisation’s engagement as a partner in implementing these reforms.”
In her statement, Arena confirmed that the World Cup “has been an accelerator of change.” But she called upon the Qatari authorities to keep up the pace of reforms and sustain them so that the Qatari economy and society are prepared for future challenges and “to ensure that the quality of working conditions gets the long-term investment it needs.”
In recent years, Qatar amended several new laws to impose gender equality in the market, including training, job advancement, raise in pay and new mechanisms to ensure labour rights.
The Qatari government is making a number of efforts to provide the right framework for the immigrant workers and this is the only country in the middle east that is now active to provide all legal rights to workers.
Maria Arena, Chair of the European Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee, participated in the workshop organised by the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar and its President, Dr Maryam Al Attiyah, on Thursday, 12 May.
