The terms of reference of my visit were to assess the Government’s efforts in combatting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance in Qatar...

my statement highlights Qatar’s unique demographic context; the extreme challenges it faces in light of this context; the monumental reforms it has already achieved to combat racial discrimination and related intolerance; the severe human rights violations that still persist, including on the basis of national origin; and the existence of racial, ethnic and national stereotypes and discriminatory structures that are, in part, the product of the history of slavery in Qatar, a practice that was only outlawed in this country in 1952.