"Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Applaud Qatar’s Memorial for Enslaved Africans, Raise Questions on Mandatory HIV Testing for Migrant Workers and the Kafala System,"

...

A Committee Expert welcomed the news that Qatar had a memorial which memorialised trafficking and enslaved Africans...

A Committee Expert said a directive from UNAIDS forbade mandatory HIV testing. Qatar was one of the few countries which required an HIV test to enter the country. Once migrants had entered the territory, they continued to have to undergo HIV testing to gain employment. If you had to be HIV-negative to enter the country, why was further HIV testing required within the country? Another Expert said the medical tests conducted on migrant workers did not respect the principles of informed consent. The Committee wanted to understand more about how the State felt about these procedures. A third Expert asked what was done if a person tested positive?

Ibrahima Guisse, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said the Committee welcomed the positive reforms adopted by the State party toward the total abolition of the sponsorship or kafala system and the improvement of migrant workers' rights and working conditions; however, power imbalances persisted. The Committee was concerned that the Ministry of Labour continued to require a letter of resignation signed and stamped by the employer. Migrant workers were often exposed to reprisals from their employer, including the cancelling of their permit, which made their work illegal. Some employers also imposed exit certificates on migrants for them to be able to leave the country. What measures had the State party taken to achieve the total abolition of the kafala system in law and practice and to address these concerns?

The delegation said the Public Health Ministry carried out examinations for all migrant workers to enable them to receive the residency permit... This was a test which everyone in the country was required to take, including Qataris and non-Qataris. Students had to undergo this testing as well. There was no discrimination...

The delegation said the abolition of the kafala system had gone through several stages. Amendments were introduced in 2015, and in 2020 under the Labour Code, employees were enabled to move from one employer to another without a certificate... The employers who could impose exit permits were very limited and this only applied to a specific group of migrant workers, whose work was sensitive. Employers should provide documented evidence if a worker escaped work without notice.

...