Freedom in the World 2004 - Qatar

Political Rights: 6
Civil Liberties: 6
Status: Not Free
Population: 600,000
GNI/Capita: $20,701
Life Expectancy: 72
Religious Groups: Muslim (95 percent), other (5 percent)
Ethnic Groups: Arab (40 percent), Pakistani (18 percent), Indian (18 percent), Iranian (10 percent), other (14 percent)
Capital: Doha

Overview

Despite concerns about regional stability resulting from the war in Iraq, Qatar took limited steps forward to introduce political reform by organizing municipal elections on April 7, 2003 and holding a national referendum on a new draft constitution on April 29. The municipal elections resulted in the first election of a woman to public office, and nearly 97 percent of the voters in the referendum approved the new constitution.

For the first half of the nineteenth century, the al-Khalifa family of Bahrain dominated the territory now known as Qatar. The Ottoman Empire occupied Qatar from 1872 until World War I, when the United Kingdom recognized Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim al-Thani as the ruler of Qatar and Sheikh Abdullah signed a series of treaties of friendship and commerce with the United Kingdom. Following World War II, Qatar rapidly developed its oil production industry, and the oil wealth contributed to economic and social development in the country.

Qatar became formally independent in 1971. From 1971 to 1995, Emir Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani ruled as an absolute monarch, with few government institutions checking his authority. In 1995, the emir was deposed by his son Hamad, who began a program to introduce gradual political, social, and economic reforms. Hamad dissolved the Information Ministry shortly after taking power, an action designed to demonstrate his commitment to expand press freedom.

In 1996, Hamad permitted the creation of Al-Jazeera, which has become one of the most popular Arabic language satellite television channels. Al-Jazeera, however, generally does not cover Qatari politics and focuses instead on regional issues such as the situation in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict. In the past few years, Sheikh Hamad accelerated a program to build Qatar's educational institutions, attracting foreign universities to establish branches in Qatar; Cornell Medical School opened a branch in Doha in 2002. In 1999, Qatar held elections for a 29-member municipal council and became the first state of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to introduce universal suffrage.

In 2002, a 38-member committee appointed by Hamad presented a draft constitution, which was refined and presented to the public in a referendum in April 2003. This new constitution, which was approved by almost 97 percent of voters, slightly broadens the scope of political participation without eliminating the monopoly on power enjoyed by the al-Thani family. This limited progress on political reform took place despite regional tensions over the war in Iraq; Qatar was the location of the forward headquarters for the United States Central Command.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Qataris do not have the power to change the top leadership in their government democratically. They possess only limited power to elect representatives who serve in local government positions, which have circumscribed powers and report to the minister of municipal affairs and agriculture, who is appointed by the emir. The head of state is the emir, and the al-Thani family controls a monopoly on political power in Qatar. The emir appoints a prime minister and the cabinet. The constitution states that the emir appoints an heir after consulting with the royal family and other notables. The new constitution, ratified by public referendum in 2003, provides for elections to 30 of the 45 seats in a new advisory council, and the government announced tentative plans to hold these elections in 2004. The government does not permit the existence of political parties.

The new constitution guarantees freedom of expression, and the state has generally refrained from direct censorship. However, content in the print and broadcast media is influenced by leading families. The five leading daily newspapers are privately owned, but their owners and board members include royal family members and other notables. Although the satellite television channel Al-Jazeera is privately owned, the Qatari government has reportedly paid operating costs for the channel since its inception. Qataris have access to the Internet through a telecommunications monopoly, which has recently been privatized, but the government censors content and blocks access to certain sites deemed pornographic or politically sensitive.

Islam is Qatar's official religion, and the new constitution explicitly provides for freedom of worship. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs regulates clerical affairs and the construction of mosques. Converting to another religion from Islam is considered apostasy and is a capital offense, but there have been no reports of executions for apostasy since 1971. Qatar's government has also begun outreach efforts to build better relations between Islam and other religions by sponsoring a dialogue on Muslim-Christian understanding and establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican. The new constitution provides for freedom of opinion and research, but scholars often practice self-censorship on politically sensitive topics.

The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and the right to form organizations, but these rights are limited in practice. Public protests and demonstrations are rare, with the government placing strict limits on the public's ability to organize demonstrations. All nongovernmental organizations require state permission to operate, and the government closely monitors the activities of these groups. There are no independent human rights organizations, but a National Committee for Human Rights, consisting of members of civil society and government ministries, has done some work on investigating allegations of human rights abuses.

The law prohibits labor unions, but allows joint consultative committees of employers and workers to deal with disputes. Foreign national workers, who make up most of the workforce in Qatar, face severe disadvantages in labor contract cases. Several strikes took place in 2003, including one in May by 350 employees at an engineering firm over five months of unpaid wages and a sit-in by several hundred workers in a construction company to protest a salary payment dispute.

Although the constitution guarantees that the judiciary is independent, this is not true in practice. The majority of Qatar's judges are foreign nationals who are appointed and removed by the emir. Qatar's judicial system consists of two sets of courts: Sharia (Islamic law) courts, which have jurisdiction over a narrow range of issues, such as family law; and civil courts, which have jurisdiction over commercial and civil suits. These two sets of courts have been united under the Supreme Judiciary Council. The constitution protects individuals from arbitrary arrest and detention and bans torture, and defendants are entitled to legal representation. There are no reports of widespread violations of human rights in Qatar. Prisons meet international standards, and the police generally follow proper procedures set in accordance with the law.

Women have the right to participate in elections and run for elective office. In the April 2003 municipal elections, Sheikha Yousef Hassan al-Jufairi became the first woman elected to public office. However, legally and socially, women face discrimination. For example, women must have permission from a male guardian to obtain a driver's license or travel abroad.

Trend Arrow

Qatar received an upward trend arrow due to progress on political reforms, including the approval of a new constitution and the first election of a woman to public office.