A recent study by the Economist estimates that Qatar will lead economic growth in 2010 with a growth rate of about 25%. The country definitely continues to show positive signs of continued growth in spite of the recent financial meltdown that temporarily slowed down the global economy and the financial troubles of its neighbor Dubai. The rapid growth witnessed recently by this emerging market, though, oftentimes masks human rights violations of low-cost migrant labor mainly from South Asia but also from other Asian, African, and neighboring Arab countries. These laborers are usually found working at precarious construction sites, catering to the needs of the services sector, and toiling 24/7 as domestic workers with very little or no legal protection from abuse. One might ask “how could such an economically thriving country suffer from issues traditionally correlated with poor underdeveloped markets?”. One of the reasons contributing to this phenomenon is the haphazard sponsorship laws which stipulate that any expatriate working in the Gulf must be sponsored either by a Gulf citizen or company. Some of the restrictions that the sponsorship laws entail are approval of the sponsor upon entry to and exit from the country, reservation of travel documents such as identification cards and passports as seen fit by the sponsor, and approval of financial transactions requiring banks or other financial institutions. These laws leave the door wide open for numerous reported as well as unreported cases of abuse, harassment, exploitation, and other human rights violations. Moreover, governments whose citizens are dependent on remittances sent by these laborers often willingly conspire through laws that allow for such abuses to prevail rather than challenge them and demand labor law reforms. Additionally, given the convenience of and profits made by procuring low-cost laborers who do not entail much compensation or protection, the business community in Qatar and the GCC in general has a preference to maintain the general status quo. Unawareness of one’s rights at the workplace is also another element that contributes to continued abuse and exploitation.The issue of laborers’ rights, after drawing much criticism from human rights bodies and some foreign governments, lead to changes in the structure of the legal system in Qatar as well as neighboring GCC countries. The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), the main body responsible for overseeing human rights in Qatar, publishes annual reports on the status of human rights in the country. In its most recent study, the NHRC reported that there were major legal reforms taken by the Qatari government to address the issue of workers’ rights. However, it does admit that in spite of the legal reforms laborers still suffer from harsh working conditions. Moreover, complaints are often unnecessarily delayed once made to governmental departments such as legal courts and the Ministry of Labor. As a result, human rights violations at the workplace continue to be a part of everyday life in Qatar leaving these workers pretty much unaffected by the much-praised accelerated economic growth.
Leading economist Amartya Sen makes a point that financial indicators of economic growth such as high income per capita do not necessarily translate into improved living standards. Indeed, while Qatar enjoys the second highest income per capita in the world, many migrant workers who come to the country seeking better employment opportunities oftentimes find themselves trapped in a cultural and legal system that continually undermines their rights and capabilities; therefore, proving right the argument that economic development and the realization of human rights are not exponentially related.
( Photograph by Shahir Aboobacker. Available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23487704@N04/4323768273/in/pool-qatarphotographicsociety )