A/HRC/27/15 governing the establishment of trade unions. The demographic composition of the country and the ratio of migrant workers to Qatari workers were taken into account. Forced labour was prohibited under article 43 of the Labour Code. Qatar had ratified the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). The Human Trafficking Act (Act No. 15 of 2011) prohibited forced labour and contemporary forms of slavery, prescribing penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to QR 300,000. 66. Ministerial Decision No. 15 of 2005 and articles 104 and 105 of the Labour Code required employers to provide a first aid kit for every 25 employees, and required those employing more than 100 employees to provide a medical service. Routine tests should be conducted free of charge for employees engaged in hazardous work. 67. The Nationality Act was applied in accordance with the Constitution. The legal status of Qatari women married to foreigners in no way interfered with their enjoyment of human rights. The Act accorded priority in the acquisition of citizenship to children born of a Qatari mother, and recognized children born of unknown parents as Qatari nationals. 68. Serious steps were being taken at the highest level to amend the law on the kafala system in order to align it with international human rights law and the rights of migrants. 69. The age of criminal responsibility was 7 years. Cases involving minors were heard by juvenile courts, which applied juvenile legislation. Special police officers and prosecutors dealt with such cases. 70. With regard to sexual freedoms and same-sex marriage, sharia law was the main source of Qatari legislation, pursuant to article 1 of the Constitution. The corresponding principles were reflected in articles 279 to 289 of the Criminal Code. 71. The death penalty was applicable to anyone who killed another person with premeditation under the highly specific circumstances defined in articles 300 and 302 of the Criminal Code. However, the death penalty had not been imposed since 2003. 72. The Czech Republic commended Qatar on its efforts to advance human rights, notably for extending a standing invitation to all special procedures. 73. Denmark encouraged Qatar to strengthen independent monitoring systems, especially for detention facilities. It expressed concern about the lack of rights for and legal protection of immigrant workers, and about reported exploitation and abuse of domestic and construction workers. 74. Ecuador welcomed the creation of mechanisms in Qatar to protect women, children and the elderly and of institutions for social assistance, in addition to the importance attached by Qatar to the development of human rights plans, programmes and strategies with civil society and with public and private national institutions and to sharing experiences and information at the national and international levels. 75. France welcomed the delegation of Qatar and made several recommendations. 76. Germany acknowledged the first steps taken by Qatar to heed the recommendations of the previous cycle, most notably the recent adoption of labour welfare standards aimed at protecting workers’ rights. 77. Ghana commended Qatar for conducting programmes to promote a culture of human rights, for issuing a standing invitation to the special procedures and for amending its Criminal Code to align its definition of torture with that in the Convention against Torture. 78. Greece noted positively the numerous efforts of Qatar to promote women’s rights and asked about the steps it envisaged taking next to advance women’s participation in 10

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