A/HRC/45/16/Add.2 I. Introduction 1. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, at the invitation of the Government, conducted an official visit to Qatar from 3 to 14 November 2019. The delegation was composed of Leigh Toomey, of Australia, Elina Steinerte, of Latvia, and Sètondji Roland Adjovi, of Benin, accompanied by staff from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ms. Toomey was with the delegation from 3 to 9 November 2019. The Working Group would like to thank the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region for its support. 2. The Working Group extends its gratitude and appreciation to the Government of Qatar for inviting it to undertake this visit, which sets an important example for other countries in the region. It appreciates the cooperation that it received during the visit, and thanks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its efforts in facilitating it. However, despite repeated efforts, the Working Group was unable to meet with some key authorities and officials, or to visit the State Security detention facility. The Working Group regrets these unwarranted interferences with its freedom of enquiry. The Working Group calls upon the Government to give serious consideration to the possibility of a further visit, and looks forward to an invitation to carry out a follow-up visit in 2022 that would fully respect the terms of reference for country visits. 3. During the visit, the Working Group met with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the National Security Adviser to the Emir, and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives from different departments of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, the State Security Service, the Public Prosecution, the Supreme Judiciary Council and the National Human Rights Committee. The delegation also had meetings with representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Labour Organization. 4. The Working Group visited 12 places of deprivation of liberty in and outside the capital (see appendix I), including police stations, pretrial detention facilities, the Doha central prison, the Doha deportation centre, the Doha psychiatric hospital, and a social care centre for children in conflict with the law. It was able to confidentially interview over 200 persons deprived of their liberty. 5. The Working Group also visited the Naufar Center, which provides voluntary residential care and treatment for drug dependency and addiction. The Working Group appreciated being able to visit the facility and to speak both with those in charge and with the residents, which allowed it to conclude that it was not a place of deprivation of liberty. 6. The Working Group also recognizes various stakeholders within the country who shared their perspectives about deprivation of liberty, including representatives of civil society, lawyers, and individuals who were deprived of their liberty. The Working Group thanks all of them for the information provided. 7. The Working Group shared its preliminary findings with the Government of Qatar on 14 November 2019. The Working Group intends to continue its constructive dialogue with the Government on the issues presented in the present report. II. Overview of the institutional and legal framework A. International human rights obligations 8. Qatar is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 9. The State is not a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the International Convention on the Protection of the 3