A/HRC/44/44/Add.1 Annex Report of the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity on his visit to Qatar I. Introduction 1. The Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, visited Qatar from 2 to 10 September 2019 at the invitation of the Government. In accordance with his mandate, the Independent Expert’s objective for undertaking the visit was to learn about the nature and scope of development cooperation and other human rightsrelated solidarity policies and activities in Qatar; to engage in dialogue with the Government, United Nations entities, civil society and development agencies in Qatar, on their efforts to implement human rights-based solidarity at the national level; and to identify practical solutions and good practices in international solidarity conducive to the realization of human rights in Qatar. The Independent Expert was also keen to learn about the policies and activities of Qatari non-State actors, such as private businesses and their role in promoting human rights-based solidarity. To those ends, the Independent Expert focused on three main thematic areas: development and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, climate change and water management, and cross-border migration. 2. During his visit, the Independent Expert held meetings in Doha with a number of senior government officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Human Rights Department, the Department of International Organizations and the Department of International Cooperation), the Ministry of the Interior (the Human Rights Department and the Search and Follow-Up Department), the Ministry of Justice (the Department of Agreements and Cooperation), the Ministry of Municipalities and the Environment (the Climate Change Department), the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (including the Qatari National Committee for Education, Culture and Science), the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, the Planning and Statistics Authority, the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activity and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. 3. The Independent Expert also met with senior leaders of Qatar Petroleum, the Qatar Fund for Development, Silatech (a youth empowering initiative promoted by Sheikha Moza),1 the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, representatives of the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions, the Qatar National Human Rights Committee, the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies of the Doha Institute, and academics. 4. The Independent Expert visited various United Nations entities present in the country, including the offices of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Humanitarian Envoy of the Secretary-General and the Training and Documentation Centre of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He also met with representatives of migrant communities who shared their experiences of working and living in Qatar. The Independent Expert thanks all those who took the time to meet and exchange views with him. 5. It is usual practice for special procedure mandate holders to meet with independent civil society organizations that work on human rights when making country visits; the Independent Expert regrets to report, however, the lack of many such organizations in Qatar. Indeed, he received information concerning restrictions laid down in law No. 12 of 20042 that 1 2 2 https://silatech.org/. See for instance the joint submission of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights for the universal periodic review (2018) available at www.civicus.org/documents/JointUPRSubmissionQatar.pdf.