A/HRC/44/44/Add.1 V. Migration A. International engagement 27. Internationally, Qatar has funded assistance to refugees of crisis or conflicts, either directly or through support provided to UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Most of the State’s work in this area has focused on countries in situations of conflict and countries of refuge in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2018, for instance, UNHCR signed a memorandum of understanding and three cooperation agreements for a total of $16 million with the Government of Qatar, the Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Charity to support UNHCR operations around the world. The agreements were aimed at, inter alia, supporting UNHCR efforts to provide international protection to refugees and displaced persons and to identify durable solutions to their needs in the areas of voluntary repatriation, integration into host countries where they have sought asylum, or resettlement in a third country. Furthermore, Qatar supports 14 UNHCR projects worth more than $33 million in Bangladesh, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen.23 In 2015, Qatar and IOM signed a memorandum of understanding to support the extension of voluntary return and reintegration assistance to stranded migrants. The project primarily targeted migrants who had been victims of abuse, exploitation or mistreatment, including human trafficking.24 B. National measures 28. More than 85 per cent of the population of Qatar and more than 92 per cent of its labour force are migrant workers.25 The situation of migrants in Qatar has historically been marred by certain issues of concern, such as the mortality rate of workers on construction sites (due to heat exposure),26 forced labour,27 the withholding of pay, and some systematic violations resulting from the kafala sponsorship system, including the inability of workers to change jobs or to leave the country without the employer’s (sponsor’s) permission. 29. In June 2014, delegates of ILO filed a complaint concerning the State’s failure to observe the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81). Subsequently, in March 2016, ILO gave Qatar one year to reform the kafala system of sponsorships-based employment and its labour laws before taking a decision on the launch of an official commission of inquiry, the Organization’s highest level of sanction. At its 329th session, in March 2017, ILO deferred its decision to launch a commission of inquiry until its session in November 2017. On 8 November 2017, ILO withdrew the complaint against Qatar after the Government pledged further reforms and agreed to a technical cooperation agreement with the agency for the period 2018–2022. 30. The Independent Expert was informed that several new laws had been enacted in recent years resulting in significant improvements in the compatibility of the State’s legal 23 24 25 26 27 8 See UNHCR, “UNHCR signs several agreements with Qatar in support of refugees”, 17 December 2018 and “New initiative to enroll 172,000 refugee children”, 20 November 2012. IOM, “IOM and Qatar to Cooperate on Migrant Returns”, 15 September 2015. In a joint submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Global Detention Project estimated the percentage of foreigners in Qatar at 90 per cent; see www.globaldetentionproject.org/submission-cerd-qatar. According to information provided by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, there are more than 1,910,00 migrant workers in Qatar. The majority are from India, followed by Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Egypt, Pakistan, the Sudan, Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic. There are also nationals from Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria. See for instance Human Rights Watch, “Qatar: Urgently Investigate Migrant Worker Deaths”, 10 October 2019. See for instance Amnesty International, “Qatar: Abuse of World Cup workers exposed”, 31 March 2016.