A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 V. Citizenship, refugees and stateless and undocumented populations A. Access to citizenship 52. Law No. 38 of 2005, on the acquisition of Qatari nationality, 56 regulates access to citizenship. The Special Rapporteur commends the adoption of Law No. 10 of 2018, which permits children of Qatari women with foreign spouses as well as their foreign spouses to obtain permanent residence. 57 However, she notes with concern that citizenship through birth is still conferred in a manner that discriminates on the basis of gender. The Special Rapporteur joins the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in expressing grave concern that, unlike Qatari men, Qatari women remain prohibited from conferring nationality upon their foreign spouses and children, and that children of Qatari women married to foreign spouses do not enjoy the same rights as children of Qatari men married to foreign spouses.58 53. The Special Rapporteur learned that under Law No. 38 of 2005, citizenship through naturalization is available only through Emiri decree. She is deeply concerned that by law naturalized Qatari do not enjoy the same rights as Qatari citizens born in the country, especially when it comes to the rights to work, housing, and public and political life. Similar concerns were raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Qatar National Human Rights Commission. 59 Article 16 of Law No. 38 of 2005 stresses that naturalized Qataris are not equated with Qatari nationals in terms of the right to work in public positions or work in general until five years after the date of naturalization. Naturalized Qataris are not entitled to participate in elections or nominations or be appointed in any legislative body. Regarding housing, by a decision of the Council of Ministers (No. 16 of 2007), naturalized Qatari can be granted a housing loan in accordance with article 2, paragraph 2, of Law No. 2 of 2007, or an appropriate housing unit by resolution of the Council of Ministers, only after the expiration of a period of 15 years from the date of obtaining Qatari nationality. 60 54. One narrative that seems salient in Qatar, and that seems to structure relevant legal and policy frameworks, is that non-nationals – especially low-income workers – are there as temporary, short-term guests who come to earn wages that far exceed what they would earn in their countries of origin. Testimonies the Special Rapporteur received confirmed the many economic advantages that drew non-nationals to seek their fortune in Qatar, and the positive, transformative impact of recent reforms, especially for the 30,000 workers employed by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. 61 At the same time, the Special Rapporteur encountered compelling evidence that the narrative of temporary, shortterm guest workers is more myth than reality. Reports indicated that many low-income migrant workers spent years, sometimes decades, in Qatar, either continuously or with breaks in their countries of origin. Some workers are the second generation in their families to return to Qatar to work in the very same industries. In other words, far from being mostly short-term guest workers, many low-income workers spend the better part of their working lives in Qatar and do so facing serious barriers to full enjoyment of their fundamental human rights, including the right to family reunification. 62 55. Although non-nationals may apply for nationality or permanent residence, the very restrictive legal requirements make it difficult for low-income migrant workers to obtain citizenship or a permanent resident permit. The residence requirement is 25 years of 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 14 Available at www.refworld.org/pdfid/542975124.pdf. See, inter alia, CEDAW/C/QAT/CO/2, para. 33. Ibid., para. 33. CERD/C/QAT/CO/17-21, paras. 21–22 and National Human Rights Committee, Fourteenth Annual Report: 2018. See National Human Rights Committee, shadow report submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2018). See www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/supreme-committee-for-delivery-legacy-and-bwi-sign-mou-forjoint-inspe-2850955. CERD/C/QAT/CO/17-21, para. 15.