A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on her mission to Qatar I. Introduction 1. At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Tendayi Achiume, visited Qatar from 24 November to 1 December 2019 to assess the authorities’ efforts in eliminating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. 2. During the visit, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Doha and its surrounding areas, where she met with government representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs; the Ministry of Public Health; the Ministry of Education and Higher Education; the Ministry of Municipalities and the Environment and the Central Municipal Council; the Ministry of Justice; and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. She also held meetings with highlevel authorities, including the State Minister for Foreign Affairs; the Minister of Culture and Sports; and the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. The Special Rapporteur also met with representatives of the Shura Council, the Supreme Judiciary Council and the National Human Rights Committee, and the country’s lawyer, who also serves as the Dean of the Law School of the University of Qatar. 3. The Special Rapporteur also held meetings with other stakeholders, including civil society actors, such as migrant workers, domestic workers, members of the Al-Ghufran clan, and academics, as well as representatives of United Nations entities. She met with the labour disputes committees and visited the central prison, the deportation and detention centre and the police station of the capital security department. She also carried out an onsite visit to the Al-Rayyan stadium, currently under construction for the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, where she met with representatives of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and migrant workers benefiting from the workers’ welfare initiative of the Supreme Committee. 4. The Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate her gratitude to Qatar for its invitation and cooperation during the visit. She appreciates the fact that she was able to meet with high-level representatives of the executive, judicial and legislative branches, demonstrating the importance that Qatar attaches to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to express her gratitude to all those who took the time to meet with her. 5. The Special Rapporteur learned from government officials during her visit that the measures imposed on Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2017 had had a significant impact on the human rights of Qataris in those four neighbouring States. In 2018, Qatar instituted a series of inter-State complaints before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the International Court of Justice alleging a violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 1 The Special Rapporteur strongly urges all parties to these proceedings to respect their obligations under international human rights law and to abide by the findings of the Committee and the International Court of Justice. 1 2 See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CERD/Pages/InterstateCommunications.aspx and www.icjcij.org/en/case/172.