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Qatar: Implementing the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
TUAC Submission to the 15th Meeting of the National Contact Points and the Informal Ministerial Meeting on Responsible Business Conduct

25/06/2014

Downloads

  • TUAC Submission on Qatarpdf

TUAC made a submission to the Meeting of the National Contact Points (25th June) and the Informal Ministerial Meeting on Responsible Business Conduct (26th June), urging goverments to take action on the severe violations of migrant workers’ human rights in Qatar. 


TUAC is gravely concerned about the high level of work-place accidents in Qatar leading to injury and death of migrant workers and the widespread violations of workers’ human rights. Qatar has the highest ratio of migrants to citizens in the world. The awarding of the FIFA 2022 World Cup to Qatar will likely further increase the demand for migrant labour. In April 2014, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights of migrants published a report that identified a host of abuses that constitute severe violations of workers’ human rights.

The TUAC submission – PDF for download on the right – calls for government action by Ministers, National Contact Points (NCPs) and the OECD itself to address these violations of the OECD Guidelines in Qatar.

Ministers gathered at the Informal Ministerial Meeting, in line with the State duty to protect against business-related human rights abuses, should:

  • Make a statement setting out their collective commitment to work with companies operating in, or linked to operations in, Qatar;
  • Call on those companies to respect the three authoritative international instruments: the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the ILO MNE Declaration and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
  • Recognise the central role of the National Contact Points in implementing the OECD Guidelines and invite NCPs to convene meetings involving MNEs operating in or with links to operations in Qatar, trade unions and investors with a view to addressing these human rights violations, including through human rights due diligence.

NCPs meeting at the 15th Annual Meeting of National Contact Points should, in line
with their responsibilities under the proactive agenda:

  1. Make a statement setting out their collective commitment to work with companies operating in or linked to operations in Qatar;
  2. Call on those companies to respect the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
  3. Convene meetings involving MNEs operating, or with links to operations, in Qatar, trade unions and investors with a view to addressing these human rights violations, including through human rights due diligence.
For more information, visit the TUAC site on the MNE Guidelines: http://www.tuacoecdmneguidelines.org