Human Rights Committee

Information received from Qatar on follow-up to the concluding observations on its initial report *

[Date received: 4 November 2025]

I.Introduction

1.The State of Qatar acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 21 May 2018, pursuant to Decree No. 40 of 2018, with the Covenant entering into force in the State on 21 August 2018. The State of Qatar submitted its initial report in August 2019 pursuant to article 40 of the Covenant.

2.The Committee considered the initial report of Qatar at its 3837th and 3838th meetings, held on 28 February and 1 March 2022. It adopted the concluding observations at its 3866th meeting, held on 21 March 2022.

3.The following is the response of the State of Qatar to the request contained in paragraph 47 of the concluding observations (CCPR/C/QAT/CO/1) for information on the implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee in paragraphs 21 (death penalty), 23 (deaths among migrant workers) and 45 (participation in public affairs).

II.Information on follow-up to concluding observations (CCPR/C/QAT/CO/1)

A.Information on follow-up to paragraph 21 of the concluding observations

4.The State of Qatar affirms that the death penalty in national legislation is based on the provisions of Islamic sharia, which is one of the main sources of legislation pursuant to article 1 of the Constitution. The penalty is applied only for the most serious crimes, such as murder and terrorism, in accordance with article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Qatari lawmakers have established a comprehensive system of legal and procedural safeguards that ensure this punishment remains a rare exception. Article 221 of the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that every person charged with a criminal offence must have a lawyer to defend him or her; if the accused person does not appoint a lawyer, the court is to appoint one at the State’s expense. Articles 273 and 302 of the Code also establish the obligation for the Office of the Public Prosecutor to appeal against death sentences before the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, even if the defendant himself or herself does not appeal, with the enforcement of the sentence suspended until a decision is reached on the appeals. Article 230 stipulates that the verdict must be reached by a unanimous decision of the court; if unanimity is not achieved, the sentence is to be commuted to life imprisonment. Article 345 also provides that, if the convicted person is a pregnant woman, the sentence is to be suspended for two years after the birth in order to protect the newborn. In such cases, the law provides that the death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment. Article 302, meanwhile, provides for a suspension of the sentence if it is established that the convicted person suffers from a severe mental illness. Article 304 also permits a review of the judgment if new facts or evidence emerge that suggest the defendant’s innocence. Article 340 requires that, once the judgment becomes final, the case files be submitted to His Highness the Amir for ratification prior to enforcement, which constitutes an additional supreme safeguard. In addition, under article 67 of the Constitution, the Amir has the authority to grant pardons and commute sentences. Furthermore, article 20 of the Criminal Code (Act No. 11) of 2004 prohibits the imposition of the death penalty on persons who were under the age of 18 at the time the offence was committed. It also prohibits the enforcement of the sentence on public holidays and official occasions. It should be noted that death sentences are imposed extremely rarely and are often commuted to life imprisonment. This reflects the legislative and judicial trend towards limiting the scope of its application. Below is a table listing the death sentences handed down between 2022 and 2024. It should be noted that none of these sentences have been carried out.

	Number of death sentences handed down by courts of first instance	Death sentence amended from first ‑instance ruling	Death sentence upheld
2022	1	1	0
2023	7	3	4
2024	5	3	2

5.With regard to the recommendation concerning accession to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, the State takes into account the country’s constitutional, legislative and cultural specificities when acceding to conventions and protocols, in a manner that strikes a balance between its international human rights obligations, the requirements of criminal justice and the protection of society. Nevertheless, the State of Qatar is committed to regularly reviewing its laws and ensuring that the death penalty is imposed only in the most limited circumstances and with the strictest judicial and humanitarian safeguards in place. It is thus clear that the death penalty in Qatari legislation is subject to procedures and safeguards that make it a strictly limited exception, consistent with the Constitution and relevant international obligations.

B.Information on follow-up to paragraph 23 of the concluding observations

6.As part of the State’s intensified efforts to strengthen worker protection and prevent occupational injuries and fatalities, Amiri Decree No. 42 of 2022 concerning the organizational structure of the Ministry of Labour was issued. It serves to consolidate the institutional framework for occupational health and safety through the establishment of a specialized department responsible for developing policies and implementing monitoring and preventive programmes in this field. In line with this approach, the Minister of Labour issued Decree No. 20 of 2024 concerning the establishment and operation of sections within the Ministry’s administrative units. Under the Decree, the Occupational Health and Safety Department has been restructured to comprise three key sections that form an integrated system dedicated to reducing occupational risks, namely:

•The Occupational Injuries and Accidents Section

•The Occupational Health and Safety Monitoring Section

•The Occupational Health and Safety Policy Section

7.This new regulatory framework reflects the State’s firm commitment to promoting a safe working environment by building specialized institutional capacity and implementing monitoring and prevention measures, thereby directly contributing to reducing workplace accident rates and ensuring the highest levels of protection for the health and safety of workers across various sectors. In this context, the Ministry of Labour, as the competent government body – acting consistently and with complete transparency – has provided the International Labour Organization (ILO) with reports detailing workplace injuries.

8.A number of articles of the Labour Code (Act No. 14 of 2004) address in detail matters related to work-related deaths and injuries and the reporting thereof, specifically articles 108 and 115, article 109 on the right to appropriate medical treatment and article 110 on the right of the worker’s heirs to receive compensation.

9.To ensure compliance with article 108, work-related injuries and deaths are to be reported to the Ministry as follows:

(a)The establishment must immediately report any injury or workplace accident via the designated online system. Upon receipt of the report, an investigation into the incident is conducted, and final reports are then submitted to the relevant authorities so that the applicable legal procedures may be followed.

(b)The Ministry of the Interior, through its relevant bodies, is to notify the Ministry of Labour of any work-related accidents or injuries; inspectors from the Occupational Health and Safety Department at the Ministry of Labour then proceed immediately to the scene of the accident, conduct the necessary inspections and investigations and submit final reports to the competent authorities.

(c)If it is determined that a work-related injury or accident has occurred and the establishment has failed to report it, a report will be filed against the establishment for violating the provisions of the aforementioned article, and the report will be submitted to the competent judicial authorities.

10.To ensure the effective implementation of article 109 of the Labour Code on the right to medical treatment, employers are required to provide appropriate medical treatment to workers who have sustained a work-related injury, at the employer’s expense, as determined by the competent medical authority. The worker concerned is to receive full wages for the duration of treatment or for a period of six months, and thereafter half of the full wages if treatment continues, either until recovery or until recognition of a state of permanent disability. These provisions were reinforced by the implementing regulations of the Labour Code, promulgated by Ministerial Decree No. 16 of 2005, which established procedures for handling work-related injuries and occupational diseases, as well as procedures for notifying the competent authority and documenting the worker’s medical condition. Subsequent ministerial decrees, such as Decree No. 18 of 2020 on the labour inspection system, have further strengthened mechanisms for monitoring employers’ respect for workers’ rights and ensuring the payment of their wages in such cases. In addition, the State has placed particular emphasis on strengthening these safeguards by establishing channels for receiving workers’ complaints and enabling workers to claim their rights, as well as imposing the legally prescribed penalties on non-compliant establishments, thereby ensuring effective enforcement and the protection of injured workers.

11.With regard to article 110 of the Labour Code concerning the right to compensation for a worker’s heirs, and as part of efforts to strengthen social protection, Qatar has adopted a series of practical measures to ensure the effective realization of these rights pursuant to the ministerial decrees referred to in paragraph 10 above, and to ensure the role of supervisory bodies in monitoring establishments’ compliance with the payment of compensation and safeguarding the rights of workers and their families.

12.In an effort to minimize risks and improve prevention, the State is seeking to promote a safe and healthy work environment. Legislation requires employers to ensure compliance with occupational health and safety standards, including preventive measures, and to provide first aid and regular medical check-ups. Working hours have also been regulated in relation to extreme weather conditions, with work prohibited during peak heat periods to protect workers from occupational injuries. This was done through the issuance of Ministerial Decree No. 17 of 2021 concerning the necessary precautions to protect workers from heat stress at outdoor work sites during the summer period from 1 June to 15 September, from 10.00 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. In addition, a comprehensive inspection system has been developed, and labour inspectors have been trained to increase the effectiveness of monitoring and ensure the proper implementation of legislation. The Ministry of Labour continues to conduct annual inspection campaigns to ensure compliance with the new legislation on heat stress protection. Thanks to these ongoing efforts, the number of people visiting medical clinics due to heat stress has decreased significantly in recent years.

13.The State also attaches particular importance to transparency and international cooperation and has produced periodic reports on workplace accidents and occupational injuries in collaboration with ILO, reflecting its commitment to strengthening social protection based on documented data. In addition, the Ministry of Labour has launched online complaint platforms that provide workers with easy access to justice and enable them to file reports regarding non-payment of compensation or any violation of their rights. Mechanisms have also been put in place to address these complaints swiftly and ensure fair treatment for workers.

14.Through this legislative, executive and supervisory framework, Qatar upholds the principle of social protection, which guarantees workers both financial security in the event of a work-related injury or death, and end-of-service benefits. In this way, the State demonstrates its commitment to providing a decent work environment that upholds human dignity and ensures social justice and family stability, in line with its National Vision, which aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

15.With regard to article 115 concerning the submission of statistics on work-related injuries and occupational diseases to the Ministry of Labour every six months, the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Public Health have a joint cooperation agreement for recording and tracking work-related injuries and fatalities, and the two parties meet regularly to exchange information, data and statistics. The Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Public Health also coordinate to ensure prompt reporting and the exchange of information.

C.Information on follow-up to paragraph 45 of the concluding observations

16.With regard to the constitutional amendments adopted in November 2024, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, issued a directive to amend the Constitution, and draft amendments were duly presented to the Shura Council, which unanimously approved them in late October 2024. This was done in accordance with article 144 of the Constitution, which grants the Amir the right to request constitutional amendments.

17.Pursuant to article 75 of the Constitution, which grants His Highness the Amir the right to hold a referendum among citizens on important issues relating to the interests of the country, Decree No. 87 of 2024 was issued, calling on citizens to vote in a referendum on the proposed amendments to the Constitution. Article 1 of the Decree provided that all citizens who had reached the age of 18 by 5 November 2024 had the right to vote, so that they could express their views on the proposed constitutional amendments. Eighty-four per cent of eligible voters participated in the referendum, and the vast majority supported the proposed amendments, with 90.6 per cent of valid votes cast in favour.

18.These amendments included the replacement of the text of articles 1, 13, 74, 77, 80, 81, 86, 103, 104, 117 and 150, as well as the addition of article 75 bis and article 125/final paragraph. The amendments included provisions concerning the electoral system and the requirements for membership of the Shura Council. The referendum led to the peaceful and effective resolution of differences, strengthened national unity and served the country’s best interests. The following are the key provisions included in the 2024 constitutional amendments, which abolished the system whereby some members of the Shura Council were elected and reinstated a system whereby all members are appointed. Other amendments concerned eligibility and citizenship requirements:

(a)Article 77 stipulates that “The Shura Council shall consist of no fewer than 45 members, and the appointment of members shall be by Amiri decree.” This amended article specifies that members of the Shura Council are to be appointed by His Highness the Amir, and consequently the previous electoral system has been abolished. Furthermore, the Shura Council now comprises no fewer than 45 members, unlike the previous system, under which the Council comprised 45 members, 30 of whom were elected by direct secret ballot, while the remaining 15 were appointed by the Amir.

(b)Article 80 (1) and (4) stipulates that members of the Shura Council must be Qatari nationals and must be persons of learning or sound judgment and be experienced and competent. Prior to the amendment, members of the Council were required to hold Qatari nationality by birth. In order to promote equal citizenship among members of Qatari society, the article was amended to allow for the appointment of all Qatari citizens to the Shura Council on an equal basis. The amendment stipulates that those appointed to the Shura Council must be persons of learning or sound judgment and be experienced and competent individuals and has removed the previous requirement for Shura Council members to be at least 30 years old.

(c)Article 117 was amended from “Only those whose original nationality is Qatari may hold a ministerial post” to “Only those whose nationality is Qatari may hold a ministerial post”. Previously, the eligibility requirements for membership and senior positions stipulated that the individuals must be Qatari nationals by birth. However, following the constitutional amendments, it is now sufficient for a person merely to hold Qatari nationality, which opens the door to a wider range of groups. In this way, the constitutional amendments have enabled citizens to hold legislative and executive offices without discrimination, and this represents a fundamental change and a step forward in the advancement of human rights and of full equality among citizens.

19.The draft constitutional amendments were approved and ratified by His Highness the Amir on 6 November 2024 and came into effect on the date the referendum results were announced. The constitutional amendments were designed to ensure equal citizenship and promote participation in public affairs, in accordance with specific guidelines and conditions that safeguard the public interest.

20.It is worth noting that article 25 of the Covenant does not prescribe a specific model for the conduct of elections, but rather envisions citizens’ participation in public affairs through various means, including appointment based on legal and transparent criteria. The Committee’s general comment No. 25 also emphasizes that States are free to choose the form of their representative institutions, provided that they ensure the participation of their citizens in the conduct of public affairs in appropriate ways. Given that the electoral framework that was the subject of the recommendation is no longer in force, the legal and factual basis for the recommendation no longer exists. The right to public participation is exercised through the constitutional Shura system, which combines appointment and merit, a form of political participation that enjoys international recognition.