The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal recently signed a 10-point agreement with Qatar's Human Rights Committee in the Gulf nation.

 

Representatives of the NHRC signed the deal with a view of guaranteeing human rights of Nepali migrant workers in Qatar but it is yet to be seen if this will really ensure the rights of the migrant workers.

The agreement even aims at pressurizing governments of the respective countries to prevent labor exploitation, forced labor or human trafficking of migrant workers in Qatar.

 

Advocate Krishna Prasad Neupane opined that this agreement is significant in the context of justice procedure being very lengthy and unaffordable for migrant workers, both in destination country and at home.

 

"Nepali migrant workers can't afford lawyers in Qatar when they land in trouble. After the bilateral agreement between the rights bodies of the two governments, we can be hopeful that the cases of migrant workers would be recommended to fast-trial mechanism."

 

According to the Foreign Employment Act 2007, victims can file complaints at the litigation department under the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) in Nepal but they can't go to the Foreign Employment Tribunal themselves to expedite justice. Besides, the centralization of tribunal makes the justice process even more elusive.

 

Neupane, who is working at People's Forum, an organization providing free legal aid service to migrant workers, added that at least families of migrant workers can now file complaints at the regional offices outside Kathmandu.

 

Stating that they are working on activation plan of the recent agreement for its effective implementation, Neupane said, "After the implementation of the agreement, migrant workers can seek help from Nepal desk if their issues are not addressed in Qatar."

 

NHRC's Human Rights Officer Kamal Thapa, who was in the delegation to Qatar while signing the agreement, informed that the NHRC plans to establish a separate desk in Nepal to hear the complaints of the migrant workers for effective implementation of the cases.

 

Qatar, which is building a 90,000-seater stadium under a $45 billion project for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022, is home to more than 1.2 million migrant workers where more than 800,000 workers are Nepalis. Nepal had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar -- the second largest destination country -- to send migrant workers in 2005.

 

Two weeks ago, the Qatari government amended its major labor law, the Kafala System, allowing migrant workers easier return to home or to change their jobs in Qatar.

 

On the contrary, sociologist and migration expert Dr Meena Poudel remarked that Nepali workers are not going to get any benefit from such agreement.

 

"The agreement is not significant as it doesn't bind both the governments for action," she said, adding, "Qatar has been signing new agreements just to improve its image for the upcoming World Cup."