In July 2021, Qatar approved new laws to regulate its first legislative elections, but these laws show the country’s discriminatory citizenship system in which “naturalized” citizens receive fewer rights and privileges compared to “native” Qataris.
Qatar’s new electoral system led to a partially elected Shura Council, yet the Emir continues to appoint some members and political reforms have not addressed the root issue of citizenship inequality and denial of political rights for many Qataris.
Indeed, under Qatar’s 2005 nationality law, thousands of Qataris are marginalized because they are classified as “naturalized” rather than “native”. This violates Qatar’s constitutional promise of equality for all citizens the new laws
Consequently, naturalized citizens are barred from voting in the Shura Council elections and prohibited from running for office. Also, they have limited access to public services and other benefits. For example, a “naturalized” Qatari cannot apply for housing loans until 15 years after naturalization and is excluded from other public services.
The new electoral law sparked protests, particularly from members of the Al Murra tribe, a large group stripped of Qatari nationality and affected by the discriminatory legislation.
Discrimination against Al Murra tribe started in 1996 when some members were accused of planning a coup against the ruling authority and threatening the national security, hence Qatar collectively punished them by systematically stripping the citizenship from all its members. This resulted in some individuals being left stateless and denied fundamental human rights such as access to education, employment, and healthcare. Following the international pressure, citizenship was reinstated after 2005 for some of them, however they have been unfairly classified as “naturalized” while other members are without nationality and cannot legally work in Qatar.
The arbitrary denial of their nationality led to other unfair procedures against Al Murra tribe including detention, torture, forced deportation, confiscation of property.
In response to this, some protests against the election law erupted near Doha, including sit-ins and public condemnation on social media, with some protesters arrested by Qatari security forces. Among them, Rashid Ali al-Marri, a lawyer and Ahmed al-Shamri have been arrested for criticizing the law. In May 2022 the court sentenced other three activists, including the lawyers Hazza and Rashed Ali Hazza Salem Abu Shurayda to life in prison on 10 May for protesting against the discriminatory election law.
The electoral law constitutes a serious violation of the obligations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits the revocation of citizenship for any citizen due to his political views. ADHRB calls on Qatar to amend its nationality laws to ensure all citizens, whether “native” or “naturalized,” have equal rights including the right to vote and run for office and release those detained for peaceful protest. Also, ADHRB denounces the denial of basic rights and freedoms of the Al Murra tribe in the fields of health, education, housing, and work and urges the government to stop the racial discrimination and restore their rights.