Kathmandu, December 18

National Human Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar today agreed on an 11-point activation plan for implementation of the agreement reached last year to protect the rights of Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf country, amid a programme in Kathmandu.

NHRC Chairperson Anup Raj Sharma and Qatar’s rights committee Chairperson Ali Bin Samikh Al-Marri signed the activation plan on behalf of their respective countries.

A 10-point bilateral agreement was signed in November 2015 for the welfare of Nepali migrant workers in Qatar. The activation plan seeks to bring into effect the agreement in the wake of recently introduced new labour law in Qatar and the signing of labour agreement between the two countries.

The major points included in the 11-point activation plan are: appointing a contact person in the respective countries’ human rights agencies for exchange of information; imparting training to private foreign employment agencies; and providing legal support to Nepali workers in Qatar.

The rights bodies of the two countries would also study the problems faced by Nepali migrant workers in Qatar.

On the occasion, NHRC Chairman Sharma said the first ever understanding on migration was signed with South Korea in 2010 for the protection of rights of Nepali migrants workers there. He expressed his confidence that the agreement would play an important role in protecting workers’ rights.

Likewise, NHRC Qatar Chair Dr Al-Marri informed that his country had been receiving a large number of foreign migrant workers, including Nepalis, every year and the Qatari government had taken steps for their welfare.