UN rights panel urges Qatar on labor law

May 09, 2014 - ‎Qatar has been urged at the United Nations to abolish the sponsorship system tying migrant workers to employers. Delegates at a U.N. Human Rights Council panel reviewing Qatar's record on Wednesday repeatedly raised concerns about exploitation of construction and domestic household workers. Several of 84 states speaking in the session linked Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup with the need to reform its laws. Recommendations, which are not binding, included scrapping exit visas which can prevent immigrant workers leaving, and legally protecting against what Belgium said was ``persistence of violence against women and girls.'' Qatar's assistant foreign minister, Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, outlined progress since a previous review in 2010. He tells the Associated Press ``we have seen that there are some helpful recommendations from different countries.'' (Source: AP)