Qatar calls for protection of rights of Palestinian workers

Doha, Qatar: Qatar participated in the extraordinary session to discuss the Director General s report on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab...

Doha, Qatar: Qatar participated in the extraordinary session to discuss the Director-General’s report on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories, held on the sidelines of the 112th session of the International Labour Conference currently taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.

Representing Qatar in the session was Sheikha Najwa bint Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Assistant Undersecretary for Migrant Labour Affairs at the Ministry of Labour.

In her speech, Sheikha Najwa said, “We appreciate the decision of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to hold an extraordinary session to discuss the conditions of workers in the occupied Arab territories, in the hope of continuing this extraordinary session in future conferences until there is a change in the situation of Palestinian workers on the ground.”

She highlighted that the Director-General’s report on the workers in the occupied Arab territories reflects the deteriorating economic and social conditions and the high levels of unemployment which have reached their peak in the sector, noting Israel’s ongoing violation of Palestinian workers’ rights and the tightening of restrictions on their freedom of movement and the non-provision of adequate occupational health and safety conditions.

She emphasised the necessity for ILO to take necessary actions to assist about 5,000 workers from Gaza who are without work and shelter, in addition to enhancing its efforts to provide emergency humanitarian aid to the three production parties in Gaza and in the occupied Palestinian territories.