The Fact Forum

Life is better with peace.

Sheikh Ahmed Khaled Mohammed Al Thani
writes to the United Nations General Secretary expressing his frustration over the human rights violations practice by the the state of Qata. He outlined many variations of Qata State authority that have been undermining UN objectives and goals.

Below is the Letter written by Sheikh Ahmed Khaled Mohammed Al Thani
to the UN General Secretary.

His Excellency António Guterres
Secretary-General
United Nations Headquarters
New York, NY 10017, USA


Your Excellency,
I write to you with deep disappointment and growing concern regarding the continued participation and endorsement of the United Nations in events hosted by the authorities of the State of Qatar—most notably, the forthcoming Doha Forum under the theme “Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress.”
For more than five years, I have communicated directly with multiple offices and special rapporteurs of the United Nations, providing documented evidence of human rights violations systematically carried out by Qatari state authorities. These communications have included testimonies of:

Fabrication of evidence and politically motivated prosecutions by Qatar’s Public Prosecution Office;

Coercion of judges and lawyers, in full alignment with the observations of Gabriela Knaul, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers;

The displacement and denationalization of Qatari citizens, including the Ghufran tribe, who remain deprived of their rights and identity;

Exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, contrary to Qatar’s international treaty obligations.

Despite these submissions and independent corroboration by reputable international organizations, the United Nations has remained silent, taking no visible action to address or even publicly acknowledge these persistent injustices.

Doha Forum’s Theme and the Reality of Injustice
The theme of the upcoming Doha Forum, “Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress”, stands in stark contradiction to the lived realities within Qatar.
When justice is employed as a tool of oppression, the claim of “justice in action” becomes an irony—an insult to those who continue to suffer under a system that uses courts and prosecutors as instruments of control.

Justice in Action
The judicial system in Qatar remains under the direct influence of the ruling authority. Judges are routinely foreign nationals serving on temporary contracts, beholden to executive discretion. Prosecutors continue to fabricate evidence, while defense lawyers are intimidated, forced to withdraw, or threatened with disciplinary action for defending political defendants. This is not justice in action—it is injustice institutionalized.

Beyond Promises to Progress
More than two decades of public promises to reform the judiciary, labour laws, and civil rights have yielded no substantive progress.
Instead, progress is measured in global sponsorships, international sporting events, and generous contributions to UN programs—all while fundamental freedoms remain denied to Qatari citizens.

The Price of Silence
When the United Nations continues to partner in events hosted by Qatar’s authorities, it sends a dangerous message: that justice and human rights can be overshadowed by financial contribution and diplomatic convenience.

The State of Women’s Rights in Qatar
Your Excellency, one of the most distressing aspects of Qatar’s record lies in the systemic discrimination against women, which persists despite global scrutiny and Qatar’s own public commitments to gender equality.
According to Human Rights Watch (2021) and Amnesty International (2022), women in Qatar remain subject to male guardianship laws that severely restrict their autonomy and fundamental rights. Key documented violations include:

Freedom of Movement: Women must obtain male guardian permission to travel abroad, even when they are adults. Single women under 25 are regularly denied exit permits without paternal consent.

Education: Women are often barred from choosing certain academic disciplines or studying abroad without permission from a male guardian.

Marriage and Family Law: Qatari women cannot marry a non-Qatari man without the explicit approval of the State, while Qatari men face no such restriction.

Employment Restrictions: Employers frequently request guardian consent for female employees to take up certain jobs or work night shifts, despite the absence of any such legal requirement in labour law.

Child Custody and Divorce: In family courts, women face overwhelming bias; the system grants preferential rights to men in custody, inheritance, and divorce proceedings.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its most recent concluding observations on Qatar, expressed “serious concern at the persistence of discriminatory legal provisions” and the “broad power of male guardianship” that undermines women’s equality before the law.
Moreover, the domestic reporting mechanisms for abuse or sexual violence remain inaccessible and unsafe for victims. Many women fear reprisal, imprisonment, or forced psychiatric confinement for reporting assault, a fact verified in multiple Human Rights Watch investigations.
How, then, can Qatar host a global forum on “Justice in Action” when its own women—half its population—are denied basic human agency, freedom, and dignity?
To hold such a forum in Doha, under these circumstances, is not a symbol of justice but a mockery of its essence.

Judicial Corruption and Institutional Failure
Your Excellency will recall that in her report, Gabriela Knaul, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, stated:
“The independence of judges and lawyers in Qatar is not guaranteed in practice. Judicial appointments lack transparency; foreign judges remain vulnerable to executive control; and lawyers face prosecution or disbarment for defending politically sensitive cases.”
Over a decade later, these findings remain accurate. In fact, conditions have worsened: prosecutors act as political enforcers, lawyers are silenced, and judges are still subject to extrajudicial pressure.

Moral Responsibility of the United Nations
The continued collaboration of the United Nations with Qatari state institutions—without publicly addressing these abuses—risks undermining the UN’s own moral credibility and Charter obligations.
Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter explicitly commit all organs of the United Nations to the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Yet, the Organization’s inaction toward the victims of Qatar’s systemic violations sends the opposite message: that influence and wealth can buy silence and immunity.
I therefore ask plainly: Has the United Nations allowed its principles to be compromised by the promise of funding and diplomatic convenience?

Appeal for Action
Your Excellency, I respectfully urge you to:

Reconsider the UN’s participation in the upcoming Doha Forum and similar events that whitewash oppression under the guise of justice.

Commission a new Special Rapporteur review on human rights and judicial independence in Qatar, with explicit focus on gender discrimination, prosecutorial misconduct, and migrant exploitation.

Ensure transparency and accountability within UN partnerships to prevent authoritarian states from leveraging international legitimacy for political cover.

Engage directly with victims and advocates, including myself, to ensure that those exposing systemic injustice are heard and protected.

Conclusion
If “Justice in Action” is to have meaning, it must begin with truth, not theatre; accountability, not applause. It must defend those who are silenced, not reward those who silence them.
The world watches the United Nations as the guardian of justice, not its spectator.
Your Excellency, I appeal to your conscience and leadership: let not justice be replaced by diplomacy, nor truth traded for influence.

With sincere respect,

Sheikh Ahmed Khaled Mohammed Al Thani
London, United Kingdom