[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 21253-21254]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     FOURTH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE SHOULD NOT BE HELD IN QATAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, today we are preparing to send a letter to 
the President of the United States expressing the displeasure of many 
Members and genuine concern about the administration decision to send a 
delegation from our countries to the World Trade Organization's fourth 
ministerial conference in Qatar. That is to occur next week.
  We are writing to express our deep reservations about the 
appropriateness of that venue in light of recent actions by the 
monarchy in Qatar, not to mention the obvious security concerns for our 
citizens.
  We are deeply disappointed by the failure of the Qatari monarchy to 
support U.S. military action in Afghanistan. In fact, the President of 
the United States has said Nations should choose sides. Well, Qatar has 
chosen the wrong side. Indeed, in this war against terrorism, Qatar has 
decided to sit on the sidelines, and at worst to condemn U.S. military 
action; so why are we sending a delegation there?
  Indeed, the government of Qatar has condemned the air campaign 
against the Taliban and refused to make its airports and infrastructure 
available to U.S. forces. On October 23, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh 
Hamad bin-Jassem bin-Jabr al-Thani condemned, and that is a quote, the 
allied attacks on Afghanistan and called them unacceptable.
  What is unacceptable is the notion that Doha, Qatar is an appropriate 
site for the World Trade Organization ministerial.
  Mr. Speaker, we will be asking the President to prevail on the World 
Trade Organization officials to move the ministerial to another 
location in light of the government of Qatar's opposition to the war on 
terrorism.
  The government of Qatar should be made to understand that its failure 
to support the coalition in the campaign against terrorism has 
consequences, and it is not business as usual.
  In the Financial Times today, there is an article indicating that 
Vice President Cheney disregarded fears over the WTO choosing the venue 
of Qatar for this meeting. In fact, it says that the White House 
disregarded security concerns among top U.S. trade officials this month 
by committing Washington to sending a delegation to the meeting of the 
World Trade Organization previously scheduled for Qatar.
  It mentions that U.S. Government security experts on Friday warned 
business lobbyists planning to accompany the delegation that there were 
substantial risks in attending the meeting in the small Gulf state.
  One delegation member was very concerned about Mr. Cheney's call and 
said, ``I think this is a momentously bad call based upon what we have 
learned about security risks there.''
  It is no secret this organization calls itself the World Trade 
Organization, and when those two Trade Towers came down in New York, 
those were the Twin World Trade Towers. There is a message here, and it 
is a pretty important one.
  For the Record, I will be including information on Qatar's policy of 
denying its own people fundamental rights. In fact, the government 
officially prohibits such things as public worship by non-Muslims. Our 
own CIA Fact Book indicates that the people of Qatar do not even have 
the right to vote, and freedom of speech is severely limited. I could 
not be giving this speech in Qatar.
  In addition, like the Taliban, the rulers of Qatar oppress women, and 
women occupy a strictly subservient role inside that society.
  I think it is fair to say that trade has failed to bring freedom to 
Qatar. In fact, the U.S. State Department calls oil the cornerstone of 
Qatar's economy, accounting for more than 70 percent of total 
government revenue in that country. Starting in 1973, oil production 
there increased dramatically, but freedom certainly has not followed.
  We are constantly told how freedom takes root in unfree countries if 
we simply trade, whether it is Vietnam, China or Qatar. That logic is 
simply not true. Despite billions upon billions of dollars worth of 
engagement between Western commercial interests and Qatar, the people 
of Qatar have no freedom of speech, no freedom of assembly, no freedom 
of religion, no freedom of association.
  Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Bush and Cheney administration to 
seriously review the decision that they have made to send a delegation 
to Qatar and to find a location that is safer in view of these very 
troubled times.
  The material previously referred to is as follows:

[[Page 21254]]



               (From the Financial Times, Oct. 31, 2001]

                Cheney Disregarded Fears Over WTO Venue


Vice-president pledged US participation despite efforts to move Mideast 
                                meeting

    (By Guy de Jonquieres in London and Edward Alden in Washington)

       Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, disregarded security 
     concerns among top US trade officials this month by 
     committing Washington to sending a delegation to next month's 
     ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Doha, 
     Qatar.
       Mr. Cheney pledged US participation even though US 
     intelligence officials are seriously concerned that its 
     delegation--due to include Robert Zoellick, the US trade 
     representative, Don Evans, commerce secretary, and Ann 
     Veneman, agriculture secretary--cannot be protected 
     adequately in Doha, according to congressional and business 
     representatives who have been briefed by the administration 
     on security plans.
       Intensive efforts are being made to launch a global trade 
     round at the five-day WTO meeting, which starts on November 
     9. The Gulf state was the only WTO member to offer to host 
     the talks, after riots marred the last meeting, in Seattle, 
     two years ago.
       US government security experts on Friday warned business 
     lobbyists planning to accompany the delegation that there 
     were ``substantial risks'' in attending the meeting in the 
     small Gulf state.
       Mr. Cheney gave his assurances by telephone 10 days ago to 
     the emir of Qatar, despite efforts by Mr. Zoellick to 
     persuade other countries to move the meeting to Singapore, 
     according to accounts by diplomats from several countries 
     that were not contradicted by US officials.
       The vice-president's intervention came after strong 
     diplomatic pressure from Qatar, which told the US and other 
     WTO members that shifting the meeting would offend Islamic 
     countries that have supported the US-led anti-terrorism 
     coalition.
       ``I think this is a momentously bad call based on what we 
     have learnt about security risks there,'' said one US 
     delegation member. Mr. Cheney's office did not return 
     telephone calls seeking comment yesterday.
       The US team in Doha was originally due to include about 30 
     congressmen. But Washington has decided to cut its delegation 
     by more than half.
       Mr. Zoellick said he was keeping his delegation ``as small 
     as possible for their safety'', adding that the situation in 
     Doha ``is not exactly the happiest in terms of overall 
     security''. He said that while every effort was being made to 
     ensure a safe meeting ``there is undoubtedly risk''.
       The US is worried that Islamic extremists or others with 
     ties to al-Qaeda, the organisation headed by Osama bin Laden, 
     may have penetrated Qatar's security.
                                  ____


   State Department Condemns Qatar; USTR Ignores Human Rights Abuses

       Qatar would be a poor example of the argument that ``trade 
     brings freedom.'' However, the United State Trade 
     Representative has continued to push for the next World Trade 
     Organization (WTO) trade ministerial to be held in Qatar.


         Fact No. 1. QATAR DENIES ITS PEOPLE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

       The people of Qatar don't even have the right to vote. 
     According to the CIA Factbook, the government of Qatar has 
     granted its people suffrage for municipal elections only 
     (which likely indicates that municipal offices lack any real 
     power). The people of Qatar do not enjoy any of the freedoms 
     that we espouse. Moreover, Human Rights Watch has criticized 
     the selection of Qatar as the venue for the next WTO meeting 
     because the government does not recognize a right to freedom 
     of assembly.
       The U.S. State Department has formally noted severe 
     restrictions on the freedom of speech, assembly and 
     association. Although Qatar is the home of the free-wheeling 
     al-Jazeera satellite television station that Osama bin Laden 
     frequently uses as a loudspeaker to the global village, 
     otherwise freedom of speech is severely limited.
       The government has banned political demonstrations. The 
     government does not allow political parties, or membership in 
     international professional organizations that might be 
     critical of the government (or any other Arab government). 
     Private social, sports, trade, professional and cultural 
     societies must be registered with the government, and 
     government security forces monitor the activities of such 
     groups.
       The government officially prohibits public worship by non-
     Muslims. So if our trade negotiators go there next month, 
     they won't be able to attend church, go to Mass or synagogue 
     or participate in any other form of worship unless they are 
     Muslim.


    fact no. 2. like the taliban, the rulers of qatar oppress women

       As in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, women occupy a 
     strictly subservient role in Qatar. This is taken from the 
     U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights:
       ``The activities of women are restricted closely both by 
     law and tradition. For example, a woman is prohibited from 
     applying for a driver's license unless she has permission 
     from a male guardian. This restriction does not apply to 
     noncitizen women. The Government adheres to Shari'a in 
     matters of inheritance and child custody. While Muslim wives 
     have the right to inherit from their husbands, non-Muslim 
     wives do not, unless a special exemption is arranged. In 
     cases of divorce, Shari'a prevails; younger children remain 
     with the mother and older children with the father. Both 
     parents retain permanent rights of visitation. However, local 
     authorities do not allow a noncitizen parent to take his or 
     her child out of the country without permission of the 
     citizen parent. There has been a steady increase in the 
     number and severity of complaints of spousal abuse by the 
     foreign wives of local and foreign men. Women may attend 
     court proceedings but generally are represented by a male 
     relative; however, women may represent themselves.
       Women largely are relegated to the roles of mother and 
     homemaker, but some women are now finding jobs in education, 
     medicine, and the news media. Women appear to receive equal 
     pay for equal work; however, they often do not receive equal 
     allowances. These allowances generally cover transportation 
     and housing costs. Increasingly, women are receiving 
     government scholarships to pursue degrees at universities 
     overseas. The Amir has entrusted his second wife, who is the 
     mother of the Heir Apparent, with the high-profile task of 
     establishing a university in Doha. In 1996 the Government 
     appointed its first female undersecretary, in the Ministry of 
     Education. Although women legally are able to travel abroad 
     alone, tradition and social pressures cause most to travel 
     with male escorts. There also have been complaints that 
     Qatari husbands take their foreign spouses' passports and, 
     without prior approval, turn them in for Qatari citizenship 
     documents. The husbands then inform their wives that the 
     wives have lost their former citizenship. In other cases, 
     foreign wives report being forbidden by their Qatari husbands 
     or in-laws to visit or to contact foreign embassies.
       There is no independent women's rights organization, nor 
     has the Government permitted the establishment of one.''


         Fact No. 3. TRADE HAS FAILED TO BRING FREEDOM TO QATAR

       The U.S. State Department calls oil ``the cornerstone of 
     Qatar's economy,'' accounting for more than 70 percent of 
     total government revenue. Starting in 1973, oil production 
     increased dramatically, bringing Qatar out of the ranks of 
     the world's poorest countries and providing it one of the 
     world's highest per-capita incomes. But freedom did not 
     follow.
       Accordingly to the State Department, ``Qatar's heavy 
     industrial projects . . . include a refinery with 50,000 
     barrels-per-day capacity, a fertilizer plant for urea and 
     ammonia, a steel plant, and a petrochemical plant. All these 
     industries use gas for fuel. Most are joint ventures between 
     European and Japanese firms and the state-owned Qatar General 
     Petroleum Corporation. The U.S. is the major equipment 
     supplier for Qatar's oil and gas industry, and U.S. companies 
     are playing a major role in North Field gas development.'' So 
     here we see Qatar's commercial sector and government-
     controlled oil industry directly engaged with outside 
     interests--the European Union, Japan and the United States.
       We are constantly told this is how freedom takes root in 
     unfree countries--whether it's China, or Vietnam, or Qatar. 
     It is not true. Despite billions upon billions of dollars 
     worth of engagement between Western commercial interests and 
     Qatar, the people in Qatar have no freedom of speech, no 
     freedom of assembly, no freedom of religion, no freedom of 
     association. And women are still subjected.

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