ee Up Protocol in Handling Cases in the National Human Rights Committee - Qatar The NHRC Qatar receives complaints directly from the aggrieved person, through email, fax or hotline. Any complaint NHRC receives would be given a reference number by the reception desk. If a person is unable to file a complaint, referred to the NHRC a representative can file on her/his behalf. The complaint will be legal expert, who checks if the complaint falls under the responsibility of the NHRC. They will interview the petitioner, and will request for documents that support their complaint. The legal expert will look for an amicable solution. Otherwise, he/she will contact the Work Department or the Ministry of Labor. If the complaint is about money claims, placement of worker, the expert will contact the Legal Department of NHRC Qatar. The Legal Department of NHRC Qatar conducts visits to detention centers, as they have the mandate to visit these centers without prior notice, including hospitals, and police stations. If a complainant needs legal support and cannot afford a lawyer, NHRC Qatar offers legal services free of charge. Complainants may, likewise, approach community desks established by the NHRC for migrant workers from India, the Philippines, Nepal, Egypt, Pakistan and Nigeria. The purpose of the community desks is to facilitate the access of community members to the services of NHRC Qatar. The community desk volunteer does not assess the complaint. Upon receipt of the complaint, he/she refers it to the legal expert and the researcher of NHRC. The form “Application for Petition” must be filled out by the complainant (see annex), which is a questionnaire developed by the Legal Department. As for the follow-up and monitoring, the assigned legal expert can contact the government agency or the company. If the latter does not respond, NHRC can summon them. If the legal expert is not satisfied, he/she may refer the case to the Ministry of Labor (Work Department), the Legal Department will follow up through letters to the concerned government ministries. II. NHRC Qatar —- CHRP Assuming that the processes of NHRC Process Flow on Case Referral and Resolution Qatar and CHRP in Receipt of Reports and Initial Determination are followed, the two NHRIs will collaborate on the processes of Referrals to Government and Monitoring and Tracking. A. Referrals to NHRC Qatar When a case is reported to the CHRP directly from OFWs, their families or civil society organizations/ support groups and trade unions in Qatar or/and in the Philippines: 1. 2. 3. 4, CHRP will follow CHRP protocol on Receipt of Reports and Initial Determination; CHRP will contact NHRC Qatar by letter, email or instant messaging application and inform them of its Initial Determination of the case/s; correspondence is also sent to the DFA, the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO): NHRC Qatar will activate its own protocol on case intake and referral to the following (not an exhaustive list): e e Ministry of Interior (Police Department) : absconding and theft cases Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs : e © labor related cases (non-payment of wages; dismissal, etc) Ministry of Interior (Criminal Investigation Division) : deportation cases NHRC Qatar can facilitate visits to the locations of the OFWs, in coordination with the Philippine Embassy and POLO; 5. NHRC Qatar can update the CHRP of the status of the cases by letter, email or instant messaging. CHRP can also provide more information and updates as well from their side of the referral protocol. * NHRC Qatar, Application for Petition, available at https://nhre-qa.org/en/themencode-pdf-viewer/?file=https://nhre-qa.org/wP- content/uploads/2017/08/complaintform.pdf (Last accessed 5 January 2020) ° From NHRC Qatar, 9 January 2019. Not’an exhaustive list. NHRC Qatar shall update CHRP regularly.