Archive: qatar

24th July 2018
By: Brian Whitaker
Largely unnoticed by the British public, the Emir of Qatar has arrived in London for a visit which includes talks with prime minister Theresa May. Visits by Gulf potentates don't generally arouse much interest in Britain and the Emir's arrival is no exception – though it hasn't escaped the… Read more
25th May 2018
By: Brian Whitaker
Qatar has finally joined two of the key international treaties on human rights: the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).  It is the third Arab Gulf state to join, following Kuwait (which did so more than 20 years ago) and… Read more
12th February 2018
By: Brian Whitaker
A British member of parliament was paid £15,000 (almost $21,000) for helping to organise a "Qatar opposition" conference in London, it emerged yesterday. Daniel Kawczynski, a Conservative MP and a strong supporter of Saudi Arabia, declared the money in the register of members' interests, saying… Read more
20th January 2018
By: Brian Whitaker
Since feuding broke out in the Gulf last May, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on one side of the quarrel and Qatar on the other, the protagonists have been trying to persuade the rest of the world to take their quarrel seriously. They haven't had much success in doing so, though. Whatever… Read more
7th January 2018
By: Brian Whitaker
The head of an international human-rights-and-development organisation siphoned off more than $1 million of its funds to cover his gambling debts, police and bankruptcy investigators believe. Palestinian-born Loai Deeb founded the Global">http://al-bab.com/blog/2016/01/gnrd-scandal">Global… Read more
1st December 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
A second human rights organisation run by Loai Deeb – founder of the Emirati-linked Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) which went bankrupt last year – has run into financial trouble. The International Institute of Peace Justice and Human Rights (IIPJHR) has vanished from its Geneva… Read more
26th November 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
An anonymously-written book produced by a seemingly fictitious organisation and promoted by a group of French-language websites appears to be the latest weapon in the Saudi-Emirati propaganda war with Qatar. "Qatar: Le Livre Noir" (Qatar: The Black Book) is said to have been compiled by… Read more
22nd October 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
The shadowy figures behind the London Centre for Public Affairs – an apparently bogus PR firm with Qatari connections – have now set up a second organisation. This time it's a mysterious NGO which purports to be monitoring the activities of the United Nations. The new body, known as Independent UN… Read more
17th October 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
Khalid al-Hail, a 29-year-old Qatari living in exile in London, is a man with grand ideas. People address him as "Sheikh Khalid", though on Facebook he prefers to call himself "His Excellency". Variously described as a businessman, philanthropist and reformist, al-Hail is best known as the self-… Read more
15th September 2017
By: Brian Whitaker
The London conference on Qatar, which has caused much hullabaloo over the last couple of weeks, took place yesterday – attended by numerous video cameras and a rather sparse audience of around 150 people, many of whom had badges saying "staff" or "press". The controversial event had been dubbed as… Read more