years’ imprisonment and up to 230,000 Qatari Riyal ($82,000) in fines, with penalties of no more than 15 years’ imprisonment for trafficking offenses committed with aggravating circumstances. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as kidnapping. Qatar also prohibits employers’ withholding of workers’ passports under the 2009 Sponsorship Law, punishable by a fine of up to 10,000 Qatari Riyal ($2,750).This law was sporadically and inconsistently enforced during the reporting period; the government did not report any fines imposed on sponsors for withholding passports. The government’s primary solution for resolving labor violations was to transfer a worker’s sponsorship to a new employer with minimal effort to investigate whether the violations constituted forced labor. During the reporting period, the government reported 11 investigations, compared with four the previous year, but failed to prosecute or obtain convictions for trafficking offenders, including exploitative employers and recruitment agencies, under its anti-trafficking law. The government did not report investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government officials for complicity in human trafficking offenses.The government reported it continued to provide a number of training workshops for 124 law enforcement officials, public prosecutors, judges, inspectors, civil society organizers, and public health professionals on how to investigate trafficking cases, the anti-trafficking law, and victim identification. These workshops included training on trafficking victim identification for doctors and nurses; the role of law enforcement in combating and investigating trafficking cases and the importance of international law enforcement cooperation; and the prosecution of trafficking cases.The police training institute continued to train Ministry of Interior officials on  trafficking investigations.

PROTECTION
The government increased its efforts to protect some victims of trafficking, though many victims of forced labor, including debt bondage, likely remained unidentified and unprotected. Domestic workers, not covered by labor law, were less likely to be identified as trafficking victims, as there is limited access to private homes and social customs and traditions limited discussion of abuses. The government reported the Qatar Foundation for Protection and Social Rehabilitation (QFPSR) maintained procedures to proactively identify and respond to the needs of trafficking victims, which it distributed to law enforcement, passport and immigration authorities, and social service providers. The QFPSR operated the Qatar House for Lodging and Care, a trafficking shelter to accommodate women and child victims.The government provided trafficking victims with access to medical care, social services, psychological treatment, legal assistance, and rehabilitation and reintegration programs. The QFPSR identified 422 trafficking victims, of which 228 were victims of forced labor, a substantial increase from 62 identified victims the previous reporting period. The QFPSR sheltered 20 women and children trafficking victims in 2014, an increase from 11 trafficking victims referred the previous reporting period.The government continued to use its national victim referral system to coordinate victim identification and referral efforts between government authorities and non- government organizations. The referral system included the provision of safe shelter, health care, and legal assistance.Victims had the right to leave the shelter without supervision, and victims were able to access the shelter even if their employers had filed charges against them.The shelter also provided long-term housing during judicial proceedings, and shelter residents were able to earn

an income through work at the shelter’s rehabilitation center; it also provided repatriation assistance to those wishing to return to their countries. QFPSR reported providing services to trafficking victims not sheltered, including legal advice, filing lawsuits, case follow up, transferring workers’ sponsorships, obtaining workers’ exit permits, and providing workers with financial compensation.
Some unidentified victims of trafficking continued to be punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking. For example, authorities regularly arrested, detained, and deported potential trafficking victims for immigration violations and running away from their employers or sponsors. Some victims occasionally languished in detention centers for up to six months due to debts allegedly owed or false charges of theft filed by their employers against them.The costs of legal representation under these circumstances were sometimes borne by the workers, but were often waived by the government due to workers’ inability to pay. Domestic workers who were not covered under the labor law continued to face difficulties seeking legal redress for abuses through civil court action. In 2014, some officials failed to recognize severe labor abuses could amount to human trafficking. The government encouraged victims to testify against their traffickers by assuring them safety, providing free legal counseling, and allowing them to pursue various claims, such as financial compensation; however, the government did not report how many victims testified against their traffickers or received these benefits during the reporting period. Trafficking victims had the option to remain in the country during judicial proceedings or request an immediate exit visa; these benefits were not linked to the successful outcome of a trafficking prosecution.

PREVENTION
The government maintained efforts to prevent trafficking in persons. It implemented its National Plan for Combating Human Trafficking for 2010-2015, which aimed to prevent the spread of trafficking, provide protection for victims, and punish traffickers. Nonetheless, the government did not reform its sponsorship law, which continued to contribute to forced labor in the country.The government had a budget of 42 million Qatari riyal ($11.5 million) to support the QFPSR’s anti-trafficking efforts, in comparison with 37 million Qatari riyal ($10.2 million) the previous year. The National Alliance to Combat Human Trafficking, comprised of government agencies and civil society representatives, met several times to coordinate and assess national anti-trafficking efforts, including victim referral procedures, visa selling issues, and implementation of Qatar’s national plan to combat trafficking.The QFPSR implemented awareness campaigns, anti-trafficking meetings, outreach events, and workshops in preventing and combating trafficking.The QFPSR’s implementation efforts included visits to work sites throughout the country to meet laborers and educate them and their employers on trafficking regulations; seven high school and university campaigns targeting awareness of appropriate labor conditions and trafficking; meetings with religious officials discussing their roles in preventing trafficking; and workshops on the role of the health sector in preventing and combating trafficking. Campaigns targeted both Qataris and non-Qataris, including migrant community leaders, on trafficking awareness; however, the number of people these campaigns reached was unknown. The QFPSR published manuals for expatriates in Arabic, English, and several labor-exporting country languages, which included material on proactive identification of trafficking victims for investigators.The quasi-governmental Qatar Foundation and Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which was set up to organize