QATARSUCKS and the world needs to know!

Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) on Sunday condemned the widespread abuse of workers' rights in the Gulf state, highlighting harsh working conditions and a lack of adequate healthcare.

The NHRC said in its annual report the Committee received 1,031 complaints of human rights abuses in 2008, with 263 of them related to sponsorship transfer, 51 related to “deportation verdict cancellations” and 56 related to employer-employee disputes, Qatari daily Gulf Times reported on Monday.

"There are still some restrictions over the rights of workers due to the sponsorship system," the newspaper quoted the report as saying.

The report highlighted examples of discrimination against women, citing Qatari women's inability to pass on citizenship to their children or husbands, and expressed concern over abuses committed against housemaids..

"Housemaids are sometimes subject to physical and sexual violence and may resort to prostitution if failed to find a job or transfer sponsorship," the report stated.

The U.S. has Qatar placed on a watchlist of countries that have shown signs of failing to make improvements in tackling human trafficking.

The State Department has Qatar the Tier 2 watchlist in its 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report.

The reports ranks 175 nations in three tiers, with Tier 3 including the worst offenders which are open to U.S. economic sanctions for failing to comply with minimum standards in fighting human trafficking.