Malcolm Bidali
Malcolm Bidali is a labour rights defender and blogger from Kenya. He has worked as a security guard in Qatar and his human rights activities focus on documenting and exposing online the exploitation and human rights violations migrant workers are subjected to in Qatar. Malcolm Bidali has also written for the organisation Migrant-Rights.org, where he has voiced concern about the circumstances and the work and living conditions in Qatar for migrant workers.
Human rights defenders working in Qatar face many obstacles and difficulties in the form of government harassment, travel restrictions and arbitrary detention. Although Qatar is the home of the media giant al-Jazeera, which is praised for its critical reporting of Middle East affairs, there are restrictions on freedom of expression.
Qatar does not permit independent human rights NGOs. The country has signed neither the the International Convention on Political and Civil Rights nor the the International Convention on Social, Cultural and Economic Rights which are fundamental for the protection of human rights and human rights defenders.
