11. The government asserted that these individuals hid a second nationality - that of Saudi Arabia - and under Qatari nationality law dual nationality was and is prohibited and is grounds for revocation of nationality. Yet, members of the clan who did not have dual nationality - a number that is not known - were left stateless. Activists have asserted that the motivation for this act was more likely to have been political. In April 2005 and for months afterwards, thousands reportedly sought refuge in Saudi Arabia, with relatives.12 12. In early 2006, the government reportedly changed its policy and over subsequent months, restored nationality to many of those whose nationality was stripped.13 However, when people returned to their homes in Qatar - no longer as Qatari citizens - the government did not automatically return Qatari nationality and it was carried out in a selective basis. 13. In 2017, the head of Qatar’s NHRC, himself of the Al Murra, told one of ISI’s partners that the matter had become insignificant and that most had been reintegrated into Qatari society, with full rights. The truth appears more complicated: an indeterminate number have certainly regained rights in Qatar, but others - the number is not known - may continue to be stateless, either amongst the 1200 persons registered by UNHCR, or, perhaps not. Others still remain in Saudi Arabia where most appear to have taken up Saudi Arabian citizenship, if they did not have it prior to 2005. 14. This issue remains an open wound for Qatar: in September 2018, a delegation of 54 members of the al-Ghufran tribe held a demo by the ‘broken chair’ at the Palais des Nations at the UN in Geneva and - according to coverage afforded the event in UAE media, they complained of the stripping of their nationality by Qatar.14 Returns to Qatar and threatened family separation following the GCC dispute 15. The diplomatic crisis with GCC countries in 2017, combined with Qatari women’s inability to confer nationality on children and spouses on an equal basis with Qatari men resulted in threats to family unity and other hardships. Children and spouses of Qatari women who are denied access to Qatari citizenship and who hold the nationality of other GCC countries feared expulsion from Qatar or an inability to return to the country.15 16. In order to address the threat of family separation caused by the diplomatic crisis and the inability of Qatari women to confer nationality on an equal basis with men, the government implemented a For an interview with two al-Ghufran members from 17 August 2019, see: https://observatoryihr.org/iohr-tv/members-of-theqatari-al-ghufran-clan-fight-to-regain-their-citizenship/. 12 See the 3 April 2005 article in Gulf News: “Thousands in Saudi Arabia after losing Qatari citizenship”, accessible at: https://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/thousands-in-saudi-arabia-after-losing-qatari-citizenship-1.283103. 13 The United States of America Government: Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, 2007 Report on Human Rights states that “ In February 2006 the emir issued orders to begin to reinstate citizenship for as many as 6,000 persons from the Al-Murrah tribe whose citizenship the government revoked between October 2004 and June 2005. Each case was reviewed separately, and by year's end citizenship was restored to all but approximately 150200 of those who had lost it.” This report is accessible at: https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100604.htm. The head of Qatar’s Human Rights Commission, himself a member of the Al Murra tribe, claimed on 5 August 2008 that 95% of the clan had their citizenship restored. See: http://www.middle-east-online.com/?id=61670=61670&format=0 14 The National (UAE) - Qatari tribe holds sit-in at UN HQ to protest Doha 'crimes' / The Al Ghufran tribe called on the international community to help their cause, 19 September 2018; accessible at: https://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/qatari-tribe-holds-sit-inat-un-hq-to-protest-doha-crimes-1.772013. 15 Al Jazeera - Siege of Qatar 'arbitrarily splitting up families', 14 December 2017, available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/siege-qatar-arbitrarily-splitting-families-171214163542163.html. 3