http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/211 2026-05-09T14:00:27Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33204 Title: The legal protection of disabled women under Qatari law and international commitments Authors: Al-Ali, Maryam M Abstract: This thesis examines the legal protection of women with disabilities in Qatar through the interaction of domestic law, international human rights law, and Shari’ah law. While existing scholarship recognises the intersecting forms of discrimination faced by women with disabilities on the basis of gender and disability, this issue remains significantly under-researched within the Qatari legal context. The primary aim of the research is to critically analyse the legal protection of women with disabilities under three co-existing legal frameworks within Qatar, and to assess how their interaction collectively shapes the recognition, scope, and enforcement of disabled women’s rights. The study adopts a doctrinal legal methodology to examine domestic legislation, Islamic legal sources, and relevant international human rights instruments. The findings demonstrate that the challenges confronting women with disabilities in Qatar are systemic, multi-layered, and mutually reinforcing. These challenges arise from the interaction of selective compliance with international obligations, a welfare-oriented domestic legal approach, conservative religious interpretation, institutional fragility, and prevailing socio-cultural norms. This research makes an original contribution by identifying and addressing a significant gap in the literature on the legal protection of women with disabilities in Qatar, thereby advancing scholarly understanding in this area and contributing to broader debates across Arab countries with comparable cultural and legal frameworks. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33175 Title: Exploring the similarities and dissimilarities of whistleblower protection in the UK, the US and EU in the pandemic era: Covid-19 Authors: Ikpe-Adegwu, Joseph Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33012 Title: A comparative study of responses to corruption in the Gulf: National efforts of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE Authors: Aladwani, Athari Abstract: Corruption proves to be a complex issue, as it negatively affects all branches of social and political life. Corruption practices compromise trust in the political system, as well as hindering economic development (including investment flows) and preventing the recognition and the enjoyment of civil and political rights.¹ [...] Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32032 Title: An investigation of the corporate accountability for human rights violations under exisitng regulations Authors: Malik, Bushra Abstract: As a result of the abnormal control and enormous influence of transnational corporations (TNCs) within the corporate world, the international community has become aware of the potential damage TNCs may cause to the subjects and the impacts they may have on local cultures and initiatives. For example, many TNCs are involved in transgressive activities by operating in developing states and violating human rights such as right to life, right to clean water, right to health environment, etc. Disappointingly, states are often implementing effective enforcing mechanisms for the corporate human rights accountability because they heavily rely upon these global giants for their economic prosperity, i.e., resources extracted by the TNCs for generating profit. Thus, states tend to lack the political will and economic competence to successfully regulate the unethical and illegal operations performed by TNCs, providing the TNCs with an almost free pass to impede human rights and violate them with the vicinity of their performance. Efforts to address human rights abuses by TNCs go back to the early twentieth century, but it was not until the 1970s that the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) began to gain prominence. Since putting the concept into practice, several major international regulatory initiatives have been adopted to fill the accountability gap. For example, the UN Global Compact, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, International Labour Organisation, Extractive Industries Transparency, and Alien Tort Claims Act 1789. Unfortunately, all these initiatives have proved inadequate in both form and effect in tackling the issue of human rights abuses attributed to TNCs. This is because of their non-voluntary nature, limited scope, and the extent of implementation. These instruments were criticised as merely political commitments lacking the legal binding force for their enforcement and implementation. Thus, this thesis calls for a widely ratified treaty on businesses and human rights and comprehensively analyses recent work by the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) in this regard; specifically, the formation of the Zero Draft 2018, Second Revised Draft 2020, and the Third Revised Draft 2021 of the binding treaty. Primarily, the thesis will focus on analysing the provisions of these drafts, which can become the content of the much awaited legally binding mechanism (treaty), filling the vacuum created by the preceding regulatory mechanisms on businesses and human rights and regulate human rights abuses. This thesis also critically analyses the alternatives to the binding treaty and makes recommendations for the formation of an effective widely ratified treaty on businesses and human rights. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z