Privacy
Statement

Disclaimer

The Middle East Council on Global Affairs does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented on this website are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institution, its staff, or its council members.

Privacy Policy

Introduction

This privacy policy (Privacy Policy) is a policy of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. It is a legally binding document between you as a user (referred to in this Privacy Policy as “you” or “‘user”) and the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (referred to as ‘the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, “we”, ‘us”, “our”).

The Privacy Policy is the policy adopted by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and which sets out and explains how we treat your personal data and protect your privacy when you engage with us and use our website in compliance with Qatar’s Law No.13 of 2016 concerning the Protection of Personal Data (Data Protection Law).

This website (www.mecouncil.org) is brought to you by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, a Private Establishment of Public Benefits incorporated under Decree-Law No. (21) for the year 2006 regarding Private Establishments of Public Benefits and with a registered address of P.O. Box 22694, Doha, Qatar).

Under our Privacy Policy, and by providing us with your information or by making use of the facilities provided by or on this Website, you consent to the collection, storage, processing, and transfer of any or all of your personal information and non-personal information by us as specified under this Privacy Policy and subject to its terms and conditions.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. This Privacy Policy shall be read together with the respective terms of use or other terms and conditions of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs as set out elsewhere on this Website. By visiting this Website, you agree: (i) that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy in its entirety; (ii) that, without reservation and to the extent permissible under applicable laws and regulations in the State of Qatar, you consent, accept and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy; and (iii) that you understand that this Privacy Policy shall be read in conjunction with the terms of use or other terms and conditions of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and other specified commercial partners (Terms) as set out elsewhere on this Website with (i) to (iii) together with the Undertakings (Undertakings).

Our commitment to the privacy of your personal data

At the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, your privacy and the security of the personal data that you provide to us are of the utmost importance to us. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of your personal data and the information that you provide, and we take all necessary precautions to ensure its security. We will also provide you with information and transparency with regard to how we process and use such personal data.

We have a legitimate purpose in using your information where this is necessary and appropriate to provide comprehensive and optimal services to you as our valued user.

How we collect your personal data and information

We will process your personal data in the context of that legitimate purpose. We collect personal information from you that we consider necessary for achieving this legitimate purpose.

In general, you can browse the Website without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself. Once you give us your personal information, you are not anonymous to us. Where possible, we indicate which fields are required and which fields are optional. You always have the option to not provide information by choosing not to use a particular service or feature on the Website.

How we use your personal data and information

We collect personally identifiable data (including, but not limited to, email addresses, names, phone numbers, and nationality) from you when you apply for a job. These also include voluntary subscriptions to receive our newsletters, publications, events announcement, and to participate in surveys. While you can browse some sections of our Website without being a registered member, certain activities may require registration.

We identify and use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Website. Your IP address is also used to help identify you and to gather broad demographic information. We will occasionally ask you to complete optional online surveys. These surveys may ask you for contact information and demographic information (like age or income level). We use this data to tailor your experience on our Website, providing you with content that we think you might be interested in and displaying content according to your preferences.

Sharing your personal information with third parties

Please note that in order to cooperate with governmental requests, court orders, or to protect other users or our systems, we reserve the right to disclose any information we consider necessary or appropriate, including your user profile information (i.e., name, email address, etc.), IP address and traffic information, usage history, and content submitted to the Website.

How we use ‘cookies’

We use data collection tools such as “cookies” on certain pages of the Website to help analyze our web page flow and promote trust and safety. A “cookie” is a small piece of information stored by a web server on a web browser so it can be later read back from that browser. Cookies are useful for enabling the browser to remember information specific to a given user. We place both permanent and temporary cookies on your computer’s hard drive. The cookies do not contain any of your personally identifiable information. We offer certain features that are only available through the use of a “cookie”. We also use cookies to allow you to enter your password less frequently during a session. Cookies can also help us provide information that is targeted to your interests. Most cookies are “session cookies,” meaning that they are automatically deleted from your hard drive at the end of a session. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, although in that case, you may not be able to use certain features on the Website, and you may be required to re-enter your password more frequently during a session. Additionally, you may encounter “cookies” or other similar tools on certain pages of the Website that are placed by third parties. We do not control the use of cookies by third parties, and we shall not be liable for any negligence or willful misconduct of third parties in this regard.

If you send us personal correspondence, such as emails or letters, or if other users or third parties send us correspondence about your activities or postings on the Website, we may collect such information into a file specific to you.

Links to Other Sites

This website may contain links to other websites that may collect personally identifiable information about you. the Middle East Council on Global Affairs is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those linked websites.

Security Precautions

The transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. We will do our best to protect your personal information while it is in our possession. However, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted online or over the Website.

Access to your Personal Data

You can request access to your personal data. This will enable you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

You can also request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, although we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

You can request the deletion of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us to continue to process it. Please note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request for deletion for specific legal reasons, which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

You may withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent.

Meeting the State of Qatar’s Legal Requirements and Your Rights

This Privacy Policy is provided to you in compliance with the Data Protection Law.

You have several rights under the Data Protection Law with regard to how we handle and process your personal data and information.

To the extent available under the Data Protection Law, we shall not be under the obligation to protect the privacy of your personal information under the following circumstances:

To carry out a mission relating to public interest pursuant to the law;
To perform an obligation under a law or an order from a competent court;
To protect the vital interest of the individual;
To achieve the purposes of scientific research taking place for the public interest; or
To collect the information necessary for the investigation in any criminal offense based on an official request from the investigation authorities.

Email Subscription

When you voluntarily subscribe and share your contact information to receive our newsletters and other announcements, you may periodically receive promotional emails about new publications or events which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided. If you wish not to receive any type of our newsletters, you can simply click on the unsubscribe link.

Software Disclaimer

The software downloads from this Website have been thoroughly scanned and tested at all stages of production, but, as with all new software, we still recommend that you run a virus checker before use. We also recommend that you have an up-to-date backup of your hard disk before using the software. We cannot accept responsibility for any disruption, damage, and/or loss of data on your data or computer system that may occur while using the software. Consult your network administrator before installing any software on a networked computer.

We do not make any warranty that the functionality of the Website will be uninterrupted or error-free.

General

Any dispute relating to the enforcement, interpretation, or application of this Privacy Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Qatar. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Privacy Policy shall be dealt with through the courts of the State of Qatar.

If any of the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy should be determined to be illegal, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable by reason of any applicable laws or regulations, such provisions shall be severed and deleted from this Privacy Policy. To the extent reasonably possible, all other terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy shall remain in full force and continue to be binding and enforceable.

No ideas, material, computer code, information, or other communication you submit or post to the Website will be considered confidential or proprietary. All such material becomes the exclusive property of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, which is entitled to use such material for any purpose without restriction or compensation.

You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from the Website any unlawful, infringing, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, or offensive material or any other material that would violate any applicable laws and regulations, and we reserve the right to delete such material without giving any notice. We also reserve the right, at our sole discretion and without providing any explanation, to block any user from entering the Website permanently. Views expressed or comments offered by the users shall be personal in nature of the users, and we shall not have any responsibility whatsoever in this regard.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law or regulations, nor any of the respective owners, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, or agents, (Protected Parties) shall be responsible for any proceedings, claims, liabilities, costs, fees (including attorney fees), expenses, delays, losses, penalties or other damages (howsoever arising) caused to you or any other third party arising out of or in connection with this Privacy Policy.

Contact

Should you have any questions or queries regarding this Privacy Policy, the relevant contact details to use for the Middle East Council on Global Affairs are:

Email: info@mecouncil.org

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Any changes we may make to this Privacy Policy in the future will be posted on the Website.. By continuing to use the Website you will be deemed to accept the changes to this Privacy Policy.

This Policy was created on June 8, 2022.

Privacy Statement