Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) has accused national Football Associations (FAs) whose teams have qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup of failing to take action to avoid becoming complicit in human rights abuses in Qatar.
Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers at World Cup project sites has come under scrutiny, and the non-profit’s intervention comes with FAs beginning logistical preparations for the World Cup including on accommodation and transport.
The BHRRC claimed none of the 12 FAs it contacted had satisfactorily addressed questions on their human rights risk assessment and due diligence, with only six responding.
Other FAs argued the questions were “irrelevant” or “inappropriate”.
The BHRRC’s Gulf programme manager Isobel Archer called on qualified countries to factor human rights concerns into any decisions relating to their time in Qatar.
“It was certainly welcome to see some football associations, like the Dutch and Swiss, already engaging with human rights NGOs [non-governmental organisations], but it is extremely concerning only a minority are factoring human rights issues into their choice of hotels and other facilities,” Archer said.
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“Football associations, along with FIFA and its sponsors, must uphold labour rights standards in the countries they visit and work in – especially in Qatar, which has one of the worst labour rights records in the world, despite welcome reforms.
“There’s still time to turn things around for Qatar’s migrant workforce, but only if football associations take action now.
“They are at the very heart of the World Cup and are uniquely placed to put pressure on brands and trigger effective changes across a number of Qatar’s industries where workers pay the price.
“If they choose to engage seriously with human rights issues it could be transformative for the millions of workers toiling at the centre of what is meant to be one of the greatest and inclusive sporting spectacles in the world.
“In these last few months, teams and associations could use their influence to amplify the collective work already done to improve labour rights in Qatar and leave behind a lasting legacy for the World Cup 2022.”
The BHRRC said it has recorded 197 allegations of labour abuse against Qatar since January 2016, 54 of which have been from the last year.
More than 95 per cent of Qatar’s workforce is believed to be comprised of migrant workers from East Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia, and health and safety failures and non-payment of wages are among the allegations laid against the country.
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A report last year found that more than 6,500 labourers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are reported to have died in the country since Qatar was controversially awarded the World Cup in 2010, with 37 of these directly linked to the construction of stadiums for the tournament.
The Qatari Government claims it has made progress on labour reforms, including a shift away from the kafala system which forced foreign workers to seek their employers’ consent to change jobs or leave the country.
FIFA has suggested that while more can be done, hosting the World Cup had helped to instigate labour reforms in Qatar.
In November, however, Amnesty International reported that progress had stalled over the previous 12 months, with exploitative elements of the kafala system re-emerging.
One migrant worker insisted “change came on paper but [not] on the ground”.
Groups have also raised concerns over LGBT+ rights, and the high-profile jailing of a former World Cup media manager Abdullah Ibhais on fraud charges, which it has been claimed represents retaliation for criticism of Qatar 2022’s handling of a strike by migrant workers in 2019.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy for Qatar 2022 has rejected that argument.
The Danish Football Association has have vowed to highlight human rights issues during the World Cup, including displaying messages on its training kit in Qatar.
Following concerns over the heat and humidity in Qatar, the World Cup later this year has been moved from its usual slot in June and July, and is scheduled to be held from November 21 to December 18.
