(London) – Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in the country, Human Rights Watch, said today Diameter They have not received monetary compensation or any other appropriate compensation for the serious work violations they suffered during the construction and maintenance of the infrastructure for the FIFA World Cup football starting in November 2022.
On May 19, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Fair Square and a global coalition of migrant rights groups, trade unions, international football fans, victims of abuse, business and rights groups said that FIFA should: “(FIFA) and the government of Qatar have compensated migrant workers for the serious abuse they have suffered since Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup in 2010. These abuses include thousands of unexplained deaths and injuries, wage theft, and exorbitant recruitment fees. Human Rights Watch launched a global campaign,#PayUpFIFA #Pay_Fifa, to support the invitation of the coalition. Amnesty International released report Shows how FIFA and Qatar can address 12 years of abuse.
She said Minky Worden“FIFA and Qatar have failed the migrant workers who were instrumental in the 2022 World Cup, but can still provide reparations to those severely affected and the families of the many who died. FIFA should immediately allocate funds for appropriate compensation and avoid a legacy Shame on the World Cup.”
over the past decade, documented organizations human rights repeatedly violations the wide that workers face under the Qatari sponsorship system, which can lead to forced labour. That’s despite the labor reforms that entered it Qatari authorities in recent years in response to a complaint regarding forced labor before the International Labor Organization. In March, Human Rights Watch documented wage theft for up to five months in A prominent Qatari trading and contracting company It has projects related to FIFA.
When adequate protections are denied to workers in projects with high global control and adequate protection standards linked to stadiums, workers on projects not linked to stadiums face even greater abuse. In addition, Qatar’s poor human rights record creates other serious concerns, including severe restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, state policies that discriminate once morest and facilitate violence once morest women, and a repressive environment once morest LGBT residents and visitors.
When FIFA awarded Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, it knew or should have known that migrant workers who build massive infrastructure would face grave risks to their human rights. Human Rights Watch said that FIFA did not impose conditions on workers’ rights and did not conduct human rights due diligence.
For Mango Devi, a 38-year-old Nepalese woman whose husband, 40-year-old migrant worker Kripal Mandal, died in Qatar in 2022, the only “legacy” for the upcoming World Cup is the loans her husband owed for the job that killed him. Like most migrant workers in Qatar, Mandal borrowed money at exorbitant interest to pay recruitment fees, a debt that has been on the rise. While Qatar prohibits imposing recruitment fees for migrant workers and related costs, the government rarely enforces this law.
Mandal’s family said he worked in construction for a supply company that assigned him to work at the airport and stadiums. His wife is still struggling to understand why he died of a heart attack. Davey told Human Rights Watch, “I can’t know the cause of his death. Whether it was this reason they reported or something else, we can’t know… In the evening he was talking normally and laughing… But he died around 3 this morning.” next one.”
The family did not receive any compensation for his death, and the employer did not pay 15 days of the salary that was due to him under the contract. Davey, a mother of five, said, “When he was alive, we were sure we had a breadwinner. Now that he’s dead, our breadwinner is no longer alive. It’s very difficult.”
“Qatar’s labor rights reforms came too late in the World Cup preparations, are utterly inadequate, and poorly implemented,” Worden said. “Large numbers of migrant workers have died because Qatar lacks a rights framework that protects workers and allows them to report hazardous working conditions and wage fraud. and forced labour. Workers must not die for the World Cup or any major sporting event.”
In 2016, FIFA adopted the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and enshrined its responsibility to respect human rights in its statutes. It also established an independent Human Rights Advisory Board, appointed human rights officers, and established a complaints mechanism for human rights defenders. 2017, adopted FIFA has a human rights policy that states that human rights obligations are binding on all its bodies and officials.
Despite these positive developments, FIFA must still provide remedies for migrant workers who have experienced serious abuse or their families. This includes responsibility to workers directly assigned to World Cup projects as well as those who have built and serviced a wide range of projects to prepare for and operate the tournament, including transportation, accommodation, security and cleaning, among others.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Fair Square, and other coalition members said that FIFA should work with Qatari authorities in the six months leading up to the 2022 World Cup to develop a comprehensive program to address abuses once morest migrant workers. FIFA should allocate at least $440 million, equivalent to the prize money given to the 2022 World Cup teams, to invest in funds to compensate workers and improve their protection.
The redress program should be administered in a participatory manner following consultation with stakeholders, including migrant workers, living family members, and trade unions. The program must be accessible to workers and their families, many of whom will not be in Qatar. The program should also provide timely reparations for a wide range of abuses that have not been addressed since 2010.
Players, fans, FIFA sponsors, national football associations, and others can play an important role in achieving a positive legacy for this World Cup by calling for the support of a compensation fund, Human Rights Watch said. to redress The followingmath of immigrant workers.
“The deaths of migrant workers in Qatar have taken a huge emotional and financial toll on their families,” Worden said. “In line with FIFA’s human rights obligations and Qatar’s responsibilities, they should provide financial compensation to migrant workers who were harmed during the construction of the World Cup and some financial relief for struggling families.”
