2023-05-16 21:13:50
The major event in Qatar triggered fierce international debates, in which working conditions were the main focus. At the time, there was talk of tens of thousands of workers who were said to have been exploited in conditions similar to slavery. The Guardian reported last year that more than 6,000 migrants from countries such as India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka died on the stadium construction sites – Qatar has always rejected these allegations.
The ILO also commented on Qatar at the time. During a working visit to Doha, the organisation’s Director General, Gilbert Houngbo, said he “congratulates Qatar on the progress that has been made in recent years”, reforms have improved labor rights and the security situation has also changed for the better.
Labor minister to chair conference
According to the Guardian report, the responsible Qatari Minister of Labor, Ali bin Samich al-Marri, is now to become President of the ILO annual conference in June. This was criticized by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which expressed “strong concerns”. This would damage the ILO’s reputation, the organization warns.
In the Guardian, a former ILO official who spoke anonymously to the newspaper also raised serious allegations once morest the UN agency. The ILO “whitewashed” Qatar before the World Cup and reported “biasedly” on the country’s labor law reform. And he pointed to an investment of 25 million euros from 2017 with which Qatar supports the ILO office in Doha. According to the former ILO official, the ILO was “certainly” dependent on this money.
Qatar also implicated in EU corruption scandal
The ILO statements on Qatar fueled another scandal. In the corruption scandal in the EU Parliament, Qatar is said to have exerted influence on political decisions. One of the suspects, former parliamentary vice president Eva Kaili, cited the UN’s positive summing up of Qatar’s reforms and described Qatar as a “pioneer” on labor rights.
Labor Minister Marri was also named in this connection: he is said to have met the main suspect, former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, in a hotel in Brussels. Concrete allegations once morest Marri have not yet been made, writes the “Guardian”. Panzeri agreed to cooperate with the authorities earlier this year and, like Kaili, has been under house arrest for some time.
Sharp criticism from NGOs
The statements made by the ILO and the EU Parliament at the time contrasted with the reports by NGOs, which sharply criticized the situation in Qatar. Human Rights Watch, for example, says that while Qatar has made “important labor reforms,” they have proved “totally inadequate to protect workers’ rights” and are “poorly enforced,” the NGO said.
NGO FairSquare told the Guardian it would be “monumental folly” to allow Qatar to chair the conference “at a time when it urgently needs to demonstrate its independence and impartiality”.
But even the trade union federation, which is now criticizing the ILO, has attracted attention in the past with contradictory statements regarding Qatar. Their former general secretary, Sharan Burrow, said that the World Cup should be enjoyed in light of the numerous reforms in the country. She described reports of thousands of deaths as a “myth”. Her successor Luca Visentini was quickly sacked following it became known that he had accepted money from the accused MEP Panzeri. He denies the allegations.
ILO: Take allegations seriously
An ILO statement quoted by the Guardian says it takes the issues raised by the ITUC very seriously. “While there has been undeniable progress on labor reforms in Qatar, all parties recognize that much remains to be done. The concerns expressed in the ITUC’s letter, as well as other critical issues, will be raised by the ILO with the Qatari government,” it said.
Qatar’s payment to the ILO was also defended: It was “not unusual” for governments to fund an office in their own country that did not affect the independence of the ILO. Regarding the criticism of the reporting from Qatar, it was said that “specific gaps and challenges” had always been pointed out.
However, the country’s conference presidency is not quite fixed yet. The decision to chair the conference has yet to be confirmed by ILO member states, workers’ and union representatives. The conference in Geneva will take place from June 5th to 16th.
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