A month before the start of the soccer World Cup, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch criticized the Qatari hosts for being too hesitant about reforms and also called on the world governing body FIFA.
In an interview with the daily newspaper Die Welt, Wenzel Michalski, director of Human Rights Watch Germany, said it was “still insane pressure to be exerted to change the conditions in Qatar,” underscoring the call for a compensation program for the refugees Relatives of workers who died in Qatar.
According to the rules of the United Nations, “FIFA, the government and the construction companies would have to compensate those families whose relatives died or were injured on the construction sites. But so far those responsible have not even batted an eyelid,” complained Michalski. There are “many improvements, especially on paper” and “a lot more needs to be done”.
Human Rights Watch is “not looking forward to a carefree World Cup because we know that the tournament is taking place in a country where there are blatant human rights violations,” Michalski said, recalling: “When building the beautiful stadiums in Qatar and the infrastructure for the World Cup many, many people died.”
“Suicide”: The credibility of sport is threatened by FIFA
Through its actions, FIFA supports “exploitative and human rights-violating regimes like Qatar and only looks on as the World Cup is misused for propaganda purposes,” Michalski continued. Although the situation in other surrounding countries such as Saudi Arabia is “much worse”, he has to state that “it is a disgrace how slowly and insufficiently the reforms in Qatar are being pushed forward”.
By awarding the big events in countries like Qatar, Michalski sees the credibility of world sport in danger. “Sooner or later it’s a kind of suicide,” he said: “The fans are becoming increasingly critical. Why should you promote and like a sport that is only defined by questionable values?” Even at the IOC, with Thomas Bach at the helm, “one can only hope for a change in leadership soon”.
But according to Michalski, something positive could also remain from the World Cup in Qatar. “In my opinion it will depend on whether there will actually be a compensation fund. If it is systematic and sustainable and is also independently monitored so that the money goes to the right people, you can say that the World Cup actually has something for good causes.”