Beirut (dpa) – The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) blames the world football association FIFA for human rights violations in the World Cup host country Qatar.
Instead of urging the authorities to act, FIFA has covered up Qatar’s “complacence”, HRW criticized. The association has a duty to make amends for the grievances it has caused, but has not yet fulfilled this responsibility.
The organization accused the Qatari government of not implementing reforms. The migrant workers in Qatar had built stadiums and other infrastructure so that the World Cup could be held. However, they would continue to be exploited by employers on a daily basis through the sponsorship system in Qatar. These included wage theft, debt bondage resulting from high recruitment fees, and injuries and illnesses, such as from working in the scorching heat.
“But the worst thing is that thousands of workers have died in Qatar over the past decade,” HRW said. According to the Guardian newspaper, more than 6,500 Southeast Asian workers have died in Qatar since the 2010 World Cup. Qatar’s government argues the death rate is within expected range, with more than 1.4 million local people in the country.
The emirate has repeatedly denied the other allegations, citing reforms in favor of migrant workers. So the sponsorship system was dismantled. This system, which is also common in other countries in the region, binds foreign workers tightly to a local guarantor such as an employer. In Qatar, the law now allows migrants to leave the country or change jobs without their employer’s consent. The country also set a minimum wage. The UN labor organization ILO spoke of a “historic step”.
The soccer World Cup starts on November 21st and runs until December 18th. The groups for the tournament will be drawn next Friday. In response to human rights violations, calls for a boycott have repeatedly been heard in recent months.