FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to start in Qatar in a few days, but human rights organizations have accused Qatar of serious human rights violations.
For the first time in the history of the world’s ultimate footballing contest, the FIFA World Cup will kick off in the Middle East. Qatar 2022 will be a historic moment and one of great excitement for the footballing world and the region itself.
you cannot imagine the possibility of the FIFA world cup 2022 in Qatar without the two million migrant workers. Men and women, mostly from Africa and Asia, are building the stadiums, the roads, the metro; they will be providing security for the football matches, transporting fans in taxis to the games, greeting them in hotels and serving them in restaurants as the tournament edges closer.
But since Qatar was awarded the right to host the World Cup, exploitation and abuse of these workers have been rampant, with workers exposed to forced labour, unpaid wages and excessive working hours.
After years of mounting international pressure, in 2017 the Qatar government signed an agreement with the International Labour Organization (ILO), promising to tackle widespread labour exploitation and “align its laws and practices with international labour standards”,and offering a glimmer of hope for those contributing so much to the country and its dream to realise the World Cup.
But with just a few days left until kick-off, are Qatar’s promises of labour reform matched by the reality faced by the migrant workers upon whom the country so heavily depends?
Longstanding Abuse Of Migrant Workers In Qatar
According to WHO thousands of migrant workers lost their lives to make the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar possible. But the scale of the human rights abuse doesn’t end with these workers’ lives.
The year before Qatar World Cup, Amnesty urges end to labor abuses
At the heart of the abuse faced by migrant workers is Qatar’s ‘Kafala’ system of sponsorship-based employment which legally binds foreign workers to their employers. Over the last decade, Amnesty International and others have shown how the system – which until recently prevented workers from changing jobs or even leaving the country without their employer’s permission – traps migrant workers in a cycle of abuse.
Other factors linked to the abuse of migrant workers, and which are not directly addressed by recent legal changes are high levels of worker debtcaused by illegal and unethical recruitment practices, the late and non-payment of wages, barriers to obtaining justice when rights are violated, the prohibition of trade unions and the failure to enforce labour laws and penalize employers who abuse their workers.
Beyond the spotlight of the World Cup and Qatar’s, the country’s domestic workers continue to face severe and widespread abuse at the hands of abusive employers, and risk being left behind in the reforms.
FIFA has an opportunity to end this cycle of human rights abuse for families of migrant workers following deaths, injuries, and wage theft in Qatar. FIFA’s Human Rights Policy outlines their commitment to remedy those “adversely affected by activities associated with FIFA.” In May, Human Rights Watch and other organizations launched a campaign calling on FIFA and Qatar to provide remedies for migrant workers who suffered abuse and for their families.
FIFA should ensure that the children its World Cup has “adversely affected” can pay their school fees and have a decent chance at a secure future.
