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Amnesty International, the human rights defender, on Thursday called on the International Football Federation (FIFA) to pay compensation of at least $440 million to foreign workers who were “abused” in Qatar, host country of the 2022 World Cup, who are accused of not respecting the rights of these workers in any way.
The rights group’s request, backed by other human rights groups, follows repeated criticism of the world football regulator’s slow response to the poor working conditions of workers who have flocked to the World Cup-related construction sites in the gas-rich Gulf state.
Amnesty has said FIFA should allocate at least $440 million to reparations for damages caused to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who suffered human rights abuses in Qatar during preparations for the 2022 World Cup.
According to the non-governmental organization, this amount, which is equivalent to the allocations allocated to the 32 teams participating in the World Cup, is the “minimum necessary” to compensate the workers and protect them from future violations.
The organization mentioned in particular unpaid wages, the payment of “illegal” and “exorbitant” recruitment fees, as well as damages resulting from accidents at work.
She added that since 2010, when FIFA awarded Qatar the honor of hosting the 2022 World Cup, there had been a “chain of breaches” that marred preparations without FIFA calling for ” the slightest improvement in working conditions”.
She stressed that the proposed amount is only “a small part” of the six billion dollars that FIFA will earn from the next World Cup.
The London-based human rights organization has urged Italian-Swiss FIFA President Gianni Infantino to “work with Qatar to develop a comprehensive compensation package, with the participation of workers, trade unions, the International Labor Organization and civil society”.
In response to the human rights organization’s statement, FIFA said in a comment received by Agence France-Presse that it is “currently evaluating the proposal submitted by Amnesty” and other NGOs. , noting that the projects Amnesty refers to “include a wide range of public infrastructure that has been built since 2010 (in Qatar) and not necessarily related to the FIFA World Cup.
On the other hand, Amnesty International welcomed the social reforms introduced by Qatar since 2018 and the improvement of conditions at the official sites of the World Cup, which began in 2014.
At the same time, however, she pointed out that these laws are not always respected and violations continue.
The process of awarding Qatar the right to host the World Cup since 2010 has been accompanied by allegations of corruption and criticism of the Gulf state’s human rights record.
Several human rights groups accuse Qatar of exploiting foreign workers, especially those working in facilities and stadiums for the World Cup.
However, Doha has repeatedly denied the charges against it, and announced several reforms since being chosen to host the finals.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy said in response to Amnesty that it is “working tirelessly to ensure that the rights of every worker involved in the FIFA World Cup projects in Qatar are upheld through dedicated teams of worker welfare experts, and significant improvements have been made in the quality of accommodation, health and care.”
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