– Qatar should take more pride in cleaning up after themselves for those who have made the World Cup possible. That’s what a frustrated Frank Conde Tandberg says to news. He is a political adviser at Amnesty Norway and has followed the situation in Qatar for a number of years. The run-up to the football World Cup in Qatar was marked by harrowing stories about migrant workers and news of deaths in connection with stadium work. Now – barely a year after Lionel Messi and Argentina lifted the World Cup trophy – Amnesty has published a recent report on the state of affairs in the desert country. There, the human rights organization states that “the need to protect workers in Qatar from exploitation and abuse is as necessary as when the tournament started”. – We see that the same human rights violations, which we have documented for twelve years before the football World Cup, continue to occur quite widely in Qatar, says Tandberg. REACTS: Frank Conde Tandberg, political advisor at Amnesty Norway. Photo: Private – They have not received compensation In the years after Qatar was awarded last year’s soccer World Cup back in 2010, the nation made a number of changes to laws and labor reforms to improve conditions for migrant workers who built soccer stadiums and infrastructure in the country. But the Amnesty report is merciless when it comes to assessing how this works in practice. Tandberg summarizes the findings in the report as follows: – Migrant workers have to pay illegal recruitment fees, they are robbed of their wages and cannot organize themselves to fight bad working conditions. They still work in dangerous conditions and they have not received compensation for the human rights violations they have experienced. Read the answers of the Qatari authorities and Fifa further down in the article. – We are very disappointed that the Fifa Amnesty report, however, highlights progress in the ban on extended working hours for construction workers in the heat over the past eleven months. Nevertheless, they claim that the law change is “overshadowed by the lack of real progress in strengthening and implementing Qatar’s much-talked about labor reforms”. – What emotions do you feel in connection with this report? – We are very disappointed that Fifa did not use its influence to put more pressure on Qatar and that Qatar was not concerned with gaining a better reputation – and a better reputation, Tandberg replies and continues: – Many have praised the championship, but this has been disastrous for the people who have worked with the championship and experienced serious abuse. They are entitled to compensation, and we believe that Qatar and Fifa should recognize this and clean it up. According to Amnesty, in the work on the report, they have, among other things, been present in Qatar in July to talk to current and former migrant workers, organizations for migrants’ rights and representatives from the embassies of the countries of origin of the workers. They have also met representatives from the government of Qatar and the International Labor Organization (ILO). MIGRANT WORKERS: Several hundred gathered at a stadium to watch Brazil against Switzerland on the big screen during the World Cup. A majority of them were migrant workers. Photo: MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN / AFP Strikes back against Amnesty A Fifa spokesperson writes in an e-mail to news that they have set up a committee to carry out independent investigations related to whether the workers who worked on the World Cup have been given the access to compensation that reflected in Fifa’s responsibility for human rights. They must also consider further steps to be taken. Fifa also claims that a number of advances have been made in relation to working conditions in the country. – According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), Qatar’s labor reforms have been important and have benefited hundreds of thousands of workers with the WC as an important catalyst for these reforms, writes the spokesperson and adds: – It is undeniable that significant progress has taken place, and it is equally clear that the enforcement of such reforms takes time and that there is a need for increased efforts to ensure that the reforms benefit all workers in the country. RECEIVES CRITICISM: Fifa president Gianni Infantino has had to endure a lot of criticism in connection with the Qatar World Cup. Here he is pictured with Kylian Mbappé. Photo: KAI PFAFFENBACH / Reuters news has also been in contact with the Qatari government’s press department. In an e-mail, a spokesperson writes that the World Cup accelerated labor reforms in Qatar and “created an important championship legacy”. – Qatar is now a leader in the region when it comes to workers’ rights and labor reforms, and sets an example for other countries in terms of how a system can be revised, they write and continue. The authorities also claim to have “the region’s first non-discriminatory minimum wage”, that 97 percent of all wages are protected through a wage protection system and that barriers to changing jobs have disappeared. Qatar’s response to Amnesty’s allegations: The World Cup accelerated labor reforms in Qatar, creating a significant and lasting championship legacy. Qatar now leads the region in terms of workers’ rights and labor reforms, setting an example for other countries in terms of how a system can be overhauled. Qatar has further strengthened the labor system since the end of the tournament. Existing reforms continue to be fully implemented. Between January and August 2023, more than 153,000 workers were successfully transferred to new employers. The commitment to strengthening Qatar’s labor system and safeguarding workers’ rights was never an initiative linked to the World Cup and was always meant to continue long after the tournament was over. The positive impact of Qatar’s labor reforms is clear for all to see: we have the region’s first non-discriminatory minimum wage, 97 percent of all wages are protected through the “wage protection system,” barriers to changing jobs have disappeared, we have stricter enforcement of illegal recruitment fees, increased awareness of workers’ rights, regionally leading health and safety standards and regular health examinations to identify underlying conditions. One year after the World Cup, Qatar’s commitment to labor reform is as strong as ever as we strive to establish a world-leading labor system that attracts people from around the world to live and work in Qatar. Source: The press department of the authorities in Qatar Gives Fifa after years to learn lessons Recently, Fifa confirmed that Saudi Arabia is the only applicant for the World Cup finals in 2034, but there will not be a formal award of the championship until the Fifa congress next year. According to Amnesty, Saudi Arabia violates a number of human rights, including discrimination against women, migrant workers and minorities, and now Tandberg believes that Fifa “has one year to learn from this report” – Fifa should make good risk assessments and find out what human rights violations the award could cause. They must make tough demands and if the organizer is unable to meet the demands, Fifa must consider other alternatives, he says.
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Amnesty concerned by findings one year after the World Cup – asks Qatar and Fifa to clean up – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
