Qatar criticised over alleged labour abuses ahead of World Cup
13 November 2014
Qatar has been criticised for inadequate response to alleged labour abuses ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Thu, 13 Nov 2014Qatar has been criticised for an inadequate response to alleged labour abuses ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
The human rights charity Amnesty International said Qatar’s authorities are “lagging severely behind on efforts to address the rampant abuse of migrant workers’ rights”.
Its report ‘No Extra Time: How Qatar is still failing on workers’ rights ahead of the World Cup’ claimed that the Qatari government had failed to reform the systems that facilitated the abuse of migrant workers and had made only minimal progress on a number of plans it announced in May 2014.
In a press statement Sherif Elsayed-Ali, head of refugee and migrants’ rights at Amnesty International said: “Time is running out fast. It has been four years since Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup, putting itself in the global spotlight, so far its response to migrant labour abuses has not been much more than promises of action and draft laws.”
Following an international outcry spurred by critical media reports and pressure from Amnesty International and other rights groups, the Qatari government appointed the law firm DLA Piper to investigate allegations of abuse. In May 2014 DLA Piper made a series of recommendations to the government in a wide-ranging report that also criticised the sponsorship system.
Shortly afterwards the Qatari government announced a series of reforms including proposals to amend the sponsorship system and the exit permit, and to abolish a rule that prevents workers from returning to Qatar for two years after they have ended a contract.
Amnesty International described the announcement as “a missed opportunity as they would not address the crux of the issues contributing to widespread abuse of migrant workers”.
Recruiter tried to contact Fifa but couldn’t get through. However, according to a report from the Financial Times, when contacted in relation to the issues raised by Amnesty International Fifa declined to comment.
The human rights charity Amnesty International said Qatar’s authorities are “lagging severely behind on efforts to address the rampant abuse of migrant workers’ rights”.
Its report ‘No Extra Time: How Qatar is still failing on workers’ rights ahead of the World Cup’ claimed that the Qatari government had failed to reform the systems that facilitated the abuse of migrant workers and had made only minimal progress on a number of plans it announced in May 2014.
In a press statement Sherif Elsayed-Ali, head of refugee and migrants’ rights at Amnesty International said: “Time is running out fast. It has been four years since Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup, putting itself in the global spotlight, so far its response to migrant labour abuses has not been much more than promises of action and draft laws.”
Following an international outcry spurred by critical media reports and pressure from Amnesty International and other rights groups, the Qatari government appointed the law firm DLA Piper to investigate allegations of abuse. In May 2014 DLA Piper made a series of recommendations to the government in a wide-ranging report that also criticised the sponsorship system.
Shortly afterwards the Qatari government announced a series of reforms including proposals to amend the sponsorship system and the exit permit, and to abolish a rule that prevents workers from returning to Qatar for two years after they have ended a contract.
Amnesty International described the announcement as “a missed opportunity as they would not address the crux of the issues contributing to widespread abuse of migrant workers”.
Recruiter tried to contact Fifa but couldn’t get through. However, according to a report from the Financial Times, when contacted in relation to the issues raised by Amnesty International Fifa declined to comment.
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