In Qatar, migrant workers continue to be exploited. The human rights organization Amnesty International accuses private security companies in the country. The organizers of the World Cup confirm the allegations.
A World Cup with a bitter aftertaste – according to Amnesty International, forced labor is said to have taken place on some of the World Cup construction sites.
(dpa) Following renewed allegations by Amnesty International, the World Cup organizers in Qatar have admitted the exploitation of workers in connection with football tournaments in the country. This was reported by the US news agency AP early Thursday morning, citing a statement.
The human rights organization had previously published a report accusing private security companies in Qatar of exploiting migrant workers.
Amnesty said on Wednesday they were exposed to “serious human rights violations” that corresponded “in part to forced labour”. Workers would have had to do work against their will and under threat of punishment. “Some of them had to work up to 84 hours a week – and with the knowledge of the Qatari government,” criticized the human rights organization.
No holidays, no days off and wage cuts in case of illness
According to the statement by the World Cup organizers, three companies did not comply with the rules in several areas. Accordingly, private security companies that were involved in the Club World Cup and the Arabian Cup were affected.
“These breaches were totally unacceptable and have resulted in a range of measures including the placing of contractors on watch lists or blacklists to prevent them from working on future projects – including the Fifa World Cup – before those contractors are brought to the Department of Labor for further investigation and penalties were reported,” it said.
Amnesty cited interviews with staff from eight security firms for the new report. In it, employees complain that they are being denied days off and vacation. “We work from January to January, from Sunday to Sunday, no days off,” the organization quoted a security guard from Uganda as saying. Other employees had their wages reduced if they were unable to work due to illness.
At least three companies have loaned security personnel to World Cup projects and events organized by the world association Fifa, it said. Here, too, some of the guards were subjected to forced labor. “Our findings show once again that the Qatari government is not serious about enforcing its own laws and holding accountable those who break them,” said Amnesty’s Middle East expert Katja Müller-Fahlbusch.
⚠️ Seven days a week, 12 hours a day, no holidays, hardly any days off: The conditions in the security sector of ⚽ World Cup host country Qatar ?? partially correspond to forced labour. #Amnesty interviewed 34 security forces ? https://t.co/VRthfaoGLk pic.twitter.com/aRiUHzMQIk
— Amnesty Switzerland (@Amnesty_Switzerland) April 7, 2022
According to the government, the kafala system has been dismantled
The rich emirate is repeatedly accused of exploiting migrant workers and other human rights violations. Qatar’s government denies the allegations, citing reforms. This is how the kafala system was dismantled. This binds foreign workers tightly to a local guarantor such as an employer and often opens the door to exploitation. In Qatar, the law allows migrants to leave the country or change jobs without the consent of their employer. Human rights activists criticize that the kafala system has officially been abolished, but “de facto” it is still there.
The football World Cup starts on November 21st and runs until December 18th. In response to human rights violations, calls for a boycott have repeatedly been heard in recent months.