Qatar 2022 workers subject to human rights abuses, alleges Amnesty International
Migrants working on Qatar’s Khalifa Stadium, and its surrounding Aspire Zone, have been deceived about their working conditions, pay and subjected to abuse according to a damning report published by Amnesty International.
The global human rights campaign organisation has alleged that migrant workers – mostly arriving from south Asia to work on infrastructure for Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 – had to pay recruiters between US$500 (£348, €438) and US$4,300 (£2,993, €3,771) to get a job, and then received a lower salary than they were promised.
“Workers can feel they had no choice but to accept lower wages than they were promised, poor conditions and other ill treatment because they have large loans (from recruiters) to pay off,” said the report.
Based on the responses of 234 workers Amnesty interviewed, several complained about delayed payments of salary, in some instances being months in arrears, while 108 workers complained about being forced into labour.
Other grievances logged included inadequate accommodation and the withdrawal of passports on arrival, meaning that they were not allowed to leave the country. Even in cases such as Nepalese workers asking to visit their home country to check on their families after the devastating earthquake last year, they were declined.
Amnesty has condemned the Qatari government for “being responsible for the human rights abuses occurring in the country” and observed that its “sponsorship system is at the heart of much of the most egregious labour exploitation.”
FIFA – the world footballing governing body – was also criticised for not placing any measures to ensure that workers on the World Cup infrastructure would not be exploited.
Amnesty International secretary general Salil Shetty said FIFA had “failed almost completely to stop the World Cup being built on human rights abuses.”
He added: “The abuse of migrant workers is a stain on the conscience of world football. Indebted, living in squalid camps in the desert, paid a pittance, the lot of migrant workers contrasts sharply to that of the top-flight footballers who will play in the stadium.
“If FIFA’s new leadership is serious about turning a page, it cannot allow its showcase global event to take place in stadiums built on the abuse of migrant workers.”
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has hit back at the findings, claiming that Amnesty’s investigation was “limited to just four companies out of more than 40 currently engaged on Khalifa International Stadium”.
“We acknowledge that Amnesty identified challenges in worker conditions existing in early 2015,” its statement added. “But as the result of the Supreme Committee’s continued enforcement and monitoring efforts, many of the issues raised had been addressed by June 2015, months before the publication of Amnesty’s report.”
For the full report click here.
Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 Amnesty InternationalQatar looks to tents for World Cup 2022 accommodation
Winning sport-related business in Russia and Qatar 'a challenge' for British firms
Khalifa Stadium set to become first Qatar World Cup venue to be completed
Pressure mounts on FIFA following fresh Qatar 2022 corruption allegations


BRC selected to design new World Food Center – will explore sustainability and global food supply

Ritz-Carlton Reserve opens with luxury spa at Japanese alpine ski resort

Scott Brownrigg-designed Museum of Military Medicine in Cardiff given planning approval

Work starts on US$898m e-sports arena in Shanghai

Gyms added to the mix for new super-luxe retail roll-out

OMA designs Miami Beach's ReefLine – a seven mile-long underwater sculpture park

Ole Scheeren and Shigeru Ban team up to design art and cultural destination in Hangzhou

FIFA files criminal complaint over funding of €459m world football museum

ReardonSmith leads design of Heya – a hotel room concept offering personalisation for each guest

Disney reveals first visuals of ambitious Star Wars attraction – including designs for hotel 'pods'

Flaxmill Maltings – the world's first cast-iron framed building – is to be redeveloped as a visitor attraction by Mather & Co

LVMH announces Bulgari Hotel for Miami Beach, with design by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel

Technogym opens retail store in Los Angeles

AZPML and UKST win competition to design Korean Museum of Urbanism and Architecture

Delos partners with TPP Capital to advance access to health and wellbeing solutions in urban communities

The Well creates integrated wellness retreat in New England countryside for Auberge Resorts

Architects 10 Design reveal plans for ambitious Edinburgh city centre plans

Perth's Boola Bardip museum opens in new AU$400m building designed by Hassell and OMA

UK Government's £1bn scheme to decarbonise is 'a huge opportunity' for the leisure industries

Museum devoted to the history of the US Army opens its doors

Architrave designs Banyan Tree Krabi with rainforest-themed spa

Anantara to debut in Seychelles following rebrand of luxury Bill Bensley-designed resort

World’s first energy-positive hotel and spa to be completed with interiors by Space Copenhagen

3XN design Denmark’s first climate-positive hotel with rooftop spa

BRC Imagination Arts completes new Glenkinchie Distillery brand home for Diageo as part of cycle of Scottish whisky attractions

First look: Contreras Earl Architecture creates Living Coral Biobank for the Great Barrier Reef Legacy

Heatherwick Studio reveals plans for 'The Cove' on San Francisco waterfront

Millimetre Design create new spa for Johnstown Estate in Ireland

B2Ai and SCAU to design new €100m Club Brugge stadium

Legorreta + Legorreta reveal cascading hillside design for Four Seasons Tamarindo
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates