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Amnesty asks Fifa for $440 million in damages for 2022 World Cup workers

2022-05-19T05:27:37.960Z


The NGO Amnesty International on Thursday asked Fifa to pay compensation of at least 440 million dollars to "mistreated" migrant workers...


The NGO Amnesty International on Thursday asked Fifa to pay compensation of at least 440 million dollars to "

mistreated

" migrant workers in Qatar, host country of the 2022 World Cup, accused of not sufficiently respecting their rights.

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Amnesty's request, backed by other human rights organisations, comes after repeated criticism of football's governing body's slowness to respond to poor working conditions for workers who have flocked to the construction sites linked to the World Cup in the wealthy Gulf State.

"

Fifa should dedicate at least $440 million (about 418 million euros) to reparations for the damage suffered by the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who were victims of human rights violations in Qatar during the preparations for the 2022 World Cup.

Amnesty said in a statement.

"Minimum Necessary"

According to Amnesty, this sum, which corresponds to the allocation that the 32 participating teams will share, is the “

minimum necessary

” to compensate the workers and protect them from future abuses.

The organization cites in particular unpaid wages, the payment of “

illegal

” and “

exorbitant

” recruitment fees as well as damage caused by accidents at work.

The London-based NGO urged Fifa to "

work with Qatar to put in place a comprehensive reparations program with the participation of workers, trade unions, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and civil society

".

Since 2010, when Fifa awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, a "

litany of abuse

" has marred the preparations without the body having demanded "

the slightest improvement in working conditions

", accused Amnesty.

Amnesty nevertheless welcomed the social reforms decided by Qatar since 2018 and the improvement of conditions on official World Cup sites initiated in 2014. But according to the NGO, these rules are not always respected and abuses persist.

In a comment sent to AFP, Fifa said it was "

currently evaluating the proposal by Amnesty

" and other NGOs, saying it "

involves a wide range of public infrastructure built (in Qatar ) since 2010 that are not necessarily related to the World Cup

”.

Criticized since it was awarded the first World Cup in an Arab country, Qatar has carried out major reforms, abolishing the sponsorship system making employees quasi-properties of their employer and establishing a minimum hourly wage.

The country firmly rejects the death tolls on construction sites put forward by international media.

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2022-05-19

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