The Peninsula
FIFA's
Deputy General Secretary, Alasdair Bell, has confirmed that the 2022 FIFA World
Cup in Qatar will be the first big sporting event that will leave a positive
and sustainable effect on human rights.
Bell spoke during a hearing on "Sports Governance and Social
Rights: The Protection of Workers' Rights in Qatar," organized jointly by
the Committee on Culture, Science, Education & Media, and the Committee on
Social Affairs, Health & Sustainable Development of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.
The session was moderated by Lord George Foulkes, rapporteur of
the recent Football Governance report by the Council of Europe. Introductory
remarks were made by Bjorn Berge, Deputy SG of the Council.
Bell told the hearing that there had been clear progress in
improving human and labor rights in Qatar, a process in which FIFA has been
very active, and this has been recognized by the International Labor
Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), among
others.
"This is a combined effort to improve the standards, and the FIFA World
Cup was also an important catalyst to change legislation positively in Qatar.
For example, Qatar has started to dismantle the kafala, or sponsorship, system
and has also introduced a non-discriminatory minimum wage, strengthened heat
stress protections, and set up worker committees, "he said.
He added that there had been real, tangible progress in Qatar.
"We have worked hard with the Qatari authorities and the
NGOs. The labor conditions at World Cup sites are setting the standards in
Qatar. In 2020, something like 250.000 people were able to change jobs because
of these reforms. Nearly 300,000 workers benefited from the introduction of the
minimum wage. We will look at ways to build on these reforms to ensure they are
enduring. A centre in Qatar where migrant workers can receive advice is being
explored. So is the possibility of finding redress for anyone who has suffered
injury. It is not the simplest thing to put into place."
"We raised the profile of human rights in FIFA, which had a
significant knock-on effect. This World Cup in Qatar will be the first big
sporting event with a lasting positive effect in the area of human rights,"
he said.
The Council of Europe signed a Memorandum of understanding with
FIFA in 2018 and the two organizations have worked very closely together on a
number of important topics such as child safeguarding, good governance,
anti-match manipulation, safety, and security at football matches.