The head of football's world governing body FIFA sought on Friday to
ease fears of human rights abuses in construction of stadiums for the
2022 World Cup in Qatar, announcing plans for a special group to monitor
working conditions.
FIFA's newly elected president Gianni Infantino poses with the Qatar
Workers Cup trophy in Doha, Qatar, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Naseem
Zeitoon
FIFA's newly elected president Gianni Infantino (L) and Secretary
General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, Hassan Abdulla Al Thawadi
attend a news conference in Doha, Qatar, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Naseem
Zeitoon
FIFA's newly elected president Gianni Infantino (C) speaks during a
news conference in Doha, Qatar, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon
FIFA's newly elected president Gianni Infantino (C) watches the final
soccer match of the Qatar Workers Cup in Doha, Qatar, April 22, 2016.
REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon
DOHA: The head of football's world governing body FIFA
sought on Friday to ease fears of human rights abuses in construction of
stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, announcing plans for a
special group to monitor working conditions.
Gianni Infantino said Qatar, the tournament's first Arab
host, supported the initiative. Efforts to ensure better welfare for
workers were, he added, going in the right direction.
In a statement, Infantino said the FIFA-led monitoring group
would be independent and include civil society representatives and
"relevant FIFA stakeholders" to oversee all competitions.
"With regards to the composition, it will be defined in the
coming days and we want to put it in place very, very soon," he told
reporters in Doha after a two-day visit to the Gulf Arab state.
"We have to make sure that what we say will be delivered and that we have high profile persons," he added.
Amnesty International reported on abuses in Qatar's
preparations for the World Cup in a wide-ranging report three weeks ago
based on the accounts of 132 workers at the sites.
It found construction workers from Nepal and India had been charged recruitment fees and housed in squalid conditions.
AMNESTY ACCUSATIONS
The head of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery &
Legacy, Hassan al-Thawadi, has said Doha was working to reduce abuses he
described as occuring on construction sites all over the world.
Infantino faces pressure from human rights groups to press
for reform of labour laws in Qatar including its "kafala" sponsorship
system, whereby employers effectively control a worker's freedom to
leave the country.
Infantino said he had told Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser
al-Thani measures taken by Qatari authorities to ensure fair working
conditions were going in the right direction.
"However, I made it very clear that it is essential for the
Qatari authorities to ensure that the country complies to international
standards on the treatment of workforce and to continue at full pace
with the implementation of the promised measures," Infantino's statement
said.
He said the hosting of the World Cup was an opportunity to set a benchmark for fair conditions for all workers in Qatar.
"FIFA and I will take the Qatari authorities at their word
and I look forward to the concrete actions which will be the real
testament of will," Infantino said.
(Reporting by Reuters Television, Writing by Sylvia Westall; editing by Ralph Boulton)
- Reuters
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