FIFA accused of having ignored human rights after rejecting the appeal to monitor migrant workers in Saudi Arabia – Firstpost

FIFA has been accused of having ignored human rights after refusing calls from an African organization to independently monitor the conditions of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia while it is preparing to welcome the 2034 World Cup. Saudi Arabia was officially announced as the host of the FIFA World Cup 2034 in December 2024, which raises concerns about its “poor” human rights file and the treatment of immigrant workers.

Consequently, the regional African organization of the Confederation of the International Syndicate (ITUC-Africa), which represents 18 million African workers, wrote to FIFA last month to demand increased protection for immigrant workers during the accumulation of the 2023 World Cup. However, FIFA would have rejected calls, declaring that the current mechanism should be sufficient, according to The guardian.

FIFA rejects the request to monitor the conditions of migrant workers in Saoudie

FIFA also said that its regulations required that the World Cup welcomed “respecting their respective functions and responsibilities under international human rights standards in all activities associated with the tournament”.

This occurs after the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, admitted during the announcement of the hosts of the 2034 World Cup that Saudi Arabia faces criticism on its bad human rights record.

“We are of course aware of criticism and fears. I fully trust our hosts to answer all the open points and I expect them to offer tournaments that meet the expectations of the world. This is what we expect and look forward to: social improvements, positive impacts on human rights. The world will look and it is certain that the unique world cup projectors are on what can and should be improved so that it can be treated effectively and that we can have a real and lasting change, ”said Infantino last month .

Amnesty and Sport’s Labor Rights Manager Steve Cockburn, then criticized FIFA for granted the World Cup to Saudi Arabia and said that the football organization’s lack of commitment to ensure a Adequate protection for workers “would put many lives in danger”.

The Confederation of the International Syndicate (ITUC-Africa) had asked FIFA to intervene and ensure that the Kafala work system is put in the end and that independent monitors are authorized to assess the conditions of workers.

About The guardianFIFA Secretary General, Mattias Grafström, replied by saying that the Saudis have already undertaken to build “a workers’ well-being system to monitor compliance with labor rights standards for tournament workers” in their offer.

The report adds that the official Saudi BID document makes no mention of a “social protection system for workers”. Instead, he describes the formation of a “working group” comprising various Saudi ministries to establish a governance framework for the implementation of the human rights strategy. The document also undertakes to collaborate with key partners such as the United Nations, the International Labor Organization and the Saudi National Workers’ Committee. However, it does not provide any details on the nature or scope of these partnerships.

According to estimates, Saudi Arabia currently houses around 10 million migrant workers, who should form the backbone of the workforce required to build the vast infrastructure for the World Cup. The projects offered in the winning offer of Saudi Arabia include the construction of 11 brand new stadiums, widened transport networks and around 185,000 additional hotel rooms – effectively doubling the country’s current accommodation capacity.

FIFA faces criticism after rejecting union requests

The former South African politician and activist, Andrew Josef Feinstein, and the political advisor of Amnesty Norway, Frank Conde Tangberg, criticized FIFA for rejected the surveillance of workers’ conditions in Saudi Arabia.

“This organization affirmed by human rights in good female, not corrupted, rejects the request for monitoring the conditions of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia,” wrote Feinstein on X.

Tangberg said FIFA rejecting the union’s request cement its lack of commitment to human rights.

“FIFA ignores the appeals to increased monitoring of the rights of workers related to the 2034 World Cup in #Saudiarabia, more cement of the lack of human rights organizations.”