FIFA slammed as investigators vanish
by Bernard Harbor
 |
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has criticised world soccer governing body FIFA for its silence after two human rights investigators vanished in Qatar. The two British nationals, who were investigating workers’ rights violations during preparations for the 2022 world cup finals, disappeared prompting fears that they may have been detained and even tortured in the rich and repressive gulf state.
The Norwegian human rights group they work for says it’s “deeply concerned that these employees may have been subjected to enforced disappearance and are currently at risk of torture.”
The ITUC, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others have been pressing FIFA to relocate the finals amid fears that up to 4,000 migrant workers could die by the time a ball is kicked in 2022. Appalling working conditions – including working in excessive heat with no water have caused scores of deaths. Meanwhile, meagre wages go unpaid and employers have total control over tens of thousands of migrant workers whose passports are confiscated.
ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow said at least one worker a day is losing their life. “FIFA seems to have forgotten about the plight of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers building the world cup infrastructure. It should vote again on who should host in 2022 rather than dancing to the tune of corporate sponsors and multinational construction firms,” she said.
Read about ITUC’s ‘re-run the vote’ campaign here.
|
|
