Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty holds up a report titled ‘The Dark Side of Migration: Spotlight on Qatar's construction sector ahead of the World Cup', during a news conference in Doha Sunday. — Reuters DOHA — Amnesty International urged Qatar to end abuse of migrants working on football World Cup infrastructure, as it issued a report Monday citing cases in which they were referred to as “animals.” The 169-page report called on world football governing body FIFA to press the Gulf state to improve the conditions of foreign laborers, alleging “alarming” levels of exploitation against the workers mostly from South or Southeast Asia. The 2022 Cup organizers Monday responded by saying they are formalizing welfare standards that contractors must implement. Qatar 2022 says the standards will be aligned with Qatari law and international best practices and “set clear guidelines from recruitment to repatriation” that will be a contractual obligation for companies working on World Cup projects. Amnesty said its researchers had heard one construction firm manager use the term “animals” to describe migrant workers. And a worker told the watchdog that “Nepalis are treated like cattle.” Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty said the findings indicated “an alarming level of exploitation” in Qatar, and called the abuses “widespread” and “not isolated.” “FIFA has a duty to send a strong public message that it will not tolerate human rights abuses on construction projects related to the World Cup.” After meeting Qatar's Emir and prime minister on Nov. 9 in Doha, FIFA chief Sepp Blatter said the issue of working conditions was being addressed. Shetty said Amnesty had met officials who were “very willing to recognize that there is a problem and ... strongly oriented to find solutions.” Amnesty's report documented several abuses, including “non-payment of wages, harsh and dangerous working conditions, and shocking standards of accommodation.” Its team “found migrant workers living in squalid, overcrowded accommodation with no air conditioning, exposed to overflowing sewage or uncovered septic tanks.” The London-based watchdog said “dozens” of them have been trapped inside Qatar, which demands foreigners obtain an exit permit to leave. Qatar also said it would ensure the report was included in an inquiry it has already launched into the alleged abuses. The authorities had “asked international law firm DLA Piper to include the Amnesty report ... in the independent review it is carrying out concerning the conditions of foreign labour,” said a foreign ministry source quoted by the official QNA news agency. “The state of Qatar gives huge importance to the protection and upholding of human rights by enacting the relevant laws and establishing the bodies tasked with protecting and reinforcing those rights,” the source added. In the report, Amnesty said “the onus is on the government of Qatar to make the necessary changes to its legislation and to enforce worker protections.” Amnesty said abuses were systematic under a sponsorship system that “affords unscrupulous employers powers to exploit their employees, not least of which is the ability to prevent workers leaving the country.” Shetty said his team in Doha on Friday met “a group of 70 workers” from Nepal, Sri Lanka and other nationalities who said they “have not been paid for nine to 10 months.” Many workers have also reported poor health and safety standards, said Amnesty. — Agencies
