FIFA has a responsibility to deliver the legacy it said it would” on human rights in Qatar following the 2022 World Cup but “is not there yet”, according to Norwegian football chief Lise Klaveness.
A year on from the tournament, Klaveness has returned to Qatar to try to find out whether human rights in the Gulf state have been improved.
Speaking from Doha, she told BBC Sport that the World Cup “really pushed some very progressive changes” over the treatment of migrant workers, but also said she had identified a “struggle with implementation” of reforms. And on the issue of gay rights in Qatar, where same-sex relationships are illegal, Klaveness said “matters are still as sensitive, as controversial, and have not moved at all”.
The former Norway international said she had returned to Qatar, where she met with workers, the authorities and NGO representatives, a year on from the tournament in order “to learn, because we think these issues will come up again and again”.
“We want to follow up on the promises Fifa made, and football’s responsibility on human rights policy,” she added.
“For now, we see that Fifa has not really leaned in and engaged in really walking the walk on lifting human rights [to being a prerequisite for hosting] World Cups.”
In response, Fifa said its human rights and social responsibility sub-committee is carrying out an independent assessment on whether the steps the body has taken so far are “in line” with its human rights responsibilities, and whether additional steps would be recommended “in view of further strengthening the tournament’s legacy for migrant workers”.
“International experts and trade union representatives who have assessed and collaborated in the labour rights programme for Fifa World Cup workers have repeatedly recognised that major steps forward have occurred in the labour rights sphere,” said a Fifa spokesperson. “According to the International Labour Organisation, Qatar’s labour reforms have been significant and benefitted hundreds of thousands of workers with the World Cup being an important catalyst for these reforms.
“It is undeniable that significant progress has taken place, and it is equally clear that the enforcement of such transformative reforms takes time and that heightened efforts are needed to ensure the reforms benefit all workers in the country.”
The Qatar World Cup organisers have been approached for comment. Last year, Klaveness was critical of the decision to award the flagship event to Qatar, referring to “unacceptable consequences”.
(BBC Sports)
