Doha, Qatar - Gianni Infantino, FIFA's president, has
announced plans to set up an independent committee
that will monitor conditions for labourers working at
Qatar’s World Cup 2022 stadiums following criticism
of the country's human-rights record.
The proposed committee will be led by the football's
world governing body, and include civil society
representatives and "relevant FIFA stake-holders" to
monitor the conditions for all projects leading up to
the tournament.
In his first trip to Qatar since becoming FIFA
president in February, Infantino met the Emir, Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and visited Khalifa
International Stadium in Doha, which was named in
an Amnesty International report as a site where
workers have suffered rights abuses.
Infantino said Qatar, the tournament's first Arab host,
supported the monitoring initiative.
"I acknowledge very much the efforts which are
being done," he said in Doha.
"I want to see these efforts now being put in
practice. Of course we will not just sit and wait. FIFA
will step up its efforts in overseeing ... in order to
ensure the protection of the workers' rights in the
construction of the FIFA World Cup sites is fulfilled."
Infantino's trip came hours after Federico Addiechi,
FIFA's head of sustainability, admitted that Qatar’s
human-rights record was not taken into consideration
when it was awarded the tournament almost six
years ago.
Addiechi made the comments at a discussion around
a FIFA-sanctioned report on the organisation's
human-rights responsibilities at a UN forum on
human rights in Doha earlier this week.
John Ruggie, a Harvard professor and the author of
the report, made strong comments at the forum,
saying FIFA was involved in human-rights abuses
through its relationships.
He also warned Qatar that when the tournament
comes around, the whole world will be watching "not
only the games on the pitches but what it took to
get there".
Explaining one of his recommendations that urges
FIFA to terminate its relationship with hosts that are
not able to address human-rights risks, Ruggie told Al
Jazeera that even in such a case "FIFA could not
terminate the relationship easily, especially if it's
very close to the Cup".
"In that case, it [FIFA] should explain what it has
done to try to induce change and why it hasn't
succeeded," Ruggie said.
"It’s not like flipping a switch and it is not meant to
exclude countries by definition. It's a judgment
issue."
Qatar's human rights record was questioned by
many after it was awarded the 2022 World Cup
[AFP]
In his report, Ruggie said: "FIFA should set explicit
human rights requirements of local organising
committees in bidding documents for tournaments
and provide guidance on them" for bidding of
tournaments in the future.
The Supreme Committee of Delivery and Legacy, the
body responsible for Qatar's 2022 World Cup and
which works with the local organising committee,
defended the accusations made in the Amnesty
report and by other human rights organisations.
'Our situation not perfect'
Speaking at the UN forum, Hassan al-
Thawadi, Supreme Committee's secretary-general,
said the committee has cautioned companies working
on World Cup sites that were accused of involvement
in human rights abuses.
"Action has been taken against a number of these
companies," he said.
"We know our situation is not perfect. We know there
are people living in horrid conditions and we are
trying to fix that, but there are physical constraints in
trying to resolve these issues."
Thawadi said that the Supreme Committee had
prioritised issues "in terms of severity and what can
be resolved with least constraints" and admitted that
the committee's internal audit systems "had gaps".
Addiechi said that by commissioning the Ruggie
report and showing the intent to following it, FIFA
has shown that its approach had changed.
"We will no longer say that anything in connection
with the construction of World Cup stadiums is not
our business," he said.
Infantino, for his part, also insisted that the move of
forming an independent committee was reflective of
the organisation's efforts to ensure better welfare for
workers.
"We have to make sure that what we say will be
delivered and that we have high-profile persons," he
said.
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