Qatar shamed by inaction on labour reform: AI

DOHA: Qatar has done "almost nothing" to end labour abuse in the five years since being awarded football’s 2022 World Cup despite huge global pressure to reform, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
The criticism came as local media reported on Tuesday that two Asian men had died in an "accident" while working on a construction site in the north of the country, without providing further details.
In a statement released on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the controversial decision to allow Qatar to host world sport’s biggest tournament, Amnesty said the lack of substantive change "shames" the gas-rich Gulf state and FIFA, football’s governing body.
"Despite massive public exposure of the appalling conditions faced by most migrant construction workers, the Qatari authorities have done almost nothing effective to end chronic labour exploitation," Amnesty said.
It urged FIFA officials and the World Cup’s major sponsors to press for change. Mustafa Qadri, Amnesty’s Gulf migrant rights researcher, said: "Too little has been done to address rampant migrant labour abuse.
"The reforms proposed by the government fail to tackle the central issues that leave so many workers at the mercy of employers, yet even those changes have been delayed.
"Unless action is taken -- and soon -- then every football fan who visits Qatar in 2022 should ask themselves how they can be sure they are not benefiting from the blood, sweat and tears of migrant workers." Amnesty said Qatar had failed to make changes in several key areas, including giving workers the freedom to change jobs, leave the country or join unions.