Qatar – Page 2 – FairSquare

FIFA should match $440m Qatar 2022 prize money to fund migrant worker compensation

FairSquare has joined Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and a range of football supporter groups, civil society organisations and trade unions to call on FIFA to help establish a comprehensive Qatar 2022 programme to ensure all labour abuses to which the organisation contributed are remedied, and to set aside appropriate financial resources.

Urgent call for action on migrant worker deaths in the Gulf

New report reveals poor data, high-rate of unexplained deaths and a series of cumulative risks to health.

A coalition of organisations, including NGOs from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines, today issued a report on the deaths of low-paid migrant workers in the Gulf states, and called on their governments and those in the Gulf to urgently take steps to reduce the number of unnecessary migrant worker fatalities.

The Abdullah Ibhais Case: Four Key Pieces Of Evidence

FairSquare, working with Human Rights Watch, has been documenting the case of Abdullah Ibhais since late 2021. His lawyer filed an appeal with Qatar’s final court of appeal, the Court of Cassation, on 13 February 2022. In this piece FairSquare Director Nick McGeehan provides analysis of the key pieces of evidence in the case.

Why trafficking in the Gulf persists

In a new article for the Global Index on Organised Crime, FairSquare director James Lynch takes a look at why labour trafficking remains rife in the Gulf states, which are signed up to and publicly supportive of the key international anti-trafficking agreements:

FIFA/Qatar: Last Chance to Ensure Fair Trial for Whistleblower

Qatari Justice System Under Further Scrutiny After Flawed Appeal Court Judgment

Qatari authorities and FIFA should insist that a whistleblower at the heart of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organization gets a fair trial as the case heads to Qatar’s final court of appeal, Human Rights Watch and FairSquare said today.

FIFA: Ensure Fair Trial of World Cup Whistleblower

FIFA should publicly call on the Qatari authorities to ensure a fair trial for the detained former employee of Qatar’s World Cup organizers, Human Rights Watch and FairSquare said in a letter to FIFA on November 19, 2021.

Qatar: Ensure Fair Trial of Ex-Qatar 2022 Official

Qatari authorities should ensure a fair trial for a 35-year-old Jordanian…

Qatari authorities should ensure a fair trial for a 35-year-old Jordanian man who is appealing a five-year prison sentence for offenses including misuse of funds and bribery, Human Rights Watch and FairSquare said today. The lower court trial of Abdullah Ibhais, which concluded in April 2021, ignored credible allegations that his confession, the basis of the prosecution’s case, was obtained via intimidation and coercion. A third and possibly final session in his appeal hearing is scheduled for October 6.

New report on deaths of migrant workers in Qatar

Amnesty report on deaths of migrant workers in Qatar

A new report published today by Amnesty International, with the support of FairSquare, finds that Qatari authorities have failed to investigate the deaths of thousands of migrant workers over the past decade, despite evidence of links between premature deaths and unsafe working conditions.

Kenyan labour rights activist leaves Qatar after paying hefty fine for publishing “false news”

Malcolm Bidali, a Kenyan national, who was forcibly disappeared by Qatari authorities on 4 May and held in solitary confinement for a month, has finally been allowed to leave the country after paying a hefty fine for his human rights activism. The 28-year-old is a security guard, blogger and activist, who has been vocal about the plight of migrant workers like himself, and has written for a number of online platforms.

Kuwait and Qatar must be more decisive in their efforts to tackle abusive recruitment of migrant workers

Report into recruitment practices calls on Kuwait to fully ban the payment of recruitment fees for all categories of migrant workers, and recommends that Qatar make employers liable for the actions of intermediaries in the recruitment process.

Kuwait and Qatar should both strengthen their laws to ban the payment of recruitment fees by all migrant workers, irrespective of where that payment is made, and should significantly increase their focus on stamping out abusive recruitment practices, FairSquare said today in a 162 page report into recruitment of migrant workers in Nepal, Kuwait and Qatar.