Saudi Arabia: 2034 World Cup risks widespread labor violence

(New York) – Saudi Arabia World Championship place a bet is failing to address widespread labor rights violations in the country, Human Rights Watch said today.

FIFA, the international football organization, will officially certify presentation of the 2034 FIFA World Cup title to Saudi Arabia on December 11, 2024. FIFA as reported completed its assessment of the Saudi Arabian proposal. July 29 Saudi Arabian authorities filed their “order book» next to Human Rights Strategy And Independent Context Assessmentwhich are FIFA bidding requirements. All three documents clearly ignore the well-documented risks that workers face, including forced labor. They also lack any analysis of enforcement gaps and do not take into account the views of rights holders and other stakeholders other than Saudi Arabian government officials.

“Documents for holding the World Cup in Saudi Arabia ignore the flagrant violations of human rights in the country, including inadequate thermal protectionremoved wage theftban on trade unions and offensive Kafala (visa sponsorship) labor system,” said Minky WardenDirector of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “FIFA is deliberately turning a blind eye to the country’s human rights record, creating a decade of potentially horrendous human rights abuses in preparation for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.”

Saudi Arabia’s host documents shed light on a huge scale construction required for the tournament, including 11 new and renovated stadiums. Additional infrastructure to be built includes more than 185,000 new hotel rooms and a significant expansion of the airport, road, rail and bus networks, as well as giga projects under the auspices of Saudi Arabia. Vision 2030 plan including the new upscale NEOM city.

By comparison, no new stadiums will be built in the United States, Canada or Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. Saudi Arabia’s huge infrastructure deficit will depend entirely on the migrant workers who build it. According to the agency, there are 13.4 million migrant workers in the country. 2022 censuswhich represents 42 percent of the country’s population.

In June, the Building and Woodworkers International Union (BWI) filed forced labor complaint against Saudi Arabia to the International Labor Organization (ILO). BWI Complaint based on cases tens of thousands of workers With unpaid wages from two Saudi construction companies and testimony from 193 migrant workers who faced a range of abuses. Abuses included confiscation of identity documents, debt bondage, and harsh working and living conditions, despite demands from Saudi authorities. demand amendments to labor legislation. B.W.I. complaint refers to Saudi Arabia’s failure to enforce several international treaties it has ratified, including the Forced Labor Convention and its 2014 Protocol.

Despite the indispensable role of migrant workers at the 2034 FIFA World Cup, government bid documents do not meaningfully prioritize key labor protection issues.

Independent context analysis commissioned by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) in agreement with FIFA and carried out by law firm AS&H Clifford Chance, is alarmingly inadequate. The assessment itself admits that they did not carry out the due diligence required by FIFA’s own human rights policy, and that the scope of reporting is limited to the 22 human rights instruments selected by FIFA and SAFF and what was “feasible during the assessment period and prescribed FIFA”. page limit.” This does not include fundamental international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The bibliography also lacks reference to extensive published research on migrant worker rights violations in Saudi Arabia and to a major forced labor complaint against the country.

Coalition of 11 leading human rights monitoring organizations, including Human Rights Watch laid out Serious concerns about Clifford Chance’s assessment in a letter warning FIFA and a law firm that they risk being linked to abuses in preparation for the tournament. In response, the law firm said it would be “inappropriate” to comment further.

“Not a single migrant worker, victim of human rights crimes, survivor of torture, jailed women’s rights activist or Saudi civil society This member was consulted about FIFA’s supposedly independent report,” Warden said. “FIFA’s handling of the Saudi bid is an appalling failure to undertake a mandatory assessment of the risks to human rights and protection of the millions of migrant workers who are about to make the 2034 World Cup possible.”

Another key bet documentThe 2034 FIFA World Cup Human Rights Strategy erroneously calls independent context analysis a “robust assessment of contextual human rights risks” based on “active engagement with relevant stakeholders in the Kingdom to examine current policies and regulations.” and identify significant risks and gaps associated with the preparation and conduct of the tournament.”

However, the authors make clear that their analysis, conducted over a six-week period, was based on desk research and interactions solely with Saudi authorities. Likewise, Saudi order book calls Clifford Chance’s assessment “focused on rights topics typically associated with major sporting events, taking into account published comments from international monitoring bodies and supported by active engagement with stakeholders across Saudi Arabia.”

The Human Rights Strategy also lists “additional initiatives” such as developing a framework for due diligence on suppliers and procurement and supply chain management that is not specific, specific, or time-bound. They do not mention basic labor rights such as freedom of association and collective bargaining. This uncertainty reflects Saudi Arabia’s unwillingness to adequately protect workers amid the high risk of large-scale construction projects for the World Cup.

“These documents were obviously fabricated to make it appear that a serious human rights and labor rights risk assessment had been carried out,” Worden said. “FIFA’s bogus assessment process for awarding the 2034 World Cup title without legally binding human rights commitments is a repeat of its irresponsible approach to hosting the World Cup in Qatar that ultimately cost the lives of thousands of migrant workers.”

Human Rights Watch warned that FIFA is violating its own human rights rules I announce the plan for hosting the next two men’s world championships, effectively eliminating bargaining and human rights due diligence. The tender process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was to include human rights strategy And independent assessmentwhich was based on consultations with dozens of human rights stakeholders. Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to FIFA detailing problems with the 2034 bid book and informed sponsors including Coca-Cola, Adidas and AB InBev of flawed assessments of human rights risks.

The bidding process for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar ignored egregious labor rights violations, and in 2014 Qatar faced a forced labor complaint at the ILO. A Human Rights Watch study found that, despite subsequent reformsThe 2022 FIFA World Cup leaves behind a legacy of unresolved abuses, including thousands of uncompensated deaths that have caused lasting harm to migrant workers and their families.

An independent review of FIFA’s human rights responsibilities towards workers harmed during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was commissioned but never published. After Saudi Arabia’s proposal, FIFA also abandoned the decision. agreed framework to protect labor and human rights during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Human rights risks they are further amplified in the Saudi Arabian context as the stadium and infrastructure construction needs are enormous, the country is much larger geographically and there are no independent human rights monitors or media.

“Without adequate human rights due diligence and binding commitments on labor and human rights from the Saudi authorities, FIFA should not move forward with a vote to confirm Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup,” Worden said.