Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup, accusing the nation of overlooking international labor standards and perpetuating abuses against migrant workers. This comes as a critical juncture for FIFA, which has been scrutinized for its human rights commitments following the selection of host countries with questionable labor rights records, such as Qatar.
In a statement by HRW, it is noted that Saudi Arabia’s bid does not address existing labor rights violations, including wage theft, a lack of protective measures, and the implementation of the abusive visa sponsorship system known as kafala. This system continues to limit workers’ freedoms and rights, raising alarms about potential further exploitation.
HRW criticizes FIFA’s human rights policy, highlighting the absence of a thorough and independent human rights assessment in the bid. The report by HRW indicates a lack of consultation with external experts, such as international organizations and worker representatives, resulting in the neglect of essential human rights conventions like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Minky Worden, HRW’s Director of Global Initiatives, emphasized that Saudi initiatives have overlooked key workers’ rights, particularly the freedom of association and collective bargaining.
This critique echoes the sentiments of various human rights organizations, alongside HRW, who have voiced concerns over the inadequacies in FIFA’s evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s bid, which they describe as conspicuously flawed. There are stark parallels drawn with Qatar’s World Cup, where inadequate human rights safeguards resulted in numerous worker deaths.
Saudi Arabia has been under scrutiny for human rights abuses in the past, having failed to secure a seat in the UN Human Rights Council due to its contentious human rights record. This pattern of criticism further underlines the need for FIFA to enforce stringent human rights due diligence and labor rights commitments seeing as Saudi Arabia remains a non-signatory to several international human rights agreements, including the ICCPR.
For more detailed coverage of HRW’s critique, visit JURIST’s article here.