Red Card for Qatar

About 88 percent of Qatar’s population of 2 million is made up of migrant workers. Qatar uses the Kafala system to govern its domestic migrant workers. The system requires that foreign workers be sponsored by an employee who is responsible for their visa and legal status. Human Rights groups have found evidence that the Kafala system is being manipulated, with employers denying migrants’ wages and refusing to grant them an exit visa to leave the country.

Qatar has made no progress in abolishing laws that effectively force foreign workers into slavery, an international delegation has said. The International Trade Union Confederation concluded a four-day visit to Qatar on Sunday. In the press release published following the official visit, the delegation said it found “no improvement in living and working conditions of migrant workers.” They said that the number of woman and children in Qatar’s so-called labor camps has seen increases and predict that over 4,000 foreign workers could die due to poor conditions before FIFA 2022, if Qatar does not make the necessary reforms.

The European Parliament passed a resolution in November condemning the current situation for migrant workers in Qatar. The document urges FIFA to “send a clear and strong message to Qatar to avoid the football World Cup 2022 being delivered with the assistance of modern slavery.” The UN has also criticised Qatar for failing to comply with an international convention banning the use of forced labor in the run up to FIFA 2022.