December 15 – More than three dozen Nepali civil society groups have called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to “stop looking the other way” while migrant workers in Qatar are denied compensation.
The groups have published an open letter and displayed their message on billboards across Kathmandu, including at the country’s main airport
The World Cup host nation, where foreigners make up the majority of the 2.9 million population, has faced intense criticism from human rights groups over its treatment of migrant workers and the letter highlights how migrant workers who have returned to Nepal are unable to access a compensation fund set up by Qatar
“The stories of stolen wages and broken dreams are part of our everyday life,” the letter said. “We are far too familiar with images of coffins arriving at Tribhuvan International airport.”
“… we therefore call on you, President Infantino, to stop looking the other way while the citizens of our country – and all other nationalities – are denied their rights.”
The letter said it was “next to impossible” for migrant workers to access the compensation fund if they had already returned to Nepal. It also said families did not receive compensation if the causes of their loved ones’ deaths were not found to be linked to their work.
“We have come together to call on Gianni Infantino to make good on FIFA’s promises to respect workers’ rights and agree to compensate workers who have suffered abuses and families who have lost loved ones,” said Som Prasad Lamichhane, executive director of Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee (PNCC).
“We know the real human costs of the abuses faced by so many workers in Qatar. Families have spiraled into poverty, children have been taken out of school, and workers forced to migrate again to pay off debts. FIFA cannot be blind to this reality and must act to make things right,” he said.
Around 400,000 workers from Nepal are employed across a range of sectors in Qatar, including playing a huge part in building the vast infrastructure projects for the World Cup.
In recent years, Qatar has introduced a number of reforms to strengthen labour laws though human rights groups say abuses persist on a significant scale.
“There is a huge danger that when the final whistle is blown on the World Cup, the contribution and sacrifice of so many migrant workers will be forgotten, and their claims for justice and compensation ignored,” said Nirajan Thapaliya, Director of Amnesty International Nepal.
“If FIFA wants to show respect towards the people who made this tournament possible, Gianni Infantino should finally agree to ensure workers and their families are compensated. Their claims must not be dismissed any longer.”
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