November 27 – With just weeks until FIFA formally award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, ITUC Africa and other leading trade unions have sounded the alarm bell over the treatment of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia with a complaint at the United Nations.
ITUC Africa represents 18 million workers and the trade union has called out the ‘cycle of abuse’ that African migrant workers face in the Arab Kingdom. ITUC Africa.
“These workers, who play a crucial role in the economies of both their home countries and Saudi Arabia, face relentless exploitation, including wage theft, forced labour, unsafe working conditions and egregious violations of their dignity and rights under the Kafala system,” said the ITUC.
“Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 Fifa World Cup raises severe concerns about the potential escalation of these abuses. Without immediate and decisive action, the situation is likely to worsen, resulting in more preventable deaths and further violations of human and labour rights. The treatment of African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia represents a clear and egregious violation of international human rights laws, most notably the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”
ITUC are the latest organisation to have sounded the alarm bell over human rights issues in Saudi Arabia. This week two US senators called on FIFA to not pick Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 World Cup.
The Arab Kingdom is the sole bidder for the tournament after FIFA gave other eligible nations less than a month to throw their hat into the ring. FIFA will stage an extraordinary virtual congress in December to award the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.
FIFA has always maintained that the bidding process was sound and law firm Clifford Chance undertook an assessment of the bidders’ human rights policies, but that assessment received heavy criticism from rights groups who argued that the scope of the assessment was limited.
In October, the ITUC wrote to Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and an ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, outlining their concerns. In 2022, Motsepe spoke at Davos of migrant workers’ “privilege and the excitement of employment”.
In the letter, ITUC called on CAF to press FIFA on its human rights obligations.
“..,the privilege of hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup carries the responsibility of upholding and protecting human rights. CAF must ensure that FIFA’s decision must reflect its unwavering commitment to human rights and fair treatment for all. By holding Saudi Arabia accountable for its human and labour rights practices, FIFA can ensure that the beautiful game remains a beacon of fair play, respect, and dignity for all. We urge you to consider these issues seriously and act to protect the integrity of the World Cup and the beautiful game itself,” said the letter.
Detailed abuses of migrant workers were highlighted. “In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, migrant workers, especially Africans, are given the most crude and brutal human treatment. Exposure of African migrant workers to all manner of discrimination, hate, extremist and racist treatment by their Saudi Arabian employers seems normal. Women workers endure the worst of the treatments, including sexual, verbal and physical harassment and violence,” the letter continued.
“African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia face regular threats to stay silent and not demand their rights. To do otherwise, these affected workers face dire consequences of further maltreatment. An African migrant worker who refused forced silence on account of wage delay, denial and theft suffered a brutal and fatal end as she was set ablaze to serve as a deterrent to others.”
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