By Paul Nicholson
September 24 – Sylvia Schenk, the former German athlete and lawyer who leads the Sport working group of the Sport and Rights Alliance has said that Qataris have a “right to catapult themselves into modernity and I find it a very exciting development”, Referring to the programme of labour reform that Qatar has begun, she said that the “World Cup can be an accelerator for change beyond the infrastructure”.
Speaking to the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee website, Schenk recognised the steps that the Qataris have made in the wake of international criticism of their labour laws as they build towards 2022.
She said that she hoped the steps taken towards reform of working practices by the World Cup organising committee would be reflected in non-football related infrastructure projects.
During her visit she met with Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. “We talked already in Frankfurt about the Kafala system reform and that any delays on this are not helpful, but I saw here that there is a lot happening on this Khalifa Stadium construction site,” she said.
“One needs to extend this to construction sites not directly linked to the World Cup and can hope that this will spread to other sites which are not related to the World Cup, and also into the neighbouring countries.
“It is not only Qatar which has to deal with these issues and perhaps Qatar is the most advanced in the region in dealing with these problems and changing things. That is sometimes portrayed in a quite one-sided way in Europe and North America.”
Schenk also recognised the wider social role that the World Cup is promoting in country. “With the Qatar National Vision 2030 in mind, they are for example also looking at women’s rights, all the way to the women’s national team they are developing in football. It is a very thorough approach and very strategic.”
She also acknowledged the role of women in the development saying: “I find it very interesting how mega-events can propel social change, if it is done in the right way. I still remember on the 2nd of December during the bid presentations in Zurich, Qatar’s was the only delegation where a woman said something. Everyone else, the Americans, the English, the Australians, only had men who were presenting.
“So back then I thought: I would not have expected this, they surprised me in a positive manner. I knew Monika Staab very well, who built up women’s football here, and I find that a huge step for equal rights and health issues.”
Schenk concludes, having met the Supreme Committee’s Workers’ Welfare Unit and be briefed about the Standards which they are implementing, “that the SC’s experts would fit into the same discussion in Europe or the USA: how do we take the next steps, how do we take this forward. They were very credible and I believe they are doing the best to improve conditions.
“I think that is something positive and I hope they will have the support needed to be successful.”
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