November 06, (THEWILL) – The Qatar World Cup must “support human rights” according to a UEFA working group made up of ten European countries.
Due to worries over Qatar’s human rights record, including the treatment of migrant workers and the criminalisation of homosexuality, the decision to host the World Cup there has drawn significant criticism.
Amnesty International charged FIFA of trivialising these issues when president Gianni Infantino and secretary general, Fatma Samoura, urged World Cup participants to “focus on the football”, in a Sunday statement that insisted on the need to consider human rights issues.
It read: “We acknowledge, and welcome, as we have done in the past, that significant progress has been made by Qatar, particularly with regards to the rights of migrant workers, with the impact of legislative changes demonstrated in the International Labour Organisation’s recent reports”, the statement read.
“We welcome the assurances given by the Qatari Government and by FIFA regarding the safety, security and inclusion of all fans who travel to the World Cup, including LGBTQ+ fans. We also recognise that every country has issues and challenges and we agree with FIFA that diversity is a strength.
“However, embracing diversity and tolerance also means supporting human rights. Human rights are universal and they apply everywhere.”
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