FIFA praises Qatar and its newspapers refute the "smear campaigns"
While FIFA praises Qatar's "actual and remarkable progress" in addressing human rights issues, European Voices is launching a programmed campaign against Qatar, which hosts the World Cup on November 20.
During a parliamentary hearing in the Council of Europe, Alasdair Bell, Deputy Secretary-General of FIFA, said that there has been clear progress in the improvement of human and labor rights in Qatar, a process in which FIFA has been actively involved, which the International Labor Organization and the Federation of International unions and other institutions.
“This is the result of a concerted effort to improve standards, and the World Cup has served as an important catalyst for positive change in legislation in Qatar. For example, Qatar has begun to abolish the sponsorship system, establish a non-discriminatory minimum wage, and strengthen protections against The stress caused by the high temperatures, and the establishment of labor committees.
He added that "there is remarkable progress in Qatar and we have made great efforts with the Qatari authorities and NGOs, and the prevailing conditions for workers at the World Cup sites have become a norm in Qatar, and in 2020 about 250 thousand people were able to change their jobs thanks to these reforms."
Bell stressed that "about 300,000 workers have benefited from the application of the minimum wage, and we will study the available ways to build on these reforms and ensure their sustainability. A center is currently being studied in Qatar that provides advice to migrant workers, as well as the possibility of treating anyone who has been injured, and these matters are not easy to launch. ".
This week, local Qatari newspapers criticized, in their editorials and cartoons, "smear campaigns" against Qatar.
Al-Sharq newspaper published a cartoon showing the World Cup in large size, with arrows scattered around it, some of which are crooked or broken, and symbolize the criticism faced by the gas-rich Gulf state.
The newspaper denounced the "lies, rumors and slanders" spread by the media in Europe about the preparations for the 2022 World Cup.
Al-Sharq referred to a "media conspiracy against any non-European country hosting the World Cup."
In its editorial, it criticized the "systematic media campaign by the media of some European countries" that threatens to boycott the World Cup because of the rights of workers in Qatar, at a time when "this media forgets the miserable conditions experienced by workers in Europe."
The newspaper pointed out that the European media criticized the countries that hosted the last 3 editions of the World Cup, which were organized outside Europe. And she considered that "this media every time creates a story for each country hosting the tournament from outside the old continent."
She added, "Lit Brazil (2014) with poverty, South Africa (2010) with lack of security, Russia (2018) with freedoms, and Qatar with workers."
In turn, Al-Raya newspaper headlined its editorial: "Our friends in the West Do not repeat the mistakes of the past against Qatar," referring to a blog published by the Washington Post in 2015 highlighting the death of a thousand workers on World Cup projects, but later corrected after objection Qatari government.
The newspaper gave advice to Western countries, writing, "Let us refrain from smear campaigns, and let us cooperate for a World Cup that unites the peoples."
For her part, Qatari artist Ghada Al-Khater wrote in an opinion piece published by the English-speaking "Doha News" platform, "Forgive me for questioning the intentions of European countries that during the past decade have been standing and watching migrants fleeing conflict, destruction and poverty ... drowning in the Mediterranean."
And the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, confirmed - before the United Nations General Assembly last month - that all fans will be welcomed in this year's World Cup "without discrimination."
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