abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb

Cette page n’est pas disponible en Français et est affichée en English

Le contenu est également disponible dans les langues suivantes: English, 한국어

Affaire

4 Nov 2024

Saudi Arabia: BHRLA responds to football, human rights & worker organisations’ "deep concern" at member Clifford Chance "flawed" 2034 World Cup assessment

As a former domestic worker in Saudi Arabia from Kenya, I know that women like me are often treated like slaves. Women especially face sexual and other gender abuse. I’m in regular contact with workers in horrific situations in Saudi Arabia. Now, the hundreds of thousands of people expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia to build stadiums and clean hotels ahead of the World Cup are at great risk of severe exploitation and even death. How can these realities have escaped AS&H Clifford Chance’s attention?
Equidem investigator Martha Waithira

Eleven organisations - human rights groups, football supporters and worker organisations - have written to global law firm Clifford Chance over concerns AS&H Clifford Chance, which is based in Riyadh, has conducted and produced a "shockingly poor" human rights risk assessment published by FIFA and expected to provide the basis for awarding the hosting and staging of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia.

Three overarching concerns were identified:

  • That AS&H Clifford Chance agreed to a decision by FIFA and the Saudi Arabia Football Federation to effectively exclude analysis of Saudi Arabia’s record on multiple critical human rights because Saudi Arabia has not ratified the relevant treaties or because SAFF did not accept them as “applying”
  • That the assessment made highly selective use of the findings of UN bodies on Saudi Arabia, leaving out damaging judgements.
  • That there is no evidence that AS&H Clifford Chance consulted external experts , such as people who might be affected by human rights abuses linked to the tournament, Saudi Arabian human rights experts or organisations, international human rights organisations, or trade unions.
It has been clear for more than a year now that FIFA is determined to remove all potential obstacles to make sure it can hand Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the 2034 World Cup. By producing a shockingly poor report, AS&H Clifford Chance, part of one of the world’s largest law firms that makes much of its human rights expertise, has helped to remove a key final stumbling block.
James Lynch, co-director of FairSquare

FIFA did not respond to an invitation from Amnesty International to confirm on what basis the organisation agreed with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to limit the scope of the rights assessment conducted by AS&H Clifford Chance. Clifford Chance said:

"Clifford Chance’s policies with respect to responsible business are available at https://www.cliffordchance.com/about_us/who-we-are-and-how-we-work/policies.html. While we appreciate your enquiry, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on this specific engagement beyond the content contained in the published report."

AS&H Clifford Chance had the chance to write a credible assessment of risks that are relevant to the 2034 World Cup. Instead they have produced an artificially limited, misleading and overly positive perspective, that serves only to whitewash the reality of abuse and discrimination faced by Saudi Arabia’s citizens and residents
Julia Legner, Executive Director of ALQST for Human Rights, a Saudi Arabian diaspora organisation

Clifford Chance is a founding member and co-chair of the Business & Human Rights Lawyers Association. The Resource Centre invited BHRLA to respond to allegations that one of its members is “at risk of being linked to abuses which result from the tournament”, and asked it to provide information on:

  1. How it ensures standards are upheld among all members to adhere to internationally recognised human rights principles, including that rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
  2. How it ensures its members undertake human rights risk assessments in line with the internationally-recognised standard contained in the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (Principles 18) that companies:
    1. Draw on internal and/ or independent external human rights expertise; and,
    2. Involve meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups and other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate to the size of the business enterprise and the nature and context of the operation; and,
  3. What action BHRLA can and plans to take if it is found those standards are not met and if it establishes the publication does indeed link its member to abuses resulting from the tournament, as has been alleged.

BHRLA's responses can be read in full below.

Réponses de l'entreprise

Business & Human Rights Lawyers Association Voir la réponse

Chronologie

Informations sur la confidentialité

Ce site utilise des cookies et d'autres technologies de stockage web. Vous pouvez définir vos choix en matière de confidentialité ci-dessous. Les changements prendront effet immédiatement.

Pour plus d'informations sur notre utilisation du stockage web, veuillez vous référer à notre Politique en matière d'utilisation des données et de cookies

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Cookie analytique

ON
OFF

Lorsque vous accédez à notre site Web, nous utilisons Google Analytics pour collecter des informations sur votre visite. Autoriser ce cookie nous permettra de comprendre en plus de détails sur votre parcours et d'améliorer la façon dont nous diffusons les informations. Toutes les informations analytiques sont anonymes et nous ne les utilisons pas pour vous identifier. Outre la possibilité que vous avez de refuser des cookies, vous pouvez installer le module pour la désactivation de Google Analytics.

Cookies promotionels

ON
OFF

Nous partageons des nouvelles et des mises à jour sur les entreprises et les droits de l'homme via des plateformes tierces, y compris les médias sociaux et les moteurs de recherche. Ces cookies nous aident à comprendre les performances de ces items.

Vos choix en matière de confidentialité pour ce site

Ce site utilise des cookies et d'autres technologies de stockage web pour améliorer votre expérience au-delà des fonctionnalités de base nécessaires.