"FIFA/Qatar: Commit to Compensate Abused Migrant Workers", 12 Aug 2022

When the Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) awarded Qatar the 2022 World Cup hosting rights in 2010, FIFA did not impose conditions that required Qatar to improve labor protections despite a track record of rights abuses. Consequently, human rights groups and journalists repeatedly documented serious abuses against migrant workers in Qatar while employed to deliver infrastructure essential to the tournament. In recent years, Qatari authorities have created several compensation systems to mitigate these longstanding problems, but the systems do not cover all workers or address abuses in the years before they began, mostly after 2018, and significant gaps remain.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 16 migrant workers from various countries, and an additional 13 people from companies and government agencies who are knowledgeable about existing compensation programs and current gaps. Research indicated that a comprehensive, large-scale remedy program could benefit from existing records and compensation schemes in both Qatar and origin countries, even if these programs are insufficient by themselves to address the extent of the abuses.

These systems also have various problems, including lack of awareness among migrant workers or slow responses because of understaffing or consular staff reticence to proactively follow-up with concerned Qatari authorities or companies...