Amnesty International asserts that despite the conclusion of the Qatar World Cup, worker abuses persist, and insufficient measures have been taken to safeguard their rights.

Leading up to last year’s World Cup, organizers faced widespread criticism for their treatment of migrant workers. A 2021 report by The Guardian claimed that 6,500 South Asian migrant workers died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010. The majority of these workers were involved in low-wage, hazardous labor, often conducted in extreme heat. While the report did not explicitly link all 6,500 deaths to World Cup projects and lacks independent verification by CNN, concerns about worker conditions were raised.

Hassan Al Thawadi, responsible for overseeing Qatar’s preparations, disputed The Guardian’s figure, deeming it a “sensational headline” lacking context. However, in its 2021 report, Amnesty International criticized Qatari authorities for failing to investigate “thousands” of migrant worker deaths over the past decade, emphasizing the need for proper examination due to evidence linking premature deaths to unsafe working conditions.

Amnesty International’s Head of Economic Social Justice, Steve Cockburn, stressed the urgency for Qatar to enhance workers’ rights, emphasizing that the lack of enforcement or strengthening of pre-World Cup labor reforms jeopardizes any potential positive legacy for workers. The organization remains unaware of improvements in investigating workers’ deaths, citing ongoing issues such as wage theft by employers and the continued abuse of migrant workers’ rights.

Reiterating its 10-point plan released before the 2022 World Cup, Amnesty International calls for an end to forced labor, the allowance of trade unions, and compensation for historical abuses. In response, FIFA acknowledged “significant progress” in Qatar but conceded that the enforcement of transformative reforms takes time and heightened efforts are necessary to ensure the well-being of all workers in the country.