Download the full report - Human Rights Watch
Download the full report - Human Rights Watch
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH<br />
350 Fifth Avenue, 34 th Floor<br />
New York, NY 10118-3299<br />
Tel: 212-290-4700<br />
Fax: 212-736-1300<br />
<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> Letter to <strong>the</strong> Qatar Supreme<br />
Committee – May 15, 2012<br />
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH<br />
A FRICA DIVISION<br />
A DVISORY COMMITTEE<br />
Hassan Elmasry, Co-Chair<br />
Kathleen Peratis, Co-Chair<br />
Asli Bali, Officer<br />
Prince Moulay Hicham, Officer<br />
Bruce Rabb, Officer<br />
Gary G. Sick, Officer<br />
Gamal Abouali<br />
Wajeha Al Huwaider<br />
Ghanim Alnajjar<br />
Lisa Anderson<br />
Shaul Bakhash<br />
M. Cherif Bassiouni<br />
David Bernstein<br />
Nathan Brown<br />
Paul Chevigny<br />
Ahmad Deek<br />
Hanaa Edwar<br />
Mansour Farhang<br />
Fadi Ghandour<br />
Aeyal Gross<br />
Amr Hamzawy<br />
Asos Hardi<br />
Bahey El Din Hassan<br />
Rita E. Hauser<br />
Salah al-Hejailan<br />
Shawan Jabarin<br />
Robert James<br />
Mehrangiz Kar<br />
Edy Kaufman<br />
Marina Pinto Kaufman<br />
Ann M. Lesch<br />
Robert Malley<br />
Ahmed Mansoor<br />
Stephen P. Marks<br />
Rolando Matalon<br />
Habib Nassar<br />
Abdelaziz Nouaydi<br />
Nabeel Rajab<br />
Victoria Riskin<br />
Charles Shamas<br />
Sid Sheinberg<br />
Sussan Tahmasebi<br />
Mustapha Tlili<br />
Andrew Whitley<br />
James Zogby<br />
<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong><br />
Kenneth Roth, Executive Director<br />
Michele Alexander, Deputy Executive Director, Development and<br />
Outreach<br />
Carroll Bogert, Deputy Executive Director, External<br />
Relations<br />
Emma Daly, Communications Director<br />
Barbara Guglielmo, Director of Operations (Acting)<br />
Peggy Hicks, Global Advocacy Director<br />
Iain Levine, Deputy Executive Director, Program<br />
Dinah PoKempner, General Counsel<br />
James Ross, Legal & Policy Director<br />
Joe Saunders, Deputy Program Director<br />
James F. Hoge, Jr., Chair<br />
May 15, 2012<br />
Hassan Abdullah Al-Thawadi<br />
Secretary-General<br />
Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022<br />
Via Fax: +<br />
Dear Mr. Mr. Al-Thawadi,<br />
I am writing to you on behalf of <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> to raise our concerns<br />
about workers’ rights in advance of <strong>the</strong> 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. We<br />
also wish to inquire about steps <strong>the</strong> Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022<br />
has taken or plans to take to ensure that all public and private entities<br />
involved in construction related to <strong>the</strong> 2022 World Cup <strong>full</strong>y uphold human<br />
rights, including labor rights, in keeping with <strong>the</strong> obligation of <strong>the</strong><br />
government of Qatar to protect human rights and <strong>the</strong> widely-recognized<br />
principle that businesses also have a responsibility to respect human<br />
rights. We have written <strong>the</strong> government of Qatar, including His Highness<br />
<strong>the</strong> Emir as well as <strong>the</strong> Minister of Labor, regarding our concerns and are<br />
writing to you as well in view of your key role as <strong>the</strong> local organizing<br />
committee for <strong>the</strong> 2022 World Cup.<br />
<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> is an independent, international nongovernmental<br />
organization that monitors human rights in more than 90 countries<br />
worldwide. We have been monitoring <strong>the</strong> human rights of migrant workers<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Middle East, and in particular <strong>the</strong> Gulf states, for many years. In<br />
previous <strong>report</strong>s, we have documented widespread abuse of migrant<br />
workers’ rights arising from restrictive immigration policies, heavy<br />
migration and recruitment fees, a lack of legal protections in countries of<br />
employment, and inadequate enforcement of those protections that do<br />
exist. We have urged reform of government policies and practices that<br />
BEIRUT BUILDING · BERLIN A BETTER · BRUSSELS WORLD · CHICAGO CUP · GENEVA · JOHANNESBURG- LONDON 120 · LOS ANGELES · MOSCOW · NEW YORK · PARIS · SAN FRANCISCO -<br />
TOKYO · TORONTO · WASHINGTON