Human rights organizations say that the Canada Soccer Association is "missing in taking initiative" when it comes to speaking out publicly against human rights violations in Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Over the past year, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other groups have contacted 32 national football associations qualified to compete in the World Cup in Qatar.
 

Minky Worden, Global Initiatives Director at Human Rights Watch, told CTV News yesterday, Thursday, "We think it is particularly important that football associations and countries that put human rights at the core of their policies speak out."

She explained that due to labor rights violations that severely harmed and killed migrant workers, lack of rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people, and women's rights, Worden said it is very important for countries opposing these injustices to express their stance.

Recently, 16 players from the Australian men's football team released a three-minute video highlighting Qatar's human rights record while calling for real reform.

Worden pointed out that seven countries - including Germany, the United States, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands - also spoke out against human rights violations, which include forced labor, unpaid wages, and neglected construction areas that put workers in life-threatening situations.

Other atrocities also include limited press freedom and the absence of women's rights.

But Worden said Canada was "terrifyingly" silent and "completely missing in taking a stance" when it came to declaring opposition to these injustices.

Worden also said, "Human Rights Watch has written to Canada Soccer six times since April requesting a meeting to inform [the organization] about these horrific human rights violations." 

With $220 billion allocated for infrastructure in Qatar over the past 12 years, Worden noted that the upcoming World Cup is the most expensive sporting event ever.

She also said, "The cost was not only financial," but "actually came at the expense of workers' lives."

 She explained that workers who migrated from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Kenya have been working in Qatar for over a decade, building eight new stadiums, airport expansions, new roads, and a revamped metro system.

"These are the workers who left their homes to build a better life for themselves and their children, but in many cases returned home in coffins." 

Although the World Cup competition will be held in Qatar, Worden said, "There is still much we can do" to repair some of the damage.

"It is possible for FIFA and Qatar to establish a compensation fund so these families, and the children of these workers, have the chance to go to school so they do not end up being the next generation of migrant workers without basic human rights. 

She explained that "According to Amnesty International's website, the Qatari government signed an agreement with the International Labour Organization in 2017, promising to align its laws with international labor standards."

 Worden also explained that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called on FIFA and the Qatari government to allocate at least $440 million as a compensation fund to compensate migrant workers.

She said, "It is equivalent to the World Cup prize."

But Worden said the Canadian Soccer Association did not respond to several emails today requesting comment, and neither FIFA nor the Qatari government committed to supporting the fund.