16/06/2021

Recent reports on the mistreatment of labourers in Qatar have sparked fierce discussions and condemnation. It is claimed that more than six thousand labourers have lost their lives while working on getting Qatar ready to host the World Cup in 2022, with thousands still working in despicable conditions, with little to no wages, and having no resources to return to their homelands. Human rights organizations have advocated the case to be severely dealt with in accordance with international law.

The global response to this request is a mix of excitement and anxiety. Qatar tried evading responsibility by claiming that such violations are done by the corporations involved and are not endorsed by the government. This argument, in principle, is objectionable on multiple grounds.

FIFA and violations of international law

FIFA has a long history of allegations over human rights violations. It has a governing council supervising the ethics board which deals with the overall human rights issues, among others, regarding national boards, teams, and individual players, and support staff. The 2015 FIFA corruption crisis made international headlines. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene and FIFA experienced its worst nightmare which came amidst its spurious claims about reforms.

But the ghost inside FIFA denied dying so easily. When Russia and Qatar were facing human rights issues, FIFA came to their rescue and made sure they didn’t lose hosting rights to their respective World Cup’s. Gender inequality is another issue that FIFA grapples with. Its approach to dealing with sexual harassment and gender biases is less than satisfactory.

What we are seeing today is people dying in Qatar and FIFA acquiescing over the reports. Human Rights Watch reasons such acquiescence as FIFA’s priority to money over lives. Countless corporations make millions from FIFA and they sensibly do impact the decision making. Nevertheless, FIFA criticized any mistreatment of workers and called upon Qatar to pay them standard wages and arrange for their proper care in accordance with international humanitarian law. In the aftermath of optimism, Amnesty International said that FIFA is devoid of any executory mechanism and, at its best, can only “hope” for better treatment by the Qatar government.

The panacea that is international law

The ICCPR and ARISWA both can be used to hold Qatar accountable.

Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARISWA) has codified the customary international law on every action of the state that violates international law. Article II of ARISWA holds the state liable for every international law violation. The state includes every individual impliedly acting under “direct control” of the government; be it a police officer or the president. Article V read with Article VIII says that the state bears the responsibility for every action under its direct or indirect supervision.

Qatar has accepted the human rights violations and has transferred the guilt onto the corporations and firms involved in the World Cup. The workers are hired directly by these firms and have been managed under their supervision. However, this does not allow Qatar to skip liability under ARISWA. The government has failed to provide any medical aid, reasonable wages, and has done almost nothing to ameliorate working conditions. Even the laws that were already in place were not implemented and the workers were left at the mercy of the corporations.

Article IX of the ARISWA states that “conduct carried out in the absence or default of the official authorities” is punishable. Article IX suggests that the failure of the state to take proper steps to stop human rights abuses is enough to make it liable. There is enough evidence available with the human rights agencies to ascertain that countless workers have been abused.

Article 8(2) of the ICCPR states that no one should be held in slavery and the slave trade is prohibited. The only exceptions are “servitude” and “compulsory labour.” Qatar had forced workers to work on building infrastructure for conducting games and hence attracts no exceptions. The absence of any legal or medical aid makes a case under Article 10 which mandates that persons deprived of personal liberty are to be treated with humanity and dignity. This makes a perfect case for holding Qatar liable under ARISWA and ICCPR and no spurious camouflaging can help it.

Qatar needs to respect the human rights of foreign workers. Media reports are horrifying and disturbing. International law, at any cost, cannot condone any drastic loss of life even if it includes millions of dollars from big corporate. FIFA’s acquiesce and impotency on Russia and its dismayed past bolster the incipient of the international law. ARISWA and ICCPR provide solutions that hold Qatar directly liable even while FIFA does not have any such executory mechanism. Article II and IX of ARISWA can hold Qatar responsible for the acts done by corporations involved in the World Cup. ICCPR further strengthens this and, because it is ratified by most of the countries, establishes a strong precedent for the future.

Source: https://intpolicydigest.org