- Summary
- Flawed Recruitment
- Worker Complaints
- Inadequate Redress
- Qatar Law
- Necessary Steps
- Photo Feature
- Methodology
- I. Background
- Qatar's Migrant Population and the Construction Industry
- The Winning Bid: World Cup 2022
- The World Cup and Workers' Rights
- II. Qatari Law and International Legal Obligations
- National Law
- Qatar's International Legal Obligations
- Business and Human Rights Responsibilities
- III. Abuse of Migrant Workers
- Protection Gaps in the Recruitment Process
- Violations of the Labor Law, Terms and Conditions of Employment
- Problems in the Sponsorship System
- Inadequate Monitoring and Redress Mechanisms
- IV. Recommendations
- To the Government of Qatar
- To Labor-Sending Countries Including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka
- To FIFA
- To Construction, Labor-Supply, and Other Companies Working in Qatar, Including Companies Awarded or that Win Bids to Build World Cup-Related Projects or Infrastructure
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix: Human Rights Watch Correspondence With Relevant Parties
- Human Rights Watch's Preliminary Findings (Sent as an Attachment to All Parties Below)
- Human Rights Watch Letter to the Qatari Labor Ministry--September 26, 2011
- Labor Ministry Response to Human Rights Watch--November 1, 2011
- Human Rights Watch Letter to the Qatar Supreme Committee--May 15, 2012
- Qatar Supreme Committee Response to Human Rights Watch--May 29, 2012
- Human Rights Watch Letter to CH2M HILL--May 15, 2012
- CH2M HILL Response to Human Rights Watch--May 29, 2012
- Human Rights Watch Letter to Aspire Logistics--May 15, 2012
- Aspire Logistics Response to Human Rights Watch--May 29, 2012
- Human Rights Watch Letter to Bechtel--May 15, 2012
- Bechtel Response to Human Rights Watch--May 29, 2012.
"In December 2010, the small Gulf state of Qatar won its bid to host the 2022 World Cup--a first for an Arab country. Over the next decade the country will undertake massive new construction to support the quadrennial world championship soccer games. Underpinning this push is a vast army of migrant workers, who comprise a staggering 94 percent of Qatar's workforce--1.2 million of its 1.7 million residents--the highest percentage of migrants to citizens in the world. Qatar's World Cup selection means that worker recruitment will reach new heights: media have reported that over a million additional workers may be needed to carry out World Cup-related construction. Yet the deeply problematic working conditions of migrant workers throughout the country mean that realizing Qatar's World Cup vision may depend on their abuse and exploitation unless adequate measures are taken to address the human rights problems widespread in the construction industry in Qatar. This report documents pervasive employer exploitation and abuse of workers in Qatar's construction industry, made possible by an inadequate legal and regulatory framework that grants employers extensive control over workers and prohibits migrant workers from exercising their rights to free association and collective bargaining. It also addresses the government's failure to enforce those laws that at least on paper are designed to protect worker rights. It examines why violations of workers' rights go largely undetected, and looks at the barriers that workers face in reporting complaints or seeking redress. The report includes recommendations to the government on legal reforms and implementation mechanisms, and to the relevant private sector actors on public commitments that could alleviate such abuses moving forward."--P. [4] of cover.
