Qatar Foundation

Qatari sports executives, in a bid to refute calls for depriving Qatar of its 2022 World Cup hosting rights, have asked their human rights and trade union critics, as well as world football body FIFA, to give them more time to address criticism of the Gulf state's kafala or sponsorship system that puts employees at the mercy of their employers.

The adoption of a human rights declaration by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that was designed to shield wealthy Gulf monarchies, including 2022 World Cup host Qatar, from criticism by human rights and trade union activists is likely to increase pressure on the sports-focused Gulf state to significantly alter its controversial migrant labor system.

Qatar prepares to deport workers who engaged in labor action for better rights, leading many to question its commitment to improving conditions Qatar has signaled its intention to reject demands by activists to grant union and collective bargaining rights to migrant workers with the expected deportation of around 100 South Asian laborers who went on strike to protest low pay and poor condition

Qatar, caught in a Catch-22 between a requirement to quickly reform its labor system in a bid to convince human rights and trade union activists that it is serious on workers’ rights and the domestic need to proceed slowly, risks losing the goodwill it has built in recent years that could further fuel demands to deprive the Gulf state of its 2022 World Cup hosting rights.

A long-awaited Qatar Foundation report recommends a radical overhaul of the labor recruitment system in Asian labor exporting countries as well as the Gulf state that expects to host the 2022 World Cup.
 
The report however stops short of calling for the abolition of Qatar’s widely criticized kafala or sponsorship system.