All the criticism of Qatar made a difference

Anyone who continues to criticize the World Cup in Qatar is too late. There is not much that can be achieved in the short term, says Daniela Hurdt, who specializes in human rights during major sports tournaments at the Asser Institute of International Law. Addressing the abuse, as it certainly has in the past year, has had an impact, Hurdt says. “This whole year with the World Cup in Qatar and the Olympic Games in China has helped tremendously in putting sport and human rights on the map.”

This does not legally change anything for the migrant workers who were exploited or died while building the stadiums in Qatar. FIFA is also feeling the pressure, Herdt says. It is no coincidence that FIFA is deploying volunteers for the first time at the World Cup in Qatar this year to monitor compliance with human rights conventions before, during and after matches. “It’s basically about that game timeRisks such as discrimination during safety checks. The question is how effective will it be.”

rainbow flags

Hurdt expects that visitors’ rights will be guaranteed during the World Cup. “In the stadium, for example, rainbow flags are allowed to wave. Members of the LGBTI community are not arrested. Qatar knows the whole world is watching. But what happens after the World Cup is much more important. Because gay people also live in Qatar. What will happen to them? This It’s why staying connected is so important, especially now that there are changes that haven’t happened in that area before.”

Because it lacks nuances in it. Hurdt: Legislation has already changed in Qatar in favor of workers’ human rights. And although it is mainly written on paper, it goes very slowly and does not apply to everyone, this is the first time that a major sporting event has been answered. We did not see that, for example, in 2018 in Russia, or in 2014 in Brazil.

Moreover, says Hurdt, large sports organizations are responding to criticism. “If you see where the next major tournaments will be held (the Olympic Games in Paris and the World Cup in America, Mexico and Canada, ed.), it seems to me a sign that sports organizations are hoping to take less risks, but it is important to realize that there are also opportunities to promote rights person in the period leading up to a sporting event.

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