UEFA receives the guarantee that those who carry rainbow flags “will be well received”

The UEFA Working Group, on its third visit to Qatar Since May 2021, he received the guarantee, from institutions and personalities of the Arab country, that fans who carry rainbow flags “will be well received” during the World Cup, according to the body chaired by Alexander Ceferin through a statement.

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The UEFA Working Group, made up of senior representatives of the member associations and chaired by Michele Uvamet with key Qatari institutions and personalities to discuss various issues.

The football institution spoke with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, with the Qatar Football Association, with the Hotel Sector Working Group, with the Ministry of Labour, with the National Human Rights Committee, with the FIFAwith migrant workers of multiple nationalities and different sectors, with the Center for Sports and Human Rights and with the Institute of Human Rights and Business.

With everyone, the UEFA focused conversations on topics such as human rights, grievance mechanisms, LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex) rights, and press freedom.

The UEFAin the aforementioned statement, pointed out that the rights of the LGBTQI + collective were “widely discussed” and stressed that “guarantees were given” that the fans will be safely received “with rainbow flags” in line with the previous declarations of welcome to all the world to Qatar and of respect for local culture and customs.

“The group asked if the hotel staff were informed about the need to welcome all guests without discrimination and obtained guarantees that this will be the case,” added the UEFA.

The Working Group also discussed workers’ rights and recognized that “significant” progress has been made with the impact of legislative changes demonstrated in recent International Labor Organization (ILO) reports on Qatar.

New labor laws

“Since the new labor laws were introduced in 2020, 242,000 workers were able to change jobs (compared to less than 18,000 the previous year). In addition, 280,000 workers received salary increases from the minimum wage. In addition, 338 companies were closed last summer due to Non-compliances and heat-related disorders have dramatically decreased since 2019 by 400 percent. UEFA.

Even so, he stressed that although the legislative evolution is positive, it was found that a universal application is still necessary. And, from the meeting with the migrant workers, the UEFA confirmed progress but highlighted the need for additional legal support, a shelter for abused workers and translation services so that workers can fill out official forms and have access to information about their rights.

Likewise, from the individual experiences dealt with by the UEFA with the workers, the body chaired by Ceferin He highlighted the need for them and companies to better understand the new laws. Therefore, he concludes, one model to address all of these issues is the concept of the Immigrant Worker Center.

“Significant progress was seen in terms of further development to enable Joint Committees in different sectors and communities. 30 have been created, which will serve as a foundation for future worker representation and will continue to drive progress in Qatar. A target of 100 joint committees has been set for next year,” added the UEFA.

workers compensation

The issue of compensation for workers who were injured or lost their lives in construction projects related to the World Cup was also discussed and the Group agreed that any injury or death on any job in any country should be compensated .

“The Supreme Committee outlined the procedures of the existing grievance mechanisms and FIFA noted that it is currently studying the compensation mechanisms and committed to reply to the NGOs within three weeks and to keep the UEFA Working Group informed.” .

In addition, the Working Group met with the Supreme Committee and with representatives of the five major hotel chains in Qatar for up-to-date information on the hotel due diligence process.

In this regard, it was clarified that each hotel in Qatar has been audited at least twice as part of the ongoing process to ensure compliance with the legislation. “The federations also committed to conducting due diligence on all major local suppliers, in collaboration with the Hospitality Task Force.”

“We are grateful to all institutions”

“We can look back on more than a year of activities, with seven Working Group meetings and three visits to Qatar. We are grateful to the Supreme Committee and all the institutions involved for being open in our dialogue and finding solutions with a view to to incorporate human rights considerations as an essential pillar of sustainable football events,” said Uva.