Qatar: Football World Cup 2022

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2021 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Collins of Highbury]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of preparations for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and their compatibility with (1) human rights, and (2) journalistic freedoms.

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, we continue to work with Qatar to support its delivery of a safe and secure World Cup. As with all tournaments, we will work closely with host authorities on the safety of British nationals attending, including fans, journalists and players. Our close ties with Qatar allow us to engage on a range of topics and we raise human rights issues whenever required, which includes in the context of the World Cup.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, eight years ago, the International Trade Union Confederation warned of Qatar’s failure to collect statistics relating to deaths and injuries of migrant workers. It is a scandal that Qatar continues to hide the true picture. In its report published 10 days ago, the ILO identified gaps in the collection of data on work-related deaths and injuries and called for improvement, stressing that we must move with urgency as behind each statistic there is a worker and their family. What representations have the Government made to Qatar on the ILO report? Will the noble Lord come back to the House on progress made on its implementation, so that further injuries or deaths are prevented and the families of those killed or injured receive proper compensation?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

Everyone deserves the right to work safely and securely, whether that be in Qatar, the UK or elsewhere. Having engaged with the Qatari authorities, the International Labour Organization, as the noble Lord has just noted, published this month a comprehensive report containing recommendations for improving data collection and analysis on occupational injuries and fatalities. This is an important step, and we welcome that. It is also one of the key elements of Qatar’s national policy on occupational safety and health. We therefore expect close collaboration between the Government of Qatar and the ILO during the second phase of their technical co-operation programme, which will run until the end of 2023. We also encourage continued co-operation with entities such as international trade unions. As the noble Lord has noted, the ILO report notes that it is not currently possible to safely present a categorical figure on the number of occupational injuries and fatalities in Qatar.