The Peninsula
Minister of Labour H E Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri affirmed that the slanderous allegations and negative campaign against Qatar began to take a tipping point by adopting hate and racist rhetoric with the aim of offending the Qatari people and their national team.
He rejected hate speech and systematic racism towards Qatari people, Qatar and Qatari team. The Minister made it clear that the campaign run by some against Qatar has escalated over the past weeks without real justifications, pointing out that what the World Cup is being exposed to in Qatar amounts to intellectual and media terrorism and gaslighting on racist pretexts.
Minister of Labour participated in the European Parliament hearing on labour reforms in Qatar, which took place in Brussels, upon an invitation by Human Rights Subcommittee and the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Arabian Peninsula.
International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Trade Union Confederation, and Human Rights Watch participated in the hearing, in the presence of members of the European Union Subcommittee on Human Rights, a large number of parliamentarians, diplomats and some international media.
The Minister called on international human rights organisations to take stringent positions against all those who practise racist and hate attacks against the Qatari people and their national team, pointing out the need for organisations to monitor all unjustified racist violations.
He explained that whoever runs the negative campaign against Qatar has not only lost their real compass, but also lost the logic and rationality of presentation. He said that it is illogical to say that 6,500 workers died during the period of building and equipping the World Cup facilities, according to what was mentioned in the media. That is an average of two deaths a day.
He noted that the death count and mortality rates published in the media are increasing every day away from professional ethics and criterion, noting that "every day we hear a new number of victims, some of whom said 6,500 and others said 10,000 and others 15,000 as if we are in a public auction to bid daily".
The Minister indicated that the projects implemented in partnership between the Ministry of Labour and ILO will remain sustainable during the coming period.
He pointed out that the false slander campaign transgressed all limits in its attempt to discredit Qatar, the latest of which was the claim that the World Cup organisers used fake fans who receive money to attend the matches, noting that the campaign led to accusing the people of Qatar of not having a football culture to host the World Cup.
He stressed that Doha welcomes all fans without discrimination, as they will find in Qatar nothing but welcome, friendliness and mutual respect, pointing out that the World Cup will be one of the most beautiful and wonderful events that draws joy and peace and corrects misconceptions on Arab and Islamic region.
Marina Arena, Chairperson of the Sub-Committee of the European Parliament for Human Rights, said a number of human rights organisations have talked about labour conditions in Qatar, particularly those working on projects relevant to constructing World Cup facilities. Arena pointed out that ILO welcomed the progress made in labour legislation in Qatar although there are still some challenges.
Parliament’s Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the Arab Peninsula Hannah Neumann, explained that Qatar has worked to pass many new laws and legislation related to migrant workers, including the Minimum Wage Law and the Workers’ Support Fund.
Max Tuñón, the head of the ILO Office in Doha, said that Qatar has approved a series of legislation and regulations to improve the work environment, pointing out that during the previous two years and within the abandonment of kafala system, more than 350,000 workers have changed their employers.
Joel Odigie ,the Assistant Secretary General at African Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, explained that the international labour federations have made many visits to the State of Qatar to see the labour reforms, pointing out that during those visits the workers were listening and learning about the positive impact of those laws on their lives.
He confirmed his hearing about the existence of many figures about the workers' casualties in building and equipping the World Cup facilities, noting that during his visit to the State of Qatar and examining the facts regarding the workers, it was found that there was neither proportion nor relevance between those numbers and the reality in Qatar.