Qatar
Qatar World Cup will fuel positive social change: al-Thawadi
Qatar World Cup will fuel positive social change: al-Thawadi
The potential and momentum of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup is being harnessed as a catalyst for positive social change in Qatar in many areas, including workers’ welfare, a senior official said Monday.
“We recognised the power of the World Cup to drive forward the change required to ensure the health, safety, security and dignity of the people building our nation,” Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary-general of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), said.He was addressing the opening of the 38th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva. Al-Thawadi said the journey to implement necessary reforms has been accelerated as a result of the World Cup coming to Qatar. “We have built true and lasting partnerships within the international community in a spirit of transparency and openness that has served to guide us on this journey, providing constructive criticism where appropriate, and praise where our efforts have warranted it.” He explained the ways in which the SC has worked with its contractors to improve the conditions of workers’ welfare, including its rigorous Workers’ Welfare Standards, a robust four-tier auditing system and collaboration with various reputable international institutes including the Geneva-based trade union confederate the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar and Impactt Ltd. The SC official spoke about the various efforts undertaken by the organisation and its contractors to reimburse unjust recruitment and hardship fees paid by migrant workers engaged on World Cup projects, with reimbursements to date amounting to QR43mn (approximately $11.8mn).He underscored the ability of sport to provide a platform that can bring people of all backgrounds together at a time when global dialogue is emphasising cultural, political and social differences rather than similarities.
Continuation of collaborations with UN
The participation of Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), at the opening of the 38th Session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva builds on previous SC engagements and collaboration with the UN over the past year.These include an SC exhibition on “Harnessing the Power of Sport to Achieve Sustainable Development” that was organised in conjunction with the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2017, participation in an event organised in February 2018 by Qatar's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva under the title of “Hosting Mega Sport Events: Strengthening the respect for Human Rights”, and most recently the delivery of opening remarks at the official opening session of a UN Office for Drugs and Crime’s special event entitled “Crime Prevention and Sustainable Development Through Sports” held in April 2018.