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Qatar World Cup 2022: An Open Letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino
Dear President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association, Mr. Infantino, The football men’s World Cup in Qatar has only just started, and the credibility of FIFA in its commitment to human rights is already entirely questionable. There are 28 more days to go, and ILGA World – a global LGBTI human rights organisation representing more […]
Qatar: Six Things You Need to Know About the Hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup 
With the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicking off in Qatar on 20 November, the Gulf state will be under the global spotlight. Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the dire situation for migrant workers in the country has been widely publicized. Migrants and domestic workers continue to face a range of abuses including wage theft, forced […]
The Army of Survivors Releases Power and Control Wheel: Abuse in Sports
Monday, November 14, 2022 — The Army of Survivors, a nonprofit organization focusing on ending sexual violence against athletes, today released a Power and Control Wheel outlining the power dynamics in sports when abuse is present. The wheel, adapted from the original version by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, shows how abusers in sports use […]
Qatar: Rights Abuses Stain FIFA World Cup
‘Reporters’ Guide’ Highlights Key Labor Rights Issues, Needed Reforms (Beirut, November 14, 2022) – The FIFA World Cup from November 20 to December 18, 2022, will be played following years of serious migrant labor and human rights abuses in Qatar, Human Rights Watch said today, publishing a “Reporters’ Guide” to support journalists covering the Qatar World […]
Qatar and LGBTQ Human Rights: An Overview Ahead of the World Cup
The human rights of LGBTQ people have been at the centre of the debate over the upcoming Men’s World Cup in Qatar in recent weeks. The mere fact that the sporting event was going to be organised in a country with laws criminalising people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions (SOGIE) has contributed […]
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the 2022 World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup takes place in Qatar from November 20 to December 18, the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world, and said to be the biggest sporting event held in the Middle East. Journalists working in the small nation bordering Saudi Arabia have faced digital security threats, legal issues, and […]
Qatar: Security Forces Arrest, Abuse LGBT People
Discrimination, Ill-Treatment in Detention, Privacy Violations, Conversion Practices (Beirut) – Qatar Preventive Security Department forces have arbitrarily arrested lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and subjected them to ill-treatment in detention, Human Rights Watch said today. LGBT people interviewed said that their mistreatment took place as recently as September 2022, as Qatar prepared to host the 2022 […]
Qatar: Global survey shows overwhelming demand for FIFA to compensate World Cup migrant workers
Almost three-quarters (73%) polled across 15 countries support proposal that FIFA use World Cup revenues to compensate workers who suffered in the preparation of the tournament More than two-thirds (67%) want their national Football Associations to speak out publicly about the human rights issues associated with the 2022 Qatar World Cup FIFA should establish […]
Momentum Grows for FIFA to Remedy Migrant Worker Abuses in Qatar
At 100 Days to World Cup, Athletes and Federation Leaders Back Action With the 2022 World Cup 100 days away, professional footballers, football association (FA) leaders, and fan groups are joining the #PayUpFIFA campaign by human rights groups and unions to demand FIFA and Qatari authorities remedy serious migrant worker abuses, including through financial compensation, ahead of the tournament. […]
Olympics: IOC Heeds Calls to Embed Rights
Now Must Engage Stakeholders and Add Human Rights to Olympic Charter (Nyon, Switzerland, June 7, 2022) — The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) progress update released on May 20, 2022 is an important step towards adopting a desperately needed human rights strategic framework, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. The move follows decades of calls […]
Cameroon sports journalist Eyong Macdella Bessong assaulted over accreditation card dispute
Dakar, May 26, 2022–Cameroonian authorities must identify and hold to account the policeman who assaulted journalist Eyong Macdella Bessong while she was covering a May 18 football match in Buea, the capital of the Southwest Region, and should hold accountable the stadium official who manhandled her and asked police to remove her from the property, […]
On Your Marks, Set…STOP! Understanding and Ending Sextortion in Sport
Sextortion – defined broadly as the abuse of power to obtain a sexual benefit – is pervasive and widespread. It occurs across the globe and in many sectors, including education, the police, the courts, the civil service, refugee camps, passport control and many others. Survivors/victims can suffer serious, sometimes life-changing, consequences. These include loss of […]