"Ireland Must Use Seat On UN Security Council to Condemn Human Rights Abuses in Qatar" - Silke
The Aontú spokesperson for Children and Equality, Luke Silke, has called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to 'leave no stone unturned' in investigating the Human Rights abuses in Qatar.
Speaking today, Mr Silke said: "The discussions over the past few weeks have brought to the fore the horrific experiences of migrant workers who were recruited to build the infrastructure necessary for the World Cup Tournament. We know that in 2020 the government introduced a €270 MONTHLY minimum wage. We know that a number of migrants have died while working on the project and that Qatar has failed to investigate these deaths".
Mr Silke continued: "We also know that a few months ago some sixty workers, many from Nepal, India, the Philippines, Egypt and Bangladesh protested after they hadn't been paid for seven months! FIFA has called on competing nations to cease in their criticisms of Qatar's human rights abuses, and has moved to prevent players or teams from protesting".
"The record of FIFA on these issues is appalling - we see this topic coming up time and time again where vulnerable people are abused, or moved along to make way for the west's sporting festival. Independent of these issues we see Qatar's horrific track record on women's rights and LGBT rights. Ireland must use its voice strongly at the UN to work to ensure this scandal is not repeated in the years to come, and to ensure that we do right by these migrant workers, that we compensate them and investigate the abuses and especially the deaths that have occurred", concluded Mr Silke.
ENDS
