On Wednesday the Dutch government confirmed that they send a delegation to the Qatar World Cup in November despite a parliamentary vote urging it to not do, thus beacuse to issues over the Gulf country’s treatment of migrant staff.
Qatar, wherever migrant staff and foreigners to form the bulk of the 2.8 million population, has return below severe scrutiny from human rights teams over the migrant issue within the run-up to the tournament, that kicks off on Nov. 20.
“The cabinet intends to send a government delegation, as usual at major sporting events,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra and Sports Minister Conny Helder said in a joint letter to parliament. “We choose cooperation with Qatar with a view to sustainable change,” it said, adding that they feared staying away would “limit the opportunity for dialogue and cooperation”.
A parliamentary motion approved last year urged the government to not send an officer delegation to the Qatar Games due to operating conditions and also the human rights state of affairs there.
Last week a member of the World Cup organizing committee claims that Qatar acknowledges gaps in its labour system, however the tournament has allowed the country to create progress on problems associated with workers’ rights.
The government of Qatar has antecedently denied a 2021 Amnesty report that thousands of migrant staff were still being exploited.
