PARIS (AP) — Human rights activists in France have urged the country’s soccer officials to pay attention to rights violations of migrant workers in Qatar a year before the World Cup.
Amnesty International activists unveiled a giant banner Wednesday in central Paris on the French soccer federation’s building.
“Thousands have died in Qatar and the soccer federation has not said a word,” the banner reads.
Lola Schulmann, an advocacy officer with Amnesty in Paris, said the group has repeatedly asked soccer officials for a meeting to discuss the issue of human rights violations of migrant laborers who have worked in Qatar to build World Cup stadiums and other infrastructure for the tournament, which starts in November 2022.
“Unfortunately, we have no response from the federation,” Schulmann said.
Schulmann said there are 2 million migrant workers in Qatar and “every day they see their rights violated.” She added that the banner “is our message to the national federation that we care about their rights.”