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Human rights research and advocacy in our specialist areas of labour migration, political repression, and sport.
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Pinned Tweet
FairSquare is next week co-hosting an event at the
@UKLabour
Conference in Liverpool, on how the new government can support UK nationals arbitrarily detained abroad, in partnership with
@REDRESSTrust
&
@GMJCampaign
. 24 September, 1700hrs.
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In response to
@SwissMFA
decision to suspend funding of 11 NGOs from Palestine and Israel and in solidarity with groups affected we have written to
@SwissDevCoop
refusing to accept funds from them, including outstanding grants, until Swiss govt lift the suspensions.
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FairSquare is calling on India to refuse Israeli calls to replace Palestinian workers with Indian migrant workers, as this would further enable Israel’s war crimes and support illegal settlements
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Ahead of a promised Extraordinary FIFA Council meeting, FairSquare has submitted a report to FIFA detailing Israel Football Association violations of FIFA Statutes and in support of the call by the Palestinian Football Association for sanctions.
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"The searing heat pounds our bodies into mortar, chains and wrecking balls" A new report on the impact of heat and climate change on the Gulf's migrant workers places this year's COP28 host, the UAE in the spotlight. A thread…
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Full text of our letter to UEFA regarding Manchester United and competition integrity.
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British, Nepali and Bangladeshi rights groups and experts have today raised the alarm about the systemic flaws in the UK’s seasonal agricultural scheme that leave migrants seriously exposed to abuse
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On Sunday, BBC Sunday Politics northwest covered FairSquare’s report “Easy Cities to Buy”, an examination of the relationship between the cities of Manchester & Newcastle with the UAE & Saudi Arabia. They put the report findings to Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig. (1/3)
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Blogger, activist and migrant worker Malcolm Bidali has been able to leave Qatar after an ordeal that lasted nearly four months. Joint statement with
@amnestypress
@BHRRCGulf
@hrw
@MigrantRights
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“Rarely has there been a footballing contest with such a sharp contrast between the delights we saw on the pitch and the severe suffering that was enabled immediately beyond it.”
Here’s my new essay for
@BritishGQ
, “A tale of two World Cups” - if of interest, please share.
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Our letter to Gianni Infantino following his appearance at
@PACE_News
, calling on him to set the record straight on migrant worker deaths in Qatar. His statement that only three people have died in the construction of stadiums was wrong and misleading.
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Some news: in 2021, FairSquare will be embarking on a new research initiative, to shed more light on the deaths of migrant workers in the Gulf.
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Five rights organisations are calling on the Qatari authorities to urgently reveal the whereabouts of Malcolm Bidali, who has been forcibly disappeared since 4 May. Malcolm is a security guard who, writing as
@NoahArticulates
, has been vocal about the plight of migrant workers.
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The reforms announced by Qatar y'day - inc removal of the no objection certificate (NOC) - need proper evaluation once we all see the law, but seem to represent a serious development. We've heard before about kafala reform and been disappointed. This feels more substantial. 1/9
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This morning FairSquare published, with
@hrw
, new research on the devastating impact of arbitrary travel bans on lawyers, researchers and activists in Egypt. (1/)
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We are pleased to publish the Five Corridors Project on fair recruitment today. We are calling on governments that host migrant workers to take more of the strain in preventing abuse.
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*Extreme heat, migrant workers and the Qatar World Cup*
A discussion hosted by FairSquare, UN Global Compact Network UK, & the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sport, Modern Slavery & Human Rights.
1 November, 1400 GMT
For more info & to register:
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Addressing heat stress is crucial, but this new law on protection from heat in Qatar will offer only marginally more protection to workers, and considerably less protection than is required. Short thread:
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This was an avoidable tragedy, one rooted in negligence, that extends beyond Qatar to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the rest of the Gulf. It's also a problem that can be fixed. A short thread (1/7)
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Qatar: 47 MEPs call for dropping of charges against security guard & activist Malcolm Bidali, and for greater protection of migrant rights & human rights defenders
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As we share the findings of our research into recruitment of migrant workers from Nepal🇳🇵 to Kuwait 🇰🇼 and Qatar 🇶🇦, a thread on Nepal and recruitment. More than ¼ of Nepal’s GDP is generated by migrant workers, yet still far too many suffer abuse (1/12)
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We are pleased to have collaborated with
@amnesty
on a new guidance note on human rights risks for businesses operating in Saudi Arabia
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Extreme, rising temperatures in the Gulf states are placing migrant workers across the region, including in COP28 host UAE, at acute risk of potentially fatal heat-related illnesses and injuries, a new report from the Vital Signs Partnership has found.
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Vital Signs Partnership's 1st report on migrant worker deaths in the Gulf reveals significant death toll, very high rate of unexplained deaths, & a series of cumulative risks to health. NGO partnership calls for better data & enhanced protection 🧵(1/19)
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5 human rights NGOs have urged Manchester City Council to make a call on the UAE govt to release Ahmed Mansoor & others unfairly imprisoned.
The council has a JV with an entity controlled by the UAE’s ruling family, that also owns Manchester City FC.
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Strong Guardian editorial that calls on
@England
to follow their counterparts in the Netherlands & Denmark, and back proposals for compensation for past abuses against Qatar’s migrant workers, and for the creation of a migrant workers centre
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Brussels should join the dots between Qatargate and Manchester United -
@Davidsgoldblatt
and FairSquare’s
@NcGeehan
for
@POLITICOEurope
:
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Rigorous and important reporting from
@MigrantRights
, demonstrating with evidence that when migrants have to pay fees for jobs, very often the person profiting is in the Gulf state where they will work - not in their home state.
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We are grateful that FairSquare's 5 Corridors Project is featured this week as part of the
#GFRR2021
expo. The Five Corridors, which will be published in June 2021, examine what 9 governments are doing to ensure workers can migrate fairly for work
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Out now: in new "Vital Signs" report, coalition that includes NGOs from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines calls for urgent action on migrant deaths in the Gulf:
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We've written to
@UEFA
President Čeferin requesting clarification on the rules guiding UEFA’s suspension of teams. Its divergent responses to serious violations of int'l law by Russia & Israel underscore the need for clear and objective rules & processes.
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EVENT: Wednesday 28 July 1200hrs Doha time - a discussion on fair recruitment, drawing on FairSquare's Five Corridors Project findings on the Nepal-Kuwait and Nepal-Qatar migration corridors. Please do join - you can register here:
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'Easy cities to buy': Sportswashing in Manchester and Newcastle laid bare in report
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“Solitary confinement was pretty hard. Nothing really prepares you for it, being alone in a tiny space, confined space”: Malcom Bidali on being arrested, detained without charge and, eventually, fined for blogging about migrant workers' rights in Qatar
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FairSquare is calling on the Qatari authorities to put in place a series of protective measures to better protect the lives of low-paid migrant workers in the country, in light of the troubling rate and number of unexplained migrant worker deaths. (1/6)
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A new FairSquare investigation has found that in September, migrant workers on the COP28 site were put to work outdoors in heat that posed extreme threats to health, and in violation of the UAE’s laws designed to protect workers from heat.
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New FairSquare Policy Brief out today! We have taken a look at the issue of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, a human rights issue that historically has had a low-profile in the Kingdom. The Vision 2030 projects are likely to change all of that. (1/8)
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Concerned about the UAE's commitment to climate justice in advance of
#COP28UAE
? You should be. Read "Well of Fear: Extraction and Autocracy in the UAE", a briefing paper released today by
@fairsqprojects
@EDAC_EN
and
@ALQST_En
. A 🧵on what it says…
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Tomorrow morning, FairSquare and
@hrw
are jointly publishing research into the pernicious impact of arbitrary travel bans on Egyptian civil society. The bans
allow Egypt to silently punish critics without fear of international attention. Get in touch for more information.
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FairSquare Projects, together with
@hrw
, is today calling on the
@premierleague
to adopt a human rights policy. The absence of any such policy has been exposed during the prolonged takeover attempt of Newcastle.
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FairSquare has written to
@CAF_Online
, African football's governing body over the arrest of approximately 250 Egyptian football fans, including 13 year old children, for displaying the Palestinian flag at an Al Ahly match in June.
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Coloured armbands are no substitute for clear demands for FIFA & while the English FA's support in principle for key issues is welcome, it falls well short on the detail & specificity that those affected by the World Cup need from participating nations
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Qatari authorities must immediately reveal the whereabouts of
@NoahArticulates
- new statement includes details of a phishing attack shortly before his arrest.
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7/ The UAE cannot claim to represent the Global South in relation to climate justice while subjecting impoverished and vulnerable workers to extreme risks that will be exacerbated by its aggressive extraction of fossil fuels
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Register here for the launch of our new report on the marriage of historic football clubs and authoritarian states ⬇️
Will be launching new
@fairsqprojects
report "Easy Cities To Buy" in Manchester this Friday early evening (June 23) with speakers including
@ben_clay
. If you'd like to come along you can register here
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FairSquare director
@jpmlynch
on
@BBCr4today
on migrant workers in Qatar, extreme heat and the World Cup, following our event with
@APPG_SportandHR
yesterday. (1/2)
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Activist and migrant worker Malcolm Bidali tells his story and asks, “if I was unjustly detained and unjustly fined – while all eyes are on Qatar – what happens when no one’s looking?”
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“The fact that state security can really break into your house & take your daughter or your sister without you being able to know where they are, this is exactly the definition of a police state and this is what Saudi Arabia has become under Mohammed bin Salman.”
@LinaAlhathloul
When WWE shares images of its female stars posing on a beach in Saudi, the message is that life here is normal. However, the reality is that the vast majority of Saudi citizens exist under brutal oppression, all while sports leagues mask their struggles
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We are pleased to have been able to support this important research. No one will be able to say they didn’t know what the risks were.
🧵 ⬇️
Want to host a World Cup? According to FIFA’s *own rules* you have to meet stringent human rights standards.
With bids due for 2030 & 2034, we look at the rights risks in the main bidders – Morocco, Portugal, Spain & Saudi Arabia.
It's fair to say there's plenty to do...👇🧵
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Premier League clubs ask government to block nation-state ownership
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Please join us on 13 April for a discussion of the first Vital Signs report on migrant worker deaths in the Gulf. You can register here:
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Mother’s ‘anguish’ over son’s Qatar arrest
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Please join us for an expert panel on UAE foreign policy and its impacts on 18 October. Register here:
New COP28 briefing out now! Exporting Authoritarianism - how the UAE has used its oil and gas revenues to fund a ruinous, interventionist foreign policy
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Mauritian authorities are proposing decryption of all web traffic deemed "social media", we are joining
@EFF
,
@pressfreedom
,
@accessnow
,
@RSF_inter
& others to oppose these disproportionate proposals which threaten the right to privacy & freedom of expression
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4/ The Gulf states provide woefully substandard, unscientific, protection from the heat to its migrant workers and the UAE provides the least protection of all the Gulf states.
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The process surrounding the bids for the FIFA's 2034 World Cup raise questions that go beyond Saudi Arabia's obvious unsuitability to host this tournament. The bigger question pertains to FIFA's unsuitability to govern the world's most popular sport.
Australia not bidding for the 2034 World Cup, never really stood a chance. The deadline for confirmed expressions of interest today. So Saudi Arabia will be the only one bidding in the Saudi Arabia-shaped bidding process announced by FIFA earlier this month. Saudi 2034 ✔️
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Stark findings: in Kuwait, deaths among migrant workers were c. 71.9% higher as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, compared to c. 32.4% for Kuwaitis.
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It is a travesty that the wealthiest states in the world should need civil society organisations to provide humanitarian relief but that is what has come to.
@MigrantRights
does fantastic work and anyone able to support can be sure their donation will be well-spent.
Request for donations.
Please do retweet and share widely.
There has been an increase in requests for help across the GCC states
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We fully support this groundbreaking UN complaint submitted by
@BWIglobal
on behalf of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
BWI files landmark case vs. Saudi Arabia for forced labour & wage theft involving 21,000+ workers. Amid its attempt to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, it must address the severe labour rights abuses before finalizing its bid in July.
Full story:
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Possibly the most thorough examination produced so far on "absconding", the widely abused criminal charge the UN's expert on racism recently said "recalls the historical reliance on enslaved and coerced labour" in the Gulf.
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Very important letter 👀
📢 Ahead of the new season, ALQST and several Gulf-focused NGOs have sent letters to the
@premierleague
and UK government, addressing deep concerns over the growing trend of Gulf state ownership of clubs, calling for such ownership to be prohibited.
➡️
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Saudi Arabia puts 81 to death in its largest mass execution
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3/ Rapid rises in heat gain can cause “a cascade of illnesses”, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, hyperthermia and heat stroke, and exacerbate impact of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and kidney disease.
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Tomorrow at 10am EDT, FairSquare director
@jpmlynch
is taking part in this
@TimepDC
@thefreedomi
event on travel bans in Egypt. See thread below for our recent research on how travel bans are used and abused.
This morning FairSquare published, with
@hrw
, new research on the devastating impact of arbitrary travel bans on lawyers, researchers and activists in Egypt. (1/)
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FairSquare is seeking three consultant researchers to work with us on migrant worker rights in Lebanon, Jordan, Malaysia and Thailand. Apply here:
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Good thread on this wild proposal for the 2034 World Cup, certain to be waved through by FIFA later this year.
Human rights concerns have been “assessed” by a London law firm in a report that is almost comically contrasting to Amnesty’s review of 2034, supported by FairSquare.
Yesterday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia released its bid book for the 2034 FIFA World Cup🇸🇦
After an initial review of the
#SAUDI2034BID
, I want to highlight three concerns: the host cities, human rights issues, and the so-called independent assessment.
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Why response to Russia and Israel shows sport is sailing rudderless into geopolitical storms - FairSquare’s
@NcGeehan
for
@scroll_in
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6/ "the Gulf states need to step up their approach to protect the millions of migrant workers who are so crucial for their economies. We are calling for ambitious action, including much stricter protective measures in the workplace" CR Abrar
@rmmru
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⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
IMPORTANT NEWS: SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST TO SPEAK IN NEWCASTLE ON SEPTEMBER 5th
——————————————————————————
On the eve of the Saudi state sportswashing internationals at Saint James’ Park
@LinaAlhathloul
will speak up on behalf of the victims of the regime which owns our club.
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“This is systemic. The structures of Spanish football need tearing down. The structures of football need tearing down… If football, or society, cannot deliver a safe environment for players or for women, they need to change.”
@SuzyWrack
:
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Qatar this week sees temperatures between 41-48 degrees Celsius. Government advises workers to “schedule more frequent work breaks”. The reality is that it is unlikely to be safe to work outside, day or night.
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FairSquare, with human rights groups, supporter networks and trade unions, is calling on FIFA to match the $440M it will offer as Qatar 2022 prize money, to fund compensation for workers who have been harmed in relation to the tournament
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Happening in two days: The Gulf states have excellent healthcare systems. Why can't migrant workers access them? Join for a discussion on Nov 16 (1/2) …
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As Saudi media celebrates new labour reforms, a reminder that there is form for announcing the end of Kafala - 21 years ago, for example. As
@MigrantRights
&
@EquidemOrg
caution today, today’s reforms are far from a panacea - & we have to see how they are implemented in practice.
This 2000 decision supposedly ended "kafala" - but as a UN Committee commented in 2018, in spite of the name change, "the sponsorship system continues to persist in practice".
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2/ In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, this year's COP28 President, the number of days where air temperature exceeds 40ºC will increase by 51% by the middle of the century if global temperatures increases by 1.5ºC, and by 98% by the end of the century if they increase by 3ºC.
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A litmus test for Qatar about its commitment to migrant worker rights.
A Kenyan national, working in Qatar as a security guard, was taken into custody the night of 4 May, Tuesday. He was an outspoken advocate for the human rights of migrant workers in
#Qatar
and the GCC, building his work on his own lived experiences
@nhrcqatar
@GCOQatar
@ADLSAQa
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Behind the scenes of the FIFA-endorsed hotels at Qatar, migrant hotel workers struggling on wages of £1 an hour. Investigation finds that despite Qatar's reform programme, they report extremely long working hours, few days off, & an inability to move jobs.
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Reuters: Qatar not reporting all work-linked deaths, ILO says
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As we share the findings of our research into recruitment between the Philippines 🇵🇭 and Taiwan 🇹🇼, a thread on the Philippines and recruitment. Filipino workers get better protection that many other migrant workers, but are they recruited fairly?
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This is a fantastic initiative that we're delighted to endorse. Football is about communities and supporters and clubs should be run in their interests.
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Evento: Acompañe a FairSquare,
@ProDESC
y
@cisanunam
para una discusión sobre la contratación justa entre México y Canadá, basada en los hallazgos del proyecto de los Cinco Corredores. Por favor inscríbase aquí:
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5/ There is almost no data on the impact of heat on migrant workers in the Gulf despite the extreme risks and lack of protection. Out of approx 10,000 annual deaths of migrant workers more than one out of every two are effectively unexplained.
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It is critically important that the ITUC investigates this thoroughly and with transparency
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“The real figure for heat stress -- which includes heatstroke, exhaustion, cramps and rashes -- is probably far higher, as many sufferers were not admitted to hospitals or clinics.”
Article states that at least 230 people died during the pilgrimage.
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The journalists were arrested shortly after a live broadcast on the working and living conditions for migrant workers.
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“Several women who were marketed via Instagram described being treated essentially as captives and forced to work grueling hours for far less money than they had been promised.” As Fairsquare’s
@FabienGoa
says, this has “all the hallmarks of trafficking”
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Saudi Arabia accused of using forced labour ahead of Fifa World Cup decision
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.
@NcGeehan
for
@openDemocracy
: "What we have seen in Manchester & what we are now witnessing in Newcastle is that the purchase & generous financing of a football club results in influential groups of people becoming invested in the success of your project"
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Newcastle and Manchester United fans unite to condemn sportswashing
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.
@Atomicalandy
and
@MigrantRights
find that the Qatar Visa Center in Nepal, supposed to add more control to the recruitment process, is being bypassed for urgent projects linked to Qatar 2022. Workers are paying exorbitant fees in the process:
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Out now - our new report on civic leadership and sportswashing in Manchester and Newcastle. Read the full report here, see the thread below, and if you’re in Manchester, attend our event this evening (link in thread)
Easy Cities To Buy: a lack of civic leadership has enabled 'sportswashing' projects in Manchester and Newcastle. A new
@fairsqprojects
report, co-authored by
@alexdpking
is out today. Here's a short thread on what it's about. Full link here 👇
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FairSquare is proud to add its support to this important rights-based vision.
21 international human rights organizations have endorsed the Saudi-led call for democracy and human rights in their homeland, “A People’s Vision for Reform in Saudi Arabia."
Our Release:
Our Full Statement:
Thread 1/
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With
@amnesty
and
@hrw
, FairSquare has written to FIFA’s sponsors asking them to support the
#PayUpFIFA
campaign.
Four of them have stated their support for financial compensation to remedy abuses of migrant workers linked to 2022. Read more:
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Vani Saraswathi of
@MigrantRights
on the deadly Kuwait fire for the Hindu - “under Kafala workers are dispensable”
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Thanks to
@MigrantRights
, our discussion on fair recruitment of migrant workers in the Nepal-Kuwait and Nepal-Qatar corridors, including
@sandigankuwait
@lapsoj2020
@JureidiniRay
is now available to view here
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A Mural Celebrated Migrant Workers. When the World Cup Began, It Was Gone.
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FairSquare’s comment on the Premier League’s changes to its owners and directors test
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