NEW YORK/ZURICH: Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch has offered a guarded welcome to FIFA’s commission of Harvard professor John Ruggie to advise how to sharpen up its implementation of ethical standards.

Ruggie, the United Nations Secretary-General’s special representative for business and human rights and a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, will produce an independent review of how well FIFA’s operations measure up to international human rights standards for workers. An initial report is expected in March.

Both FIFA and the International Olympic Committee have been accused of paying lip service to human rights standards without ever enforcing them, in particular of nations which host their major events such as the World Cup and Olympic Games respectively.

Particular criticism has focused on the application of double standards in relation to Russia which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and will stage the 2018 World Cup. Workers’ conditions in Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, has been another major issue.

Worden said: “The news that Professor Ruggie [has] agreed to help FIFA implement human rights rules, in accordance with reforms announced by FIFA’s executive committee in May 2015, is a step forward.

“If FIFA carries out those recommendations, it could move the ball down the field for human rights. But FIFA has commissioned and buried reports before, so whether FIFA is serious is still an open question.‎”

The timing of Ruggie’s advice was appropriate and better late than never.

Worden, HRW’s director of global initiatives, added: “Action on rights is urgent . . . Despite its influence and power, FIFA has long failed to tackle abuses in the life cycle of its mega-sporting events, from bidding through construction, to legacy for local populations.

“The early and most visible test of Ruggie’s new rights rules will be whether FIFA puts words into action to press Qatar and Russia to change their treatment of migrant workers, and whether FIFA will begin to contribute to broader reform of labour practices across the Gulf.

“That would be something to cheer, on and off the field.”

Ruggie set himself an enormously optimistic challenge in assessing the task ahead.

He said: “FIFA’s global reach means that this initiative has the potential to make a difference where it matters most: in the daily lives of people.

“As with any such process, I fully recognise that there will be challenges and complex change takes time.

“However, this has the potential to set the bar for other global sports organisations, and place respect for human rights front and centre for a broad range of entities involved in global sporting events.”

A team from Shift, which Ruggie chairs and specializes in working with companies to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, will also work on the review.

FULL STATEMENTS:

From Minky Worden, HRW’s director of global initiatives:

Over the last year, reporting about FIFA, football’s scandal-plagued governing body, has focused on arrests, corruption, and worker rights abuses in the upcoming World Cup host countries, Russia and Qatar.

So today’s news that Harvard University Professor John Ruggie agreed to help FIFA implement human rights rules, in accordance with reforms announced by FIFA’s executive committee in May 2015, is a step forward. Ruggie has agreed to review FIFA’s rules and recommend how it can implement the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights – which he helped create when he was a UN special representative – in FIFA’s policies and practices.

If FIFA carries out those recommendations, it could move the ball down the field for human rights. But FIFA has commissioned and buried reports before, so whether FIFA is serious is still an open question.‎

Action on rights is urgent. In October, Qatar, the Gulf state hosting the 2022 World Cup, passed a law indicating that it has no intention of reforming its kafala system of sponsorship-based employment, meaning low-paid migrant workers still need their employer’s permission to change jobs or leave the country.

Russia’s selection as host of the 2018 World Cup is also a source of concern, in view of the extensive abuse of migrant workers Human Rights Watch documented ahead of the Sochi Olympics, including during construction of Fisht Stadium, a 2018 World Cup venue. The construction led to forced evictions and affected entire communities, including one village that was deprived of a reliable water supply for more than five years.

Despite its influence and power, FIFA has long failed to tackle abuses in the life cycle of its mega-sporting events, from bidding through construction, to legacy for local populations.

The early and most visible test of Ruggie’s new rights rules will be whether FIFA puts words into action to press Qatar and Russia to change their treatment of migrant workers, and whether FIFA will begin to contribute to broader reform of labor practices across the Gulf.

That would be something to cheer, on and off the field.

From FIFA:

As part of its ongoing process of integrating respect for human rights in its work, FIFA has asked international human rights expert, Harvard Kennedy School Professor John Ruggie, to provide recommendations for further embedding the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) into the FIFA’s policies and practices. Professor Ruggie will publish these proposals by the end of March 2016 in the form of an independent report.

FIFA asked Professor Ruggie to undertake this work following the decision taken by the FIFA Executive Committee in July 2015 to adhere to the UNGPs, which were developed by Ruggie in his role as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Business and Human Rights. They were endorsed unanimously by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011.

FIFA’s new human rights policy will cover all areas of its activities and events including the FIFA World Cup™, embedding the United Nations-endorsed values into the heart of the football governing body’s day-to-day operations.

“FIFA’s global reach means that this initiative has the potential to make a difference where it matters most: in the daily lives of people,” said Ruggie. “As with any such process, I fully recognise that there will be challenges and complex change takes time. However, this has the potential to set the bar for other global sports organisations, and place respect for human rights front and centre for a broad range of entities involved in global sporting events.”

“This collaboration is another important step in our ongoing reform process. I am proud to see that FIFA is taking the lead among international sports organisations on such an important topic. Football and FIFA have an important role to play in this field; respect for human rights has to be at the core of our organisation and our sport,” said Acting FIFA President Issa Hayatou.

This process builds upon previous work initiated by FIFA to implement and integrate human rights and labour standards in its activities, including regarding the requirements for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ bidding process. Regarding the human rights components for the future bidding requirements, FIFA has already sought valuable technical support from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Building on FIFA’s commitment to embed human rights into its overall framework, the Executive Committee recommended at its last meeting that the Congress approve the implementation of a new article of the FIFA Statutes that commits FIFA to respecting all internationally recognised human rights and to promoting the respect of these rights in the context of FIFA’s activities.

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