DOHA: Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers have refuted the latest allegations about the treatment of migrant construction workers from Human Rights Watch writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

HRW has been a persistent critic of site conditions in the Gulf state and its latest salvo raised a concern that men were working outdoors in conditions which “frequently reach levels that can result in potentially fatal heat-related illnesses in the absence of appropriate rest.”

It also demanded that authorities investigate the causes of migrant worker deaths, regularly make public data on such deaths, and use the information to devise appropriate public health policies.

This followed health authority reports of the deaths on 2013 of 520 workers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal “from unexplained causes.”

In response the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy insisted that it was “committed to promoting and protecting the welfare, health and safety of all workers building stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”

It said it had discussed such concerns recently with HRW but “whole-heartedly” refuted the suggestion that it had “abdicated responsibility” or failed to protect the lives of workers on its projects.