
test
With just over a year to go before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a new report states that hotel brands in Qatar have failed to take necessary action to protect migrant workers, finding “widespread lack of action . . . to prevent and exclude forced labor.” According to the London-based Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, migrant workers in the hotels are victims of “extortionate recruitment fees, discrimination, and being trapped in a job through fear of reprisal and intimidation,” among other abuses. The report adds that these abuses have been taking place despite so-called “landmark” labor reforms, which promised to end the Kafala system. In response, Qatari authorities said the government “takes a zero-tolerance approach against violating companies, issuing harsh penalties including prison sentences”.