Qatar’s ambassador to Germany, Abdulla Mohammed al Thani, called for his country to be treated fairly as the World Cup host and drew a comparison with Russia as the 2018 tournament organizer. The diplomat chose unusually clear words for this.
“If we go back four years, the World Cup was in a country, Crimea was just taken, people in prison, oppressed people, and there was no attention from Germany and not from any other country in Europe,” al Thani said at a congress of the German Football Association (DFB) on the human rights situation in the Gulf Emirate on Monday in Frankfurt. His country has been the focus for twelve years and has initiated many changes.
The situation in Qatar is “not yet perfect”, the ambassador admitted, the change will take time. “It’s not at 100 percent, it’s a journey,” he said. In Germany, for example, the issue of equal rights for men and women would have taken many years.
Al Thani wanted Germans who were in Qatar – like the record champions Bayern Munich after their traditional winter camps – to report on their positive experiences: “Say it publicly or keep your mouth shut,” the diplomat formulated in an unusually clear choice of words.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf announced at the congress that shortly before the World Cup kicked off, he would once again urge the improvement of the human rights situation in the host country on a joint trip with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). Progress can be seen, but two points need concrete implementation, stressed Neuendorf, as well as representatives of human rights organizations and trade unions.
For example, “working centers” would have to be set up to which workers could turn in the event of violations by employers. Neuendorf also called for the establishment of a fund for workers who died or were injured in the construction of World Cup stadiums. The world association Fifa is also responsible for this, Neuendorf made clear.
