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October 29 – Human rights organisations have called out Clifford Chance for a “poor” assessment of Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup, warning the law firm of the risk that it could be linked to human rights abuses which could result from the tournament.
Eleven rights organisations including, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, wrote that “the assessment contains no substantive discussion of extensive and relevant abuses in Saudi Arabia documented by multiple human rights organisations and UN bodies.” They accuse Clifford Chance of cherry-picking human rights and findings by UN bodies for the assessment and including no external perspectives, as FIFA and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) determined the scope of the assessment.
“It has been clear for more than a year now that FIFA is determined to remove all potential obstacles to make sure it can hand Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the 2034 World Cup,” said James Lynch, co-director of the FairSquare human rights organisation, in a media release.
“By producing a shockingly poor report, AS&H Clifford Chance, part of one of the world’s largest law firms that makes much of its human rights expertise, has helped to remove a key final stumbling block.”
Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is poor with restrictions on free expression, women’s rights and discrimination. The Arab kingdom also applies the kafala system, a labour sponsorship system that ties workers to companies, and prohibits trade unions.
In 2017, FIFA adopted a human rights policy. After the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA quickly pivoted to Saudi Arabia by staging the 2023 Club World Cup in Jeddah, the first FIFA tournament in the Arab kingdom since the 1997 Confederations Cup.
FIFA then fast-tracked the country in the bidding process for the 2034 World Cup as other eligible countries were given less than a month to contemplate entering the bidding race. On Instagram, FIFA president Gianni…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/10/29/human-rights-bodies-slam-clifford-chance-saudi-2034-report-cherry-picking-findings/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-10-29 13:06:21
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