Read the initial assessment issued by the Swiss NCP – 13 October 2015
Read the final statement issued by the Swiss NCP – 2 May 2017
Read the follow up statement issued by the Swiss NCP - 5 June 2018
In May 2015, the Swiss NCP received a submission from Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) regarding alleged human rights violations of migrant workers by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) related to the construction of facilities for the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
More specifically, the submitter alleged that FIFA did not observe the OECD Guidelines by appointing Qatar as the host state for the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar in 2010. According to the submitter, at this time the human rights violations of migrant workers in Qatar were widely documented. While FIFA’s Bidding Agreement for the FIFA 2022 World Cup required Qatar to provide information under twenty different chapters, including “Sustainable Social and Human Development”, there was no requirement to address human or labour rights.
The submitting party further stated that after appointing Qatar as the host state, the responding party failed to conduct adequate and ongoing human rights due diligence as called for in the updated OECD Guidelines which entered into force in 2011. In the view of the submitting party, the responding party should have taken adequate and ongoing steps to identify, prevent and mitigate actual and potential adverse human rights impacts.
On 27 July 2015, the responding party submitted a written statement to the Swiss NCP concerning the issues raised in this specific instance.
In its initial assessment, the Swiss NCP accepted the submission for further consideration. This should not be construed as a judgment of whether or not the corporate behaviour or actions in question were consistent with observance of the OECD Guidelines and should not be equated with a determination on the merits of the issues raised in the submission.
The parties accepted the offer of the Swiss NCP to conduct a mediation. Between January and December 2016, six mediation meetings took place at the premises of the Swiss NCP in Berne. The mediation led to mutually agreed solutions. Both parties agreed to disclose the outcome of the mediations in the final statement issued by the NCP on 2 May 2017.
Both parties engaged throughout the entire mediation process in a very constructive manner. They demonstrated a firm willingness throughout the process to find a mutually satisfying resolution of the issues raised in the submission.
The Swiss NCP made a follow up to evaluate the implementation of the agreement nine months after the closure of the specific instance. The Swiss NCP welcomed the substantial progress in the implementation of the agreement and concluded the follow-up procedure.