According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, remarks made by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser were “inappropriate and offensive” and deserved a “clarification.”
In a letter delivered to the ambassador, Qatar stated that it “completely rejects” the remarks made by Faeser, who was scheduled to visit Qatar on Monday.
The nation has come under heavy fire for how it treats migrant workers and for failing to uphold the rights of women and members of the LGBTQ community. This is the first occasion that a foreign ambassador has been called in response to such remarks.
In an interview with the ARD network that broadcast on Thursday, Faeser claimed that Germany would find holding the World Cup in Qatar upcoming month “very tricky.”
“There are criteria that must be adhered to and it would be better than tournaments are not awarded to such states.” she continued.
In a statement made before to her meeting with Bernd Neuendorf, the chairman of the German soccer federation, Faeser stated that rights will be discussed.
“No World Cup takes place in a vacuum. Human rights always apply everywhere — and now the whole world is paying special attention,” Faeser added.
This week, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani claimed that his nation, which is abundant in energy, had been subjected to an “unprecedented campaign” of “double standards.”
International labour organisations have applauded the nation’s extensive revisions to its labour and industrial safety records in recent years.
Rights organisations have pushed Qatar and FIFA to establish a workers’ compensation fund after accusing them of understating fatalities on building sites during the previous ten years.
In a statement on rights in the host nation this week, Australia made history as the first World Cup squad to call attention to the “suffering” of employees.
