UN labor agency head praises relations with Saudi Arabia during investigation of 2034 World Cup host

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the United Nations labor agency says it has good relations with Saudi Arabia during an ongoing investigation of alleged rights abuses by the 2034 World Cup host, and aims to send more expert staff to Riyadh.

International Labour Organization director general Gilbert Houngbo spoke of “very constructive” bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia on Thursday at a briefing ahead of attending the annual gathering of world leaders next week in Davos, Switzerland.

Houngbo also said he shared outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s concerns about the growing influence of a “tech-industrial complex,” expressed on Wednesday in a farewell address from the White House.

Houngbo addressed a range of issues in a briefing with reporters to launch the agency’s annual analysis of global employment trends.

The ILO is investigating a formal complaint by an international trade union, which Houngbo confirmed is active, accusing Saudi Arabia of mistreatment within the “kafala” employment system of migrant workers needed for the kingdom’s construction boom.

It was filed last year as FIFA steered the 2034 edition of its marquee men’s soccer tournament toward the oil-rich kingdom. Days before the Saudi win was confirmed in December, Human Rights Watch urged FIFA to insist on binding commitments to protect migrant workers there who mostly come from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Yemen.

No assurances were publicly given nor commitments to let civil society groups monitor World Cup projects on the ground, though Saudi bid documents sent to FIFA last year did offer to work with just one international body — the ILO.

“The (Saudi) authorities have told me that they really want to work with ILO,” Houngbo, the former prime minister of Togo, said on Thursday. “If there is an understanding on both parties that there is some deficit (in labor conditions) then they are ready to work and correct them.”

Saudi Arabia plans to build and renovate 15 stadiums in five cities for the 48-team, 104-game soccer tournament. Eight stadiums — as many as neighboring Qatar used in total for the 2022 World Cup — must be built from scratch. Some are extravagantly innovative.

Rights activists and trades unions fear FIFA and Saudi Arabia are not building in safeguards to avoid a repeat of the challenges faced during more than a decade of World Cup preparations in Qatar, including at least hundreds of deaths of migrant workers.

The ILO did work with Qatar, and opened an office in Doha, to help reform its “kafala” laws.

“We are discussing with the authorities to increase our presence even with some more experts in Riyadh,” said Houngbo, who pointed to the Saudi capital hosting the 2030 World Expo as another signature construction project.

Houngbo said he will visit Riyadh for the Jan. 29-30 Global Labor Market Conference.

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