Nepali civil society groups urge FIFA president to stop dismissing migrant workers’ compensation claims

Over three dozen Nepali civil society organisations have today published an open letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino calling on him to ‘stop looking the other way’ while migrant workers are denied compensation after having suffered abuses in Qatar.

The organisations have displayed their message on billboards across Kathmandu, including at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), where workers from Qatar often return without their wages and the bodies of deceased migrant workers are regularly repatriated.

The letter highlights how migrant workers, who have returned to Nepal, are unable to access a compensation fund set up by Qatar in 2018 to reimburse stolen wages, and how bereaved families are unable to receive compensation if the causes of their loved ones’ deaths are not investigated.

“We have come together to call on Gianni Infantino to make good on FIFA’s promises to respect workers’ rights and agree to compensate workers who have suffered abuses and families who have lost loved ones,” said executive director of Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee (PNCC)  Som Prasad Lamichhane.

“We know the real human costs of the abuses faced by so many workers in Qatar,” he said, adding that families have spiralled into poverty, children have been taken out of school, and workers forced to migrate again to pay off debts. “FIFA cannot be blind to this reality and must act to make things right.”

Around 400,000 workers from Nepal are employed across a range of sectors in Qatar, including playing a huge part in building the vast infrastructure projects required to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

While remittances from working abroad play a major part in Nepal’s economy, those who have travelled to work in the Gulf and elsewhere have regularly suffered a range of labour abuses. Nepali workers typically pay illegal recruitment fees of over $1,000 to secure their jobs, and human rights organisations have regularly documented cases of forced labour and unpaid wages, including at sites linked to the World Cup. 

Workers have also lost lives due to dangerous working conditions, and their deaths have rarely been investigated. A peer-reviewed study found that the deaths of at least 200 Nepali construction workers could have been prevented between 2009 and 2017 with adequate protection from extreme heat. 

In recent years Qatar has introduced a number of reforms to strengthen labour laws and opened a new visa centre in Nepal aiming to reduce abuses. Despite some progress, abuses persist on a significant scale. 

“There is a huge danger that when the final whistle is blown on the World Cup, the contribution and sacrifice of so many migrant workers will be forgotten, and their claims for justice and compensation ignored,” said director of Amnesty International Nepal Nirajan Thapaliya.

“If FIFA wants to show respect towards the people who made this tournament possible, Gianni Infantino should finally agree to ensure workers and their families are compensated,” he said, adding, “Their claims must not be dismissed any longer.”

Since May, a global coalition of human rights organisations, trade unions and fans groups have called on FIFA and Qatar to set up a remediation programme that would compensate workers and invest in programmes to prevent future abuses. The call has been supported by 12 Football Associations, four FIFA sponsors, and opinion polls have shown that it is supported by a large majority of the public in 15 countries. 

However, FIFA has continued to refuse to compensate workers. On Monday, a coalition of international human rights organisations criticised FIFA for ‘misleading the world’ on workers’ compensation. Despite FIFA officials having said they were working on a plan to ensure workers were compensated, on the eve of the tournament Gianni Infantino passed the buck and said that anyone who had suffered abuses should simply ‘contact the relevant authorities to seek due recompense’ from Qatar’s existing compensation fund.

However, this mechanism remains inaccessible to those who have already left the country, caps the amount that can be paid to each worker, and will not support families of workers whose deaths may have been wrongly attributed to ‘natural causes’ because investigations were not carried out.

The coalition called on Gianni Infantino to use a newly-announced Legacy Fund, to compensate workers and establish an independent migrant workers’ centre as requested by trade unions such as Building and Wood Workers’ International. The size of the proposed fund is not yet known, and is currently intended to support educational projects and a planned ‘labour excellence hub’.

International rights bodies demand withdrawal of ordinance

 Global rights bodies asked the government to withdraw ordinance that undermines the independence of constitutional human rights bodies and rescind recent appointments.

Issuing a joint press note today, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and Amnesty International asked the Nepal government to immediately withdraw an ordinance that undermines the independence of constitutional human rights bodies and rescind recent appointments that were made without consultation or parliamentary approval.

These government  actions undermine public trust and confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and other constitutional bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission and the Election Commission, it reads, adding that the illegitimate appointments process is not simply an abstract irregularity but will lead to ineffective and weak implementation of critical mandates to protect human rights and other rule of law objectives.

"The government’s actions are a severe dent in Nepal’s long struggle for a rule of law-based constitution, which was finally adopted in 2015 to guarantee human rights," South Asia director at Human Rights Watch Meenakshi Ganguly said, adding that it is sad to see some of the same politicians who drafted the Constitution playing fast and loose with the charter just a few years later.

On December 15, 2020, President Bidya Devi Bhandari endorsed an executive ordinance to amend the law governing the Constitutional Council, which makes appointments to the judiciary, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and other constitutional bodies including the Election Commission. Under the Constitutional Council Act, five out of six members must be present, but under the ordinance a simple majority is sufficient. Because one seat on the council is vacant the quorum has been reduced to three.

The Constitutional Council met the same day with a newly reduced quorum. Three council members made 38 nominations to vacant positions on constitutional bodies at that meeting. They included all five seats on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), as well as nominations to bodies established to protect the rights of Dalits, women, and marginalised minorities, and to investigate corruption allegations.

Under the Constitution, appointments to these key institutions are supposed to be vetted by parliament. However, parliament was abruptly dissolved  on December 20, five days after the appointments were announced. The nominees were sworn in on  February 3, 2021,  despite legal challenges in the Supreme Court  to the constitutionality of the nominations and the dissolution of parliament. On February 23, the Supreme Court ruled that the dissolution of parliament was unconstitutional.

"In a context where repeated calls for institutional reforms have gone unheeded for decades, this move by the government further weakens the effectiveness of constitutional bodies that are supposed to be beacons of hope for victims of human rights violations and abuses,” senior international legal adviser at ICJ Mandira Sharma said, adding that independence, impartiality and legitimacy are preconditions for these bodies to effectively and efficiently deliver their mandates. 

The Human Rights Commission, until recently, had played an important role in calling for accountability, including by releasing the names of people allegedly responsible for serious human rights violations such as torture and extra-judicial killing and recommending that they should be prosecuted. It is currently graded ‘A’ by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) for its compliance with the Paris Principles, which were adopted by the UN General Assembly as the basic standards governing the mandate and operation of effective national human rights organisations. Core among the Paris Principles is that a national human rights institution must be independent and that its independence must be guaranteed by law. The organisations are concerned that following the new appointments the commission no longer meets those standards.

Among the other constitutional bodies to which new commissioners have been appointed in the same manner are the Election Commission and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Nepal’s anti-corruption agency. The Election Commission is seen by many people as playing an important role in efforts to achieve a society based on the rule of law and respect for human rights , while the CIAA has the authority  to bring corruption cases against politicians.

Numerous appointments have also been made to commissions with mandates to protect the rights of people from vulnerable groups, including the National Women’s Commission, National Dalit Commission, and National Inclusion Commission. Many of these positions had lain vacant for years.

At least two Supreme Court petitions have been filed challenging the ordinance amending the Constitutional Council Act, and the new appointments to constitutional bodies. The chief justice, Cholendra Shumsher Rana, who sits on the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, participated in the three-member Constitutional Council meeting that made the disputed nominations, and he administered the oath of office to the new commissioners on February 3.

"The doubts over the independence and integrity of the NHRC and other commissions will endanger the protection of human rights in Nepal,” deputy South Asia director of Amnesty International (AI) Dinushika Dissanayake said, adding that the government must immediately reverse these appointments and start a new process in consultation with the civil society and rights holders in Nepal.

The Accountability Watch Committee, a group of prominent human rights defenders in Nepal, issued a statement on February 12 announcing that they would not 'cooperate and engage with the NHRC and other constitutional bodies until the Supreme Court's decision.' Accountability Watch also called upon 'the United Nations, diplomatic missions in Nepal and international organisations not to give legitimacy and cooperate with this appointment process which is currently sub-judice at the Supreme Court of Nepal.'

Foreign development partners that have previously engaged with the NHRC, and with the other commissions affected by this process, should stand clearly for a proper, open, and transparent appointments process that is based on international standards, Human Rights Watch, ICJ, and Amnesty International said.

Bandana Rana re-elected to CEDAW Committee for the second term

 Bandana Rana has been re-elected to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for the second term, in the elections held during the 21st meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women in New York yesterday.

Rana obtained 137 votes, the third highest among 19 candidates contesting the election, according to a press note issued by the Nepal’s Permanent Resident in New York. “She was one of the eleven candidates elected for the term of 2021-2024,” it reads, adding that experts from the Netherlands, Bahamas, Lithuania, Ghana, Australia, Mexico, Lebanon, France, Philippines and China were also elected. “Currently the vice-chair of the CEDAW Committee, Rana is the first Nepali national serving in the Committee.”

Rana has over three-decade long experiences of working in the field of gender equality and women rights. Following the elections, leader of Nepali delegation to the 21st meeting of the States Parties to the Convention ambassador Amrit Bahadur Rai said that Rana’s re-election is a recognition of her proven expertise and experiences. “This is also an acknowledgement by the international community of Nepal’s sincere efforts in implementing the Convention and its Optional Protocol as well as an appreciation of the achievements we have made in promotion of women rights in particular and human rights in general,” he said, thanking all the States Parties for their continued trust and confidence in Nepal’s candidate Rana’s capabilities.

Upon being re-elected, Bandana Rana expressed gratitude to the government and all States Parties for their support and cooperation. She pledged to continue working to the best of her ability and adding value to the work of the Committee. 

The Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and came into force in 1981. The number of its States Parties today stands at 189. Nepal became a State Party to the Convention in 1991, and also acceded to its Optional Protocol in 2007.

The CEDAW Committee is a UN Human Rights Treaty Body consisting of 23 independent experts elected by the States Parties to the Convention. The experts serve in their personal capacities. The Committee monitors the implementation of the Convention including through consideration of the reports submitted by the States Parties to the Convention.

Nepal re-elected to UN Human Rights Council

 Nepal has been re-elected as a member of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) in the elections held at UN Headquarters in New York today.

Currently serving as a member of the Council since January 2018, Nepal has been re-elected with 150 votes and will serve a consecutive three-year term of 2021-2023, according to a press note issued by the Foreign Ministry.

In addition to Nepal, three countries from Asia Pacific region – China, Pakistan and Uzbekistan – were among the 15 member states elected by a secret ballot in a plenary meeting of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly today.

Other newly elected countries were Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Malawi and Senegal from Africa; Russian Federation and Ukraine from Eastern Europe; Bolivia, Cuba and Mexico from Latin America; and France and United Kingdom from Western Europe. All will serve a three-year term beginning from January 2021. The elections were uncontested for other regional groups except the Asia Pacific region.

Upon conclusion of the elections, ambassador and permanent representative of Nepal to the United Nations Amrit Bahadur Rai termed Nepal’s re-election as the international community’s acknowledgement of our progressive journey on political and human rights fronts. “It is also a recognition of Nepal’s efforts in protection and promotion of human rights both at home and across the globe, including through our peacekeepers,” he said, adding that Nepal would continue to contribute to the work of the Council in promoting an apolitical and impartial approach to human rights through a unique perspective of a land-locked and least developed country striving for socio-economic transformation. “Nepal would continue to strive, with a sense of a great deal of responsibility, to promote the ideals of justice, peace and progress for all, placing the human rights needs of the most vulnerable groups of people at the centre.”

Ambassador Rai expressed gratitude to all UN member states for their trust and confidence in Nepal’s capabilities to serve in the Council as their elected member. 

Established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 as the principal United Nations entity dealing with human rights, the Human Rights Council consists of 47 elected member states. The Council seats are allocated, on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, to the five regional groups. For African States 13 seats; Asia-Pacific States 13 seats; Eastern European States 6 seats; Latin American and Caribbean States each 8 seats; and Western European and other States 7 seats, according to the UN. 

New UNHCR Representative in Nepal

 The newly appointed UNHCR Representative in Nepal Carolin Spannuth Verma presented her Letter of Credentials to the foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, today.

Spannuth Verma, a German national, arrived in Kathmandu on September 15, 2019 to take up her new assignment as UNHCR Representative in Nepal. 

“The Government and people of Nepal have an impressive tradition of protecting those who are forced to flee persecution,” Spannuth Verma, upon resuming Office, said, adding that the generosity of Nepal is acknowledged by the international community, especially in light of its own challenges of resources. “I look forward to advancing with the government and other UNHCR partners this important agenda in a spirit of collaboration, law and compassion.”

Spannuth Verma’s journey of serving the cause of refugee protection through UNHCR has now spanned almost 25 years. She has served in various international protection and legal positions in Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia, Republic of Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria and at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva in the Division of International Protection, Asia and Africa Bureaus.

During her service with UNHCR, her thematic focus has included but was not limited to International Refugee Protection, Resettlement, Integration, Voluntary Repatriation, Refugee Status Determination, International Humanitarian Law, Protection of Civilians, Child protection,  Gender issues, LGBTIQ inclusion, Capacity Development, Refugee Law Training and Staff Welfare.

Spannuth Verma practiced law in the courts of Hamburg, Lübeck and Schwerin in Germany before taking her expertise to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York. She attained her higher and post-graduate Law Degree from the University of Freiburg and Hamburg, Germany and in 1995 obtained her license to practice as a Judge in Germany. 

Spannuth Verma is married to Dr Sunoor Verma, a heart surgeon and an international development specialist. They have two daughters. Along with an international civil service career, she still carries in her heart the city of Hamburg where she was born and educated.

Respect the rights of all people: UN Agencies

All the actors working in the Covid-19 response need to respect the rights of all people, particularly women and girls, youth, minorities and marginalised communities, adopting zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, the United Nations (UN) and diplomatic community in Nepal said today.
Issuing a press note today, some 13 international agencies including the UN and the embassies from different countries said that similar to other crises, women and children are facing heightened risk in the ongoing pandemic in the country. The press note comes amid increasing reports that girls and women have been more prone to the exploitations during the lockdown.
“Between March 11 and June 6, as many as 624 cases of violence against women and girls were reported,” the press note reads, adding that there have been concerning allegations of sexual abuse in quarantine centres, places where women should feel safe to spend their quarantine before returning to their families and their community. “In cases where sexual exploitation or abuse occur, it is essential that victims have access to safe and confidential reporting channels and services, as well as to justice and legal remedy.”
When children are victims, the approach must consider the best interest of the child and engage with the family and caregivers as appropriate, they said, calling on the concerned agencies to integrate protection from sexual exploitation and abuse into the response to Covid-19 as a central part of coordinated humanitarian action and development assistance.
The organisations said they encourage the government, private sector, civil society, communities, frontline workers, security forces and volunteers – to respect and protect those, who are vulnerable and marginalised, and create a safe environment for both the service users and providers without fear of sexual exploitation and abuse. “The responsibility to end gender-based violence lies with all of us, families, religious and political leaders, the police, civil society, the judicial committees, the justice system, and with the press,” the press note reads.

Human Rights Day marks globally under the theme of '20 Years: Working for your rights'

On one hand the domestic industries lack skilled manpower, on the other around 1,700 youths fly to the deserts of middle east and Malaysia for employment due to government's failure in creating decent work and ensuring just remuneration.

Fare wage is a fundamental rights of a worker as the UN is marking the 20th anniversary of Human Rights Day under the theme '20 Years: Working for your rights' today.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) also focuses on the challenges facing low-paid workers, which are at the centre of economic and social rights.

"One of the fundamental human rights is the right to a just remuneration that ensures an existence worthy of human dignity," ILO senior economist Patrick Belser.

The preamble to the Constitution of the ILO identifies the provision of an adequate living wage as one of the conditions for universal and lasting peace based on social justice," he says, adding that although there is no universally accepted amount that defines such remuneration, it can be described as a wage from full-time work that allows people to lead a decent life considered acceptable by society.

These ideals were crafted in 1919, yet nearly a hundred years later, millions of 'working poor' are struggling to make ends meet.
In the developing world like Nepal, in particular, many workers consider that they never really had an adequate living wage. The pattern of economic growth in recent years in developing and emerging economies has not translated into 'decent work' for all – work that meets people’s aspirations in their working lives, providing them with a decent income.

Even in advanced economies, where average income is much higher, the aspiration of an adequate living wage is not always fulfilled.

In poor countries, the capacity of enterprises to pay is so low that wages are often lower than what many consider to be sufficient for living in dignity. Part of the solution, Belser says, is for governments to pursue policies that are conducive to economic growth and higher productivity, including improving opportunities for education and training.

"But the fact that there are working poor in rich countries shows that economic growth alone is not enough," he explains. "Trade unions can also help the low paid get a fair wage."

However, there is a doubt on politically backed trade unions like in Nepal that has used as a vehicle to power not for the empowerment of the workers.

The ILO supports governments across the world to set minimum wages that take into account not only economic factors, but also the needs of workers and their families," he added.
“Living wage initiatives, like those launched in the UK and US, as well as the steps taken by multinationals to implement living wages in their supply chains, have been helpful too," Bslser said, adding that they should, however, not be seen as substitutes for union rights, minimum wages or collective bargaining.
Studies have shown that paying employees a fair wage can benefit both employees and employers. It motivates staff to work more and better, and contributes to create peace in the workplace and higher productivity.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of UN Human Rights Day.

The United Nations has highlighted, amongst others, 'economic, social, cultural, civil, political rights and the right to development'. A fair wage is at the heart of these aspirations.

Bandhs deny people their fundamental rights; strikes bleed economy white, curtailing freedom to work, movement

The season of bandhs and strikes is back again, curtailing people's right to work and movement, which is not only against the Constitution, but also bleeding the economy white.

"Bandh is the height of criminalisation in politics," according to rights activist Jyoti Baniya.

"Our Constitution has ensured people's right to movement and right to work as fundamental human rights," he said, adding that curtailing these rights is not only against the Constitution, but also against the State and the society.

The culture of taking citizens hostage by calling bandhs and strikes to climb to the seat of power is a gross violation of human rights, added Baniya, who had filed a case at the Supreme Court asking it to ban bandhs. "The Supreme Court had also banned bandhs."

"Though strikes are a right to collective bargaining, one cannot curtail others rights while exercising their own rights," he added.

Apart from our Constitution that has guaranteed the right to work and movement, Nepal is party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) that is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from January 3, 1976. It commits its parties to work towards granting of economic, social, and cultural rights to individuals and is monitored by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

With the formation of a new government to hold elections, fringe parties have been protesting, taking hostage civil liberties to bargain for power.

However, they have denied the right of the people to work for their livelihood.

The right to work is a concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and may not be prevented from doing so, Baniya quoted the international law, adding that the right to work is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognised in international human rights law through its inclusion in the ICESCR, where the right to work emphasises economic, social and cultural development.

At a time when the country is failing to create employment opportunities, forcing a majority of the youth to flock to the deserts of the Middle East, frequent bandhs and strikes have hit industries as they have not been able to operate to their full capacity.

The country is projected to witness the lowest economic growth in six years in the current fiscal year at 3.56 per cent, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics that has painted a bleak picture of manufacturing and agriculture — both engines of domestic economic growth.

The private sector — that generates the largest employment — is hit hard by bandhs and strikes, said president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Suraj Vaidya. "Industries are forced to shut down," he said, adding that frequent bandhs are bleeding the economy white

According to an estimate, a day of bandh costs the country around Rs two billion. "Even an hour of bandh will cost around Rs 83 million," according to the estimation.

"Bandhs are not a solution to any problem," Vaidya added.

People can exercise their right through other means of non-violent forms of protests, where they won't be hurting other's personal freedom and rights.

Without economic freedom, the country cannot prosper and develop, he added.

 

The universal declaration

* Article 23 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that 'everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.'

* Human rights can be classified and organised in a number of different ways. At an international level, the most common categorisation of human rights has been to split them into civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights.