The High Court on Monday sought a list of Bangladeshi migrant workers who died, and got injured during the construction works of hotels and stadiums in Qatar since 2010 to 2022 for the last year's FIFA World Cup.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Embassy of Bangladesh in Qatar and Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in Geneva, Switzerland, have been asked to prepare the list and to submit the list before this court.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Ahmed Sohel passed the order after hearing on a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Masood R Sobhan.
The HC bench also issued a rule asking the concerned bodies of the government to explain in four weeks as to why they should not be directed to collect and assertion the names of the workers of Bangladesh who were involved in the construction works in Qatar since 2010 to 2022.
It also wanted to know from the respondents to explain as to why they should not be directed to approach the International Labour Organization (ILO), Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), Ministry of Interior of Qatar and Ministry of Labour of Qatar demanding the proper compensation to the families of Bangladeshi migrant workers.
Mr Sobhan submitted the petition in December last year saying that at least 450 Bangladeshi migrant workers reportedly died while constructing hotels and stadiums in Qatar between 2010 and 2022 in preparation for the world cup.
In the petition, he said the migrant workers from Bangladesh were treated inhumanely in Qatar.
The flight of the migrant workers who were working for more than 8 hours in a day under 53-deree Celsius got the attention of the entire world and roundly Qatar was criticized by each and every human rights body and football federations of many countries.
In 2019, under intense pressure, Qatar promulgated act to address the issues regarding the migrant workers’ sufferings, but it was too little and too late. Even that law was not implemented and as such the sufferings continued.
