KAFALA SYSTEM AND THE WORLD CUP IN QATAR: FROM FORCED LABOR TO SUSTAINABILITY

Francesco	 Testa

Francesco Testa

Keywords: Qatar World Cup, Kafala, exploitation of workers, forced labour, slavery, servitude, ILO, Agenda 2030, principle of sustainable development

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the phenomenon of exploitation of migrant workers employed in Qatar for the construction of infrastructure dedicated to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The entry of migrant workers into Qatar occurs through the Kafala system, whose distorted effects seem to enable a new form of slavery. The contribution aims to verify whether this phenomenon can constitute crimes of forced labour, slavery, and servitude, and highlights the progress made with the intervention of the ILO, which has resulted in structural reforms aimed at aligning Qatari labour regulation with the principle of Sustainable development.