Multiple human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have criticised a human rights assessment of Saudi Arabia's 2034 FIFA World Cup bid, claiming it fails to acknowledge documented abuses to workers in the country.

Amnesty International and 10 other organisations on Monday announced their concerns about the assessment, which was created by Riyadh-based law firm AS&H Clifford Chance for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and published by football governing body FIFA.

The groups called the assessment "flawed" and said it "contains no substantive discussion of extensive and relevant abuses in Saudi Arabia documented by multiple human rights organisations and UN bodies".

Tournament "will inevitably be tarnished by severe human rights violations"

As well as labour abuses, the groups said discrimination against women and LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia was not acknowledged in the Independent Context Assessment. 

"AS&H Clifford Chance agreed to a decision by FIFA and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) to effectively exclude analysis of Saudi Arabia's record on multiple critical human rights such as freedom of expression, LGBTI+ discrimination, the prohibition of trade unions, or forced evictions – either because Saudi Arabia has not ratified the relevant treaties or because SAFF did not accept them as 'applying'," Amnesty International said.

"It is incredible that AS&H Clifford Chance omitted such glaring risks from its assessment and scandalous that FIFA paved the way for them to do so," head of labour rights and sport at Amnesty International Steve Cockburn added.

"FIFA must now insist on a proper assessment and meaningful human rights strategy, or its flagship tournament will inevitably be tarnished by severe human rights violations."

Calling for an updated human rights assessment from the law firm, the statement of concern was created and signed by Amnesty International with FairSquare, ALQST, The Army of Survivors, Building and Woodworkers International, Equidem, Football Supporters Europe, Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Middle East Democracy Center and Migrant-Rights.org.

Human rights groups raise three main concerns

The organisations outlined three main concerns about AS&H Clifford Chance's assessment, which they said "fatally undermine" any claim of providing an independent review of the human rights relevant to hosting the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

One of the concerns was the exclusion of analysis of certain human rights in Saudi Arabia, including freedom of expression, LGBTQ+ discrimination, prohibition of trade unions and forced evictions.

According to groups, these exclusions were decided by FIFA and SAFF either because SAFF did not consider them applicable or because "Saudi Arabia has not ratified the relevant treaties".

The other main concerns were that AS&H Clifford Chance did not consult external experts in the assessment and that some damaging findings on Saudi Arabia were left out, including reported death penalties associated with the Neom mega-development.

The criticism from human rights groups comes as FIFA prepares to confirm the host of the 2034 World Cup on 11 December, with Saudi Arabia the only bidder for the event.

"The severe risks of hosting the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia are clear and well-known," Cockburn said. "Without huge reforms, critics will be arrested, women and LGBT people will face discrimination, and workers will be exploited on a massive scale."

A reported 21,000 migrant workers have died since 2016

"AS&H Clifford Chance had the chance to write a credible assessment of risks that are relevant to the 2034 World Cup," said ALQST executive director Julia Legner.

"Instead, they have produced an artificially limited, misleading and overly positive perspective that serves only to whitewash the reality of abuse and discrimination faced by Saudi Arabia's citizens and residents."

Clifford Chance, the global law firm that includes AS&H Clifford Chance, said it would be "inappropriate" to make further comment on the assessment, according to the human rights groups.

A recent ITV documentary titled Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia stated that 21,000 migrant workers from Nepal, Bangladesh and India had died in Saudi Arabia since 2016, which was when the country launched its Vision 2030 plan to shift its economy from a reliance on oil.

Concerns about human rights issues were previously raised in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, despite FIFA introducing a human rights policy in 2017.

Ahead of the 2022 event, Amnesty International published a report claiming migrant workers building infrastructure for the World Cup were "subjected to conditions that amount to forced labour", and British news publication The Guardian reported that 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar between 2010 and 2020.

The country recently revealed the 15 stadiums it has planned for the tournament, including one located in The Line – a controversial mega city that is currently being built as part of Neom.

Image of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium courtesy of Populous.