Amnesty: Qatar has done 'nothing' to end labour exploitation

Labour exploitation remains rampant in Qatar and authorities have "done almost nothing effective" to end it, said Amnesty International in a statement on Tuesday.

The international rights group's statement came ahead of the fifth anniversary of Qatar winning the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which has been marred with allegations of migrant labour exploitation.

"Too little has been done to address rampant migrant labour abuse. Qatar's persistent labour reform delays are a recipe for human rights disaster," said Mustafa Qadri, Gulf Migrant Rights Researcher at Amnesty International.

Qatar's persistent labour reform delays are a recipe for human rights disaster - Mustafa Qadri, Amnesty

Amnesty said that proposed Qatari labour reforms did not address the central issues facing migrant workers employed to build the facilities needed to host the World Cup, however even those reforms have been delayed several times.

The group had published a report in May of this year in which it identified nine main issues facing migrant workers, but said the Qatari government had failed to address five of them.

Among the issues flagged by Amnesty, which Qatari authorities have reportedly not addressed, is the payment of wages on time, increasing the number of labour inspectors and reforming the Kafala sponsorship system that only allows migrant workers to switch jobs or leave the country after their employer's approval.

The group called on FIFA to press Qatar to implement reforms that protect migrant worker rights.

It also called on FIFA - and its business partners - to "put in place human rights due diligence systems that identify and prevent human rights abuses linked to the staging of the World Cup".

Qatar rejected Amnesty International's statement, which it said did not reflect the labour reforms implemented in the country, with plans for more reforms.

Qatar employs an estimated 1.8 million migrant workers, many of whom work in construction projects that were started after the Gulf country won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.