At the start of the soccer World Cup in Qatar this Sunday, the FDP is campaigning for new conditions for the awarding of major sporting events.
In a draft resolution by the FDP Presidium, which is available to “Bild am Sonntag”, there are five proposals for new conditions when deciding on sporting events. As a result, the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) will in future have a binding award code based on democracy and human rights. Applications would then only be approved “if the host countries meet and guarantee democratic and human rights standards,” says the draft from which BamS quotes.
The UN guiding principles for business and human rights as well as sustainability could serve as a model for a corresponding code, write the liberals in the paper “Awarding Olympics and world championships in future only with a democracy seal”.
In addition, the FDP wants a “seal of democracy” for the purchase of broadcasting rights for major sporting events: Public service broadcasters are not allowed to indirectly support authoritarian regimes with the money of the contributors. “Respect for human rights such as equal rights for women, freedom of the press, freedom of opinion and religion and the protection of minorities must become a standardized condition.”
In addition, the Liberals want a “compensation fund for the World Cup workers in Qatar”. The host country Qatar and FIFA should compensate workers and families for injustice that has happened through inhumane treatment and inadequate safety standards. In addition, compliance with security guarantees for all visitors and the exclusion of Iranian officials from the World Cup in Qatar are required. The FDP leadership wants to vote on Monday.
“Awarding the World Cup to Qatar was a mistake,” FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai told the magazine. “The right conclusions must now be drawn from this in order to prevent international sports competitions from being awarded to authoritarian or autocratic states in the future. Respect for universal human rights must be made the decisive criterion for procurement decisions.”
