Human rights organisations are sounding the alarm over a rising number of migrant construction worker deaths in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom intensifies preparations to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
In separate reports released on Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and FairSquare revealed that scores of workers have lost their lives due to avoidable workplace accidents, poor safety standards, and lack of legal protections.
Many of these fatalities, they claim, are wrongly recorded as natural deaths, and families are often left without compensation or proper explanations.
The two groups are calling on Saudi authorities to urgently implement safety protections for the country’s large migrant labour force, which is tasked with building 11 new stadiums, a rail and transit system, and 185,000 hotel rooms.
The warnings come just a day after FIFA President Gianni Infantino and former U.S. President Donald Trump attended a Saudi-U.S. investment forum in Riyadh. While FIFA has pledged to uphold human rights in all its operations, it continues to face criticism for failing to adequately address labour abuses in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Labour unions are banned in Saudi Arabia, and access for independent rights groups is limited, making accurate data hard to verify. However, HRW documented the deaths of 31 workers from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal who were reportedly electrocuted, crushed by machinery, or fatally injured in falls.
The first known World Cup-related death was reported in March this year, when a Pakistani foreman, Muhammad Arshad, fell from a stadium under construction in Al Khobar.
Though Saudi officials insist that “tangible progress” has been made in occupational health and safety, rights groups say otherwise. The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), a global union, noted a worrying rise in accidents, blaming it on poor oversight and systemic negligence.
FairSquare added that autopsies are rarely conducted, denying families the truth about their loved ones’ deaths.
Lynch further criticised FIFA for focusing on image-building while families in countries like Nepal are left grieving and uninformed.
In response, FIFA told HRW that it plans to introduce a workers’ welfare system with enforceable standards for all World Cup-linked construction in Saudi Arabia. However, the rights group noted that FIFA has not yet provided specific details about how this system will operate.
HRW is urging Saudi Arabia, FIFA, and all employers involved to thoroughly investigate all migrant worker deaths and ensure fair compensation for affected families.
The BBC has reached out to the Saudi government for comment.
BBC News.