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CADAL's request was sent to Bernd Neuendorf, President of DFB (Germany), and to Gijs de Jong, General Secretary of KNVB (Netherlands). In this regard, Gabriel Salvia, General Director of CADAL, pointed out that "although we are an Argentine organization and the original request, based on the memory of the last military dictatorship, was made to our national soccer team, the global action we promote in favor of international democratic solidarity also reaches soccer associations of other democratic countries". Salvia added that "the request was extended to Germany and the Netherlands because in those countries there is probably a culture more committed to human rights and it will also allow us to compare the reactions of the three organizations to which this request was sent so far, since the AFA did not even reply acknowledging receipt".
Meanwhile, CADAL continues with its campaign on the Change.org platform "Qatar 2022: La pelota no se mancha" requesting signatures in support of this initiative. So far, more than 500 signatures have been received, among them, Graciela Fernández Meijide, former Secretary of the National Commission on Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP).
Campaign Qatar 2022: The ball does not stain
Hello, we are the NGO CADAL, and we work for human rights and international democratic solidarity. We are initiating this petition to ask the AFA to request authorization from FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) to include the human rights symbol in black, as a sign of mourning, on the official jersey that the Argentine national soccer team will wear during the World Cup in Qatar, in condemnation of the human rights abuses committed in this country and in solidarity with the victims; and also to ask FIFA to incorporate the strictest human rights standards into the selection process for future World Cup venues.
Behind the stars and glamour of the World Cup in Qatar lies a situation that deserves the strongest condemnation. Qatar has been guilty of serious human rights violations for years. Women and sexual and religious minorities are severely discriminated against and the government exercises strict control over individuals and the media. Various segments of the population lack full political rights and human rights organizations cannot operate without state permission.
The terrible abuses suffered by the migrant workers who built the stadiums and infrastructure deserve special mention. Most of them came to Qatar from neighboring countries, fleeing poverty and enticed by recruitment agencies that recruited them from abroad for expensive fees. But the fate that awaited them was very different from what was promised: the wages the workers received were much lower than those agreed and many of them lived confined to precarious and unsafe accommodation, enduring temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius. In addition, the companies that hired them denied them movement permits and withheld their passports to prevent them from returning home early. The Qatari migrant workers have no rights; they are slaves in the 21st century.
For all of the above, and remembering the human rights violations suffered by Argentine men and women in the months leading up to the 1978 World Cup, we ask you to join us by signing and sharing the petition.
Let us not be accomplices. The ball does not stain.
