Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Jul 26, 2024

Beckham berated for video praising Qatar

Beckham berated for video praising Qatar

Human rights campaigners on Thursday slammed David Beckham for fronting a glossy publicity campaign praising World Cup host Qatar as “perfection”, despite concerns over its rights record.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England football star has appeared in a series of videos posted on the Visit Qatar website where he samples local art and food and visits a desert camp, exclaiming: “This is perfection for me!”

The ads were “just the latest slick and positive video about Qatar that David Beckham has put his face to”, said Felix Jakens, head of priority campaigns with Amnesty International UK.

The London-based rights monitor upbraided Beckham for making “no mention of the country’s appalling human rights record”.

The video campaign has Beckham saying that the Arab state “really is an incredible place to spend a few days on a stopover”.

“I cannot wait to bring my children back,” he adds.

Beckham last year signed a deal reportedly worth £150 million to promote the gas-rich Gulf state, which will be hosting the World Cup in November. He was appointed a cultural ambassador.

Jakens urged Beckham to use his “unique profile” to highlight the “terrible abuses” that tens of thousands of migrant workers have faced while working on World Cup multi-billion dollar sites.

Amnesty earlier this year demanded that world football’s governing body Fifa set up a $440-million fund for “abused” workers in Qatar.

The Arab state has faced accusations of under-reporting deaths and injuries among workers as well as complaints of unpaid wages.

There are also questions over its respect for the rights of women and the LGBTQ community.

The tiny state with conservative Muslim leaders has been in the rights spotlight ever since it was awarded the World Cup in 2010.

Critics say Qatar’s progress over the last decade has been mixed and that more pressure must be applied on the country and Fifa before the first ball is kicked in the 32-nation tournament on Nov 20.

Qatar refutes the number of deaths of migrant workers reported by some international media and says it has introduced a series of reforms to its employment regulations since being selected to host the World Cup.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Israel Warns France of Iranian Threats at Paris Olympics
Possible Successors to Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party Leader
Olaf Scholz to Run for German Chancellor Again in 2025
TikTok Fined by UK Regulator for Child Safety Data Reporting Failures
Miracle Baby Born After Gaza Airstrike
Global Tech Outage Caused by Bug in CrowdStrike's Software
Ukrainian FM Open to Peace Talks with Russia, China Reports
EU to Transfer Interest from Frozen Russian Funds to Ukraine
Greenpeace Co-Founder Paul Watson Arrested in Greenland
EU Relocates Summit to Punish Hungary over Orban's Ukraine Visit
Netanyahu Seeks Meeting with Trump During Washington Visit
World's Hottest Day Recorded on July 21
UK Labour Government To Halt Migrant Housing on Accommodation Barge
President Biden Returns to White House After Testing COVID Negative
Trump Says Kamala Harris Would Be Easier Election Opponent Than Biden
Thousands Protest in Mallorca Against Mass Tourism
Immigration Crackdown Targets Car Washes and Beauty Sector
Nigeria's Controversial Return to Colonial-Era National Anthem
Hacking Vulnerabilities: Androids vs. iPhones
Ukraine Crisis Should Be EU's Responsibility, Says Trump’s Envoy
A Week of Turmoil: Key Moments in US Politics
Barrow's Sacred Heart Primary School Faces Long-Term Closure
German National Sentenced to Death in Belarus
Elon Musk's Companies Drop CrowdStrike After Global Windows 10 Outage
US Advises India on Russian Ties Amid Geopolitical Shifts
Trump Pledges to End Ukraine Conflict if Reelected
Global IT Outage Unveils Digital Vulnerabilities
Global IT Outage Sparks Questions About Financial Accountability
CrowdStrike Bug Affects 8.5 Million Windows Devices
Flights Resume After Major Microsoft Outage
US Criticizes International Court's Opinion on Israeli Occupation
CrowdStrike Update Causes Global IT Outage Due to Skipped Quality Checks
EU’s Patronizing Attitude Towards Africa Revealed
Netanyahu Denounces World Court Ruling on Israeli Occupation
Adidas Drops Bella Hadid Over Controversy
Global Outage Caused by CrowdStrike Update Impacts Millions
Massive Flight Cancellations Across the U.S. Due to Microsoft Outage
Global Windows Outage Causes Chaos Across Banks, Airlines, and More
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Using Chemical Weapons
UK's Flawed COVID-19 Planning Exposed by Inquiry
Ursula von der Leyen Wins Second Term as European Commission President
Police Officer Injured in Attack in Central Paris
Hulk Hogan absolutely tore it up at the RNC.
Paris is being "cleansed" of migrants and homeless people ahead of the Olympics.
Lamine Yamal arriving at his school after winning the Euros
Campaigners Urge UK Government to Block Shein's London IPO
UK Labour Government's Legislative Agenda
UK Labour Government to Regulate Powerful AI Models
Record Heat Temperatures in Ukraine Amid Power Crisis
UK Government Plans to Remove 92 Hereditary Peers from House of Lords
×