Qatar was controversially awarded the sport's showpiece event on December 2, 2010, after beating off opposition from Australia, Japan, South Korea and United States.

Recent attention has focused on the bidding process for the event, and the corruption allegations surrounding the process, as well as the move of the tournament to November and December to avoid searing summer heat. 

Labour rights of those working on the construction of venues has been a third concern, however, particularly after the publication of high death toll figures among migrant workers, with it claimed as many as 1,200 may have died since 2010.

This forced the Government to commission a report from the international law firm DLA Piper.

Eighteen months after that report was published, however, many of its recommendations have yet to be enacted, it is claimed, while "nothing has been done to assess the number of deaths and injuries or the reasons for them".

“Too little has been done to address rampant migrant labour abuse," claimed Mustafa Qadri, Gulf Migrant Rights Researcher at Amnesty International.

"Qatar’s persistent labour reform delays are a recipe for human rights disaster.

“The reforms proposed by the Government fail to tackle the central issues that leave so many workers at the mercy of employers, yet even these changes have been delayed.

“Unless action is taken - and soon - then every football fan who visits Qatar in 2022 should ask themselves how they can be sure they are not benefiting from the blood, sweat and tears of migrant workers.

“FIFA has played its part in this sorry performance, it knew there were labour rights issues in Qatar.

"It must work closely with the Qatari authorities and business partners to ensure the World Cup is not built on exploitation.”

An estimated 1.5 million migrants work in Qatar, predominantly from Nepal and India.

Numbers are expected to reach two million within the next two years, with the construction of World Cup venues a key reason for this. 

Non-Governmental Organisation Amnesty claims Qatar has "seriously failed" to address five key issues, including paying wages on time, something which "leaves migrant workers and their families back home in desperate situations".

A commitment to expanding the labour inspector force to 400 by the end of 2015 has also not been met, having been postponed until the end of 2016, while, under the kafala sponsorship system, workers are still required to seek their employer’s consent to change jobs or leave the country.

“Under the kafala system it is all too easy for an unscrupulous employer to get away with the late payment of salaries, housing workers in squalid and cramped accommodation, or threatening workers who complain about their conditions," added Qadri.

"That is why kafala requires a major overhaul, not just tinkering at the edges."

“Migrant workers continue to face impediments and delays in accessing the justice system, and are not allowed to form or join unions.

"Many thousands still struggle to obtain adequate health and other basic services, face delays in obtaining their resident permits, or live and work in intolerable conditions.”

Amnesty International have also called on Qatari authorities to implement and monitor reforms to protect migrant workers’ rights.

It also wants 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".

The statement added: "FIFA has done little concrete to press the hosts of its showpiece sporting event in the past five years.

"Most recently, FIFA failed to deliver on its promise in May to investigate the detention of British and German journalists who tried to investigate migrant workers’ working and living conditions."

Qatar's Labour Ministry has declined to comment on the statement, Agence France-Presse reported.

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