Dutch Cabinet won't boycott World Cup over Qatar human rights issues

The caretaker Cabinet won't decide now not to send a government delegation to the World Cup in Qatar. At the start of this year, parliament adopted an SP motion not to send a Minister or the King to the event at the end of 2022 because of the many cases of abuse migrant workers face building the stadiums.

According to Foreign Minister Ben Knapen, the accusations against Qatar have often been "completely justified" in recent years. A British newspaper reported that at least 6,500 workers were killed in the construction of stadiums. But the pressure exerted on Qatar to improve matters has helped, the Minister said.

Moreover, the Netherlands desperately needs the Gulf state to get people out of Afghanistan, Knapen said in parliament. He does not want to tamper with that relationship by now saying that there will be no government delegation at the World Cup. SP parliamentarian Jasper van Dijk is disappointed. He thinks it "doesn't look nice towards parliament." Oranje qualified for the tournament this week.