U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a senior member of the foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate, led a group of eight senators who sent a letter to the International football Federation (FIFA), according to a press release on the website of the Senator.
In their letter, the senators asked the organization to heed calls to open an investigation into exploitation of North Korean workers during the construction of the stadium world Cup in Russia. Expressing his disappointment in the initial FIFA decision to award the right to host the championship, «a country which so grossly ignores international norms», the senators urged the President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, to consider the suspension of Russia as host of 2018 world Cup if an independent investigation finds that the Russian government or the local organizing Committee was involved in the forced labor of North Korean workers.
«As an organization that can affect the lives of billions of fans, athletes, and workers around the world, FIFA should live up to their commitments in the field of human rights. Protection of workers and athletes from forced labour should be a key element of these commitments. If FIFA will not take action against Russia and North Korea, it will be perceived as the tolerance of the outrageous actions of these countries,» write the senators. «The main sports event in the world must be built on the backs of the most vulnerable people in the world.»
In his letter, the senators also appeal to FIFA with the request to exclude North Korea from its members, citing allegations that the regime of Kim Jong-UN harshly treats its own athletes, perhaps sending them to the camps.
Besides Menendez, the letter was signed by senators Cory Gardner, ed mark, Sherrod brown, Marco Rubio, Richard Blumenthal, David Pardo, and Amy Klobuchar.
