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Workers’ issues and human trafficking were among the chief concerns of a human rights plan released Monday by the North Texas World Cup host committee.
FIFA requires each of the 16 host cities to develop a plan addressing human rights issues ahead of the tournament, which is expected to bring over 100,000 people a day to North Texas.
With a first draft submitted to FIFA in January, the plan was developed over the course of several years in collaboration with more than 200 stakeholders, including the city of Dallas and nonprofit organizations across the region. The version presented to the media at a roundtable discussion on Tuesday will be refined before a final plan is published in May.
The host committee is responsible for public safety, transportation, local vendors and events such as the fan festival in Fair Park. FIFA will independently oversee operations at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, which will be referred to as Dallas Stadium during the tournament, and the International Broadcast Center in downtown Dallas.
The region will host nine matches, the most of any of the 16 host cities. Dallas is preparing to host an estimated 3.8 million fans during the World Cup’s 39-day run, with over 35,000 fans expected to attend events at Fair Park each day.
Trafficking and Workplace Safety
The human rights plan outlines a vetting process for local suppliers, who must comply with FIFA’s sustainable sourcing code before being approved as vendors. Supplier categories include food and beverage, security, general contractors, event planning and janitorial services. The code prohibits forced labor, trafficking, child labor and other abuses of workers’ rights.
Suppliers who gain approval may be subject to continued monitoring under the plan, and an independent third-party firm will conduct employee interviews to ensure compliance with host committee policies. The plan also stipulates a $15 minimum hourly wage for event workers.
Workers’ rights at FIFA events became a highly visible issue following reports of widespread abuse and wage theft endured by migrant workers at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Officials in the county have previously admitted that an estimated 400-500 migrant workers died in the run-up to the tournament, according to Amnesty International, although the official number remains the subject of debate.
Minal Davis, who oversees human rights initiatives for the Dallas and Houston host committees, said Tuesday that there will be a dedicated worker support center at the fan festival in Fair Park. At the center, workers can file grievances and receive bilingual assistance. It will also provide relief from scorching North Texas summer temperatures.
“It will be a tent that’s air-conditioned, and essentially their rest and break area, where there will be information, access to water, of course, and then snacks as well,” Davis said at the roundtable. “There’ll be dehydration checks and medical checks and all kinds of things that they can do… So we feel confident that we can make sure that workers are staying cool, despite what the weather may bring us.”
The host committee is coordinating with regional anti-sex trafficking organizations to provide resources for victims and launch a public awareness campaign. Davis said that the committee has remained in contact with law enforcement agencies to combat the issue.
“We’re coordinating with them. They’re already in the region,” Davis said. “They already have their partners in place, and they already know what to do, and they often beef up operations around mega sporting events. So yes, we liaise and talk with them pretty regularly here.”
Other Concerns
Organizers are partnering with local homeless outreach organizations, such as Housing Forward, ahead of the tournament, Davis said.
“If we do have an encampment or homeless people along a transportation route or something like that on the day that a team is being transported…. We would coordinate with them, make sure that Housing Forward, who has those street outreach teams, does things in a humane way. There’s no forced displacement there,” Davis said. “We would engage them to come out and do the right thing there.”
Increased accessibility, anti-discrimination measures and free speech protections are also recommended by the plan. Organizers have created peaceful demonstration toolkits for Dallas, Arlington, Worth and Frisco.
A key part of the plan calls for individuals to have access to a remedy if they experience human rights violations. Along with services available at the worker center, the plan outlines resources for LGBTQ+ individuals, migrants and those who have been victims of criminal human rights abuses.
The role of ICE in the tournament’s security apparatus, as confirmed by Director Todd Lyons at a congressional hearing last week, was not discussed at the roundtable. However, the version released Monday does allude to anxieties about immigration enforcement.
“Many of these law enforcement agents could be from outside of the Dallas area and may have low levels of community trust and bias against communities of color. Additionally, there has already been documented fear of police among Dallas immigrant residents,” the plan’s text reads. “There could also be an increase of unjust arrests or immigration enforcement with the increased presence of state and federal law enforcement officials, creating greater unease for undocumented immigrants.”
