2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: new complaint against Vinci

Sherpa, the Comité contre l’Esclavage Moderne (CCEM) and six former Indian and Nepalese workers file today a new complaint against Vinci, Vinci Construction Grands Projets (VCGP), its Qatar subsidiary, Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC), and their executives and managers for forced labor and bonded labor, human trafficking, work incompatible with human dignity, failure to provide first aid assistance, deliberate endangerment of people’s lives as well as for concealing profits from these offences. It’s the first time that former Vinci’s employees from Qatar sites file a complaint against the French transnational company.

This new complaint follows an on-site investigation led by Sherpa in India in September 2018, which allowed gathering new elements and testimonies confirming Sherpa’s first investigation of 2014 in Qatar.

The previous investigation in 2014 led to the filing of a first complaint and shed a light on the working conditions of migrant workers employed by Vinci and its subcontractors on its construction sites for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. Vinci’s employees would work, with their passport confiscated, between 66 and 77 hours per week, packed in confined rooms with restricted communal accommodation, earning a salary by no means equivalent to the work provided and threatened with dismissal in case of claims regarding working conditions, in violation of Qatari law, French criminal law and international standards edicted by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The minimum wage for migrant workers is less than 2% of the average Qatari wage. The plaintiffs and witnesses were paid between 50 cents and 2 euros per hour worked.

“I signed a contract in a language that I did not understand. And when I arrived to the camp, they took my passport. I knew that I didn’t have any choice” [1] states one of the plaintiffs.

The lack of equipment necessary to protect workers from safety risks and heat (between 104°F and 122°F) would have resulted in an abnormally high number of workers’ death on construction sites.[2]

“In Qatar, working outside during the warm season is a real risk. Because of the heat and humidity, I have seen people vomiting and falling.”[3]

The first complaint filed by Sherpa on March 24, 2015 was dismissed on January 31, 2018 after the prosecutor decided to close the case[4].

The preliminary investigation launched by the prosecutor in 2015 was the first initiated against a transnational company on those legal grounds. However, it was limited to a hearing of a few Vinci’s executives and the prosecutor even refused to carry out the classic investigative acts such as searches on the premises.

As Marie Laure Guislain, head of strategic litigation at Sherpa points out:

“The weakness of the preliminary investigation reveals the lack of political will of the public prosecutor’s office. In case of severe international offenses, France should suppress the monopoly of the public prosecutor to decide to investigate or not. An in-depth investigation has to be carried out now”.

The Qatari authorities should not refuse to cooperate with the French authorities considering the context of the highly scrutinized 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The working conditions of many workers have been positively impacted following the first legal proceedings of 2015 and the parallel ILO investigation. Sherpa welcomes those improvements. However, those impacts should not erase Vinci’s responsibility for the offenses committed.

Notes

[1]    Extract from a worker’s testimony

[2] See HRW’s report (2017) accessible on : https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/27/qatar-take-urgent-action-protect-construction-workers et the Guardian’s investigation accessible on: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves

[3]    Extract from a worker’s testimony

[4]    Sherpa then filed a complaint with a claim for criminal indemnification on September 25, 2018 with one of the anonymous witness of the 2015’s complaint. According to the French criminal procedure, once the prosecutor decided to close the case, the victim can bring a lawsuit with a civil claim for damages within criminal proceedings directly in front of an investigating judge. This lawsuit can only be filed by the same parties. This is why Sherpa, the CEEM and the 6 news plaintiffs are filing a new lawsuit today.

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, February 6, 2018 – On March 23, 2015, Sherpa filed a complaint for forced labor and servitude on construction sites in Qatar, notably for the World Cup, against Vinci Construction Grands Projets and the French directors of its subsidiary, Qatari QDVC. A preliminary investigation was launched in April 2015 by the Nanterre public prosecutor.

On January 31, 2018, the Public Prosecutor decided to close the preliminary investigation.

“This decision is not a surprise. We will continue our work to bring light on the workers’ situation in Qatar. We will take action and file a complaint with a claim for criminal indemnification so the case can be referred to an investigating judge”

Sandra Cossart, Sherpa’s director.

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, 4 July 2017

On 28 June 2017, the Paris Cour of Appeal rejected VINCI’s suit alleging that Sherpa had violated its presumption of innocence, which had been brought according to Article 9-1 of the Civil Code, following Sherpa’s complaint filed in March 2015 and which alleged that VINCI CONSTRUCTION GRANDS PROJETS and the French executives of its Qatari subsidiary were guilty of forced labour, reduction to servitude and concealment. These facts were allegedly committed against migrants employed on construction sites entrusted to these companies by the Qatar government for the preparation of the 2022 World cup.

 

The suit brought by the VINCI companies was based on statements made by William Bourdon, President of the NGO, and Laetitia Liebert, its Director, during an interview given to French newspaper Libération in April 2015.

 

After finding that this interview was given in reply to the public defamation of a private person suit brought by VINCI on 13 April 2015, notably because of the press release published on Sherpa’s website, the Court held that the litigious statements aimed to show that the criminal suit was well founded and to highlight the elements that Sherpa had in its possession.

 

Sherpa was therefore entitled to defend itself and express its point of view, in reaction to the defamation suit brought against it by VINCI and to the major damages claimed.

 

‘VINCI has once against failed to convince the judges of its victim status, as they reject for the third time its attempts to silence Sherpa’, notes Léa FORESTIER, Sherpa’s lawyer. ‘In addition to the defamation suit the VINCI companies would like to use presumption of innocence to silence its opponents. The judges held that Sherpa has a right to refend itself. It is in fact its duty!

We are now waiting for justice to be able to focus on the heart of the case: the way in which VINCI treated its construction workers on the Qatari sites.’

 

 

Press contact

Marie-Laure Guislain, head of litigation at Sherpa: +33 (0)1 42 21 33 25, marie-laure.guislain@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, 10 May 2016 – A complaint filed last week is requesting an investigation into alleged corruption involving French company Vinci in the construction of a controversial motorway through Khimki Forest near Moscow. The complaint was filed to Nanterre’s chief investigating judge by civil society groups Sherpa and CEE Bankwatch Network, activists Evgenia Tchirikova and Mikhail Matveev, and with the support of Princip, defenders of the Khimki forest.

In 2007 the Russian Federal Roads Agency, ROSAVTODOR, launched a call for tenders for the construction of a section of the M11 motorway. Three companies submitted tenders, including the North West Concession Company (NWCC), owned by the Vinci Group and Russian partners including Vladimir Putin’s close associate Arkady Rotenberg. After studying the submissions, the Russian state decided to declare the call for tenders unsuccessful and rejected all three tenders. In 2009, Russian authorities awarded the section’s construction directly to NWCC for 1.63 billion Euros.

Yet several studies have shown that the route that was chosen, compared with twelve others, is the most expensive one, and the one that would have the worst environmental impact. The project’s usefulness is therefore being questioned, as it does not meet the social and environmental challenges of the Russian transportation sector.

This is the first wide-ranging case which could lead to holding a major French company liable for corruption in Russia.

Sherpa has already filed an initial complaint against VINCI CONCESSIONS RUSSIE SA on 24 June 2013 for alleged corruption of foreign public officials in the case of the tender for the construction of the section of motorway M11 through the Khimki Forest..

The appointment of an investigating judge will make it possible to carry out all actions necessary to establish the truth and identify who should be held responsible.

At a time when France has enhanced its legal framework for the fight against corruption, and French companies are making more commitments, the French judicial system must be able to establish who is liable for actions allegedly committed by a French company in a country which is known to be plagued with corruption.

Press release from: 
Sherpa and CEE Bankwatch Network

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, April 27, 2015 —On March 23, 2015, Sherpa filed a complaint for forced labor and servitude against Vinci Construction Grands Projets and the French directors of its subsidiary, Qatarie QDVC, based on information gathered in Qatar. The launch of the preliminary investigation by the Nanterre public prosecutor was announced on Saturday by the press. We welcome this crucial first step and hope that this investigation will pave the way for a phase of proceedings.

This Saturday, April 25, Le Parisian announced the launch of a preliminary investigation by Catherine Denis, Nanterre’s public prosecutor, following our filing of a complaint against Vinci Construction Grands Projets. We welcome this important first step towards access to justice for workers from their construction sites in Qatar.

We hope that this investigation will shed a light on the facts that we reported in our complaint. In any event, Nanterre’s public prosecutor deemed that this information was enough to support the launch of an investigation, which should encourage Vinci Construction Grands Projets to take all necessary measures to respect the rights of migrants on their constructions sites, and to retract its defamation complaint against Sherpa and the members of it’s team.

We hope that the prosecutor’s office takes all actions necessary to put in place a thorough investigation that will allow the French judicial system to respect human rights, by multinational corporations such as Vinci, in their activities abroad.

For more information : presse@asso-sherpa.org

Paris, Thursday, 16 April 2015 – in response to the proceedings we instituted against Vinci Construction Grands Projects and its Qatari subsidiary on 23rd March for forced labour and bonded labour, Vinci is bringing an action for defamation against the Sherpa Organisation, and also personally against certain Sherpa employees. By involving us in these costly proceedings, Vinci is plainly seeking to pressure us into withdrawing our action for lack of resources. Despite the sizeable scale of the sums claimed, we are satisfied nevertheless at the renewed focus of public debate on the human rights violations committed by French multinationals abroad.

On 14 April, Vinci issued a summons against Sherpa as represented by its President, William Bourdon, while also targeting individuals: its Director Laetitia Liebert, and the legal expert, Marie-Laure Guislain, in charge of filing proceedings against Vinci Construction on Friday 26 June at the Paris Regional Court. Sherpa Organisation faces liability to pay 405 000 euros, while Laetitia Liebert and Marie-Laure Guislain are being sued jointly for 203 000 euros, to include the statutory fine, the damages and the requirement to publish the court ruling, all pressed-for by Vinci.

Multinationals frequently resort to costly proceedings of this kind to discourage claimants with less assured finances. We were expecting such a reaction, termed a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, described in French as a “poursuite bâillon” – a gagging lawsuit).

This commonly-used retaliatory device is designed to impede by the threat of proceedings an individual’s or an organisation’s denunciation of misdoings; the success of such a manoeuvre resides not so much in winning a court action as from the process itself, which seeks to intimidate the defendant or exhaust its resources and so reduce it to silence.

We are confident, because we have evidence to substantiate what we advance, and we must not be cowed into shying away from our mission of safeguarding human rights and defending victims of economic crime, regardless of the countries in which multinationals operate.

We welcome this fresh opportunity that Vinci’s legal action provides for us to throw open to public debate the upholding of the fundamental rights of construction-site workers in Qatar. Our action has already borne fruit, since Vinci’s spokespeople have been forced to a reply regarding its practices, and, above all, have reported improvements in working conditions, both since the investigation and to come, at Vinci’s Qatar construction sites. We hope that these declarations will be borne out by tangible and appreciable improvements in living and working conditions at those sites.

For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org

A year ago, Sherpa celebrated its 20th anniversary. Year by year, our determination remains intact. Thanks to the support and commitment of our donors and members, we are able to act against the impunity of economic actors every day!

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Overview of the progress and successes of 2022!

Armed conflicts and international crimes: multinational companies under scrutiny

A world first: following a legal action initiated by Sherpa and ECCHR alongside 11 former Syrian employees, French Supreme Court confirmed the indictment of multinational Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity. A victory for our associations, which also filed a complaint this year alongside Mwatana for Human Rights against the arms companies Dassault Aviation, Thalès Groupe and MBDA France for their possible complicity in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Yemen. Supported by Amnesty International France, the legal action should lift the veil on their arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Workers’ rights: multinationals face French justice 

Forced labour, reduction to servitude, working and housing conditions incompatible with human dignity… following a complaint by Sherpa, the Comité contre l’Esclavage Moderne and 12 former construction workers, Vinci Construction Grands Projets has been indicted, in relation to its construction sites in Qatar.

In 2022, Sherpa, algonside ActionAid France, the Petrol-Iş trade union and 34 former employees of Kosan Kozmetik, the Turkish subsidiary of the Rocher group, have taken the cosmetics company to court. We accuse the French company of having failed to meet its obligations under the French law on the duty of vigilance with regard to the freedom to join a union and workers’ fundamental rights. This legislation aims precisely at preventing violations from occurring within French groups operating in countries where as in this case, trade union freedom is threatened.

Environment: recognising companies’ liabilities for their activities abroad 

After several years of investigation, in cooperation with the Congolese civil society and an initial “pre-trial” action aimed at lifting the veil on the company’s corporate opacity, Sherpa and Friends of the Earth France, supported by the NGO Environmental Investigation Agency, have initiated a groundbreaking legal action against the oil company Perenco. In regards to the pollution linked to the group’s activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we demand that the company be ordered to remedy the environmental damages caused in the DRC.

This year was also marked by the victory of Sherpa and its partners in the Cameroonian palm oil case against Bolloré: the appeal judges once again ruled in favour of the associations.

Ill-gotten gains: the end of a judicial saga and a victory against the “Butcher of Hama”

The French highest court has confirmed the condemnation of Syrian former vice president, Rifaat al-Assad, to four years in prison for money laundering and embezzlement and the confiscation of his assets located in France. For Sherpa, at the forefront of the fight against international corruption and ill-gotten gains for two decades, this condemnation opens the way for the restitution of assets to the looted populations.

Whistleblowers: the voice of associations (partly) heard

Behind the revelations and scandals that have made the headlines in recent years, there aremen and women who decide to speak out to denounce malfunctions and avoid health, ecological or economic crises. In February 2022, the parliament finally adopted a law to improve the protection of whistleblowers. A hope for associations such as Sherpa, mobilised alongside la Maison des Lanceurs d’Alerte!

Taking action and sharing its battles: respect for human rights and the environment in West Africa

From Togo to Benin, via Senegal, 30 civil society organisations have been trained on corporate responsibility thanks to the Vigilance project. This project, leadby Sherpa and its partners RSE-et-PED France, RSE-et-PED Togo, RSE Benin and La Lumière (Senegal), has been implemented since 2021 to address the lack of economic actors’ regulation, behind most of environmental damage and violations of workers’ and local communities’ rights in these West African countries.

To go further and continue our actions, we need you! 

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The fight against illicit financial flows is a key element of development and poverty reduction policies. Illicit financial practices threaten the notion of public interest, affect the functioning of public services and fuel citizens’ distrust of governments.

Through its actions to fight corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, Sherpa wants to hold the economic actors who allow capital to escape from the countries of the South accountable. It is crucial to return the misappropriated money to the countries that have been robbed. These revenues are essential for the provision of quality public services and therefore for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.

Ill-gotten gains case in Syria, Rifaat al-Assad

Electrogas Malta Limited case: Complaint against several French banks for money laundering and concealment

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Paris, November 17, 2019 – Sherpa announces the departure of William Bourdon from the Board of Directors. He remains Founding President of the association. 

A lawyer at the Paris Bar, he founded Sherpa in 2001, accompanying its development as President until 2017. For many years, he was Sherpa’s voice and brought his committed expertise and innovative vision to the fight against economic crimes around the world.

Under his presidency, emblematic strategic litigation cases were launched, setting unique precedents in French case law and enabling the French legislative framework to evolve in a sustainable way.

In particular, he initiated a complaint on behalf of Burmese refugees who alleged that they had been victims of forced labour at the Yadana site operated by TOTAL in Burma. A judicial investigation had been opened and following a long legal battle, a settlement was reached in November 2005. Under this unprecedented agreement, the complainants were compensated and the Burmese refugee communities in Thailand were provided with a €5 million fund.

As President of Sherpa, he filed a complaint in March 2007 against Teodoro NGUEMA OBIANG that opened the great legal saga of the ill-gotten gains. This procedure has contributed to the emergence of case law on the criminal admissibility of anticorruption associations. It has remarkably consolidated the jurisdiction of French courts with regard to money laundering committed in France but whose original offense was committed abroad. Teodoro NGUEMA OBIANG’s appeal trial is scheduled to begin in December, after he was sentenced on October 27, 2017 to three years’ suspended imprisonment and 175 million euros in confiscation of his property. In a near future, this procedure should set the legal framework for the restitution of assets to populations.

His involvement, his work and publications have contributed to decisive steps in the fight against impunity for multinationals. The indictment of executives and then the Lafarge company, the procedures for misleading advertising – Samsung and Auchan and for modern slavery Vinci in Qataris  are thus illustrative of the multiple strategic litigation cases showing the flaws in national and international law regarding the liability of economic actors throughout their value chain. These cases served as a laboratory to support the adoption in 2017 of the Law on the duty of vigilance which legally enshrines this responsibility for the first time and now serves as an example at the international level.

Sherpa keeps this pioneering and innovative spirit. The arrival of Franceline Lepany as President in 2017 had already opened a new era for Sherpa, characterized by the appointment of Sandra Cossart as a Director and the renewal of a large part of the team. This team, with the support of the Board of Directors, perpetuates and develops Sherpa’s vision initiated by William Bourdon.

Sherpa will continue to develop its international role and network and will rely on its resources and a strengthened team to build and promote a more protective legal framework for populations in the face of globalization. Sherpa will still be able to count on William Bourdon’s support in the implementation of this strategy, and we warmly thank him.