Amnesty urges India to provide more 'transparency' over Indian workers' deaths in Qatar

Human rights group Amnesty International has reportedly urged India to reveal more 'transparent information' about the deaths of Indian migrant workers in Qatar, which is preparing itself for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

India revealed that 455 Indians had died in 2012 and 2013, prompting concerns from labour groups, although it said that the 'overwhelming number' of deaths were due to 'natural causes'.

According to the BBC, Indian and Qatari officials insisted there is nothing abnormal about the death rate given the large amount of Indians; almost 500,000, in the Gulf state.

The Indian external affairs ministry said that figures for the 'number of Indian deaths in the last five years remain consistent' and are not in any way 'attributable to any one cause or the other', although a Amnesty International spokesman said that the government should provide 'clearer and transparent' details about the deaths.

The spokesman further said that the Indian government should 'work urgently with the Qatari government and other governments across the Gulf to address the serious labour abuses experienced by Indian migrant workers'.

The report mentioned that following a Right to Information (RTI) request, the Indian embassy in Doha published figures showing that 237 Indian workers had died in Qatar in 2012 and 218 in the first 11 months of 2013 at an average of about 20 per month, peaking at 27 in August.