Former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has criticised FIFA for their treatment of local street vendors during the World Cup.
Fifa has set up exclusion zones to prevent informal vendors from trading near World Cup stadiums.
Robinson questioned why Fifa gave priority to multinational companies such as Coca-Cola while local vendors were sidelined in a part of the world where a majority of the people depended on street vending as a main source of income.
“We want this issue addressed for the next World Cup in Brazil and even the Olympic Games in London,” Mary Robinson said to South African publication Buisness Report. “This is an issue of human rights.”
Unemployment rates in South Africa are estimated to be between 36 and 42%, and informal trading accounts for 7% of South Africa’s GDP, the report states.
