This report uses Qatar as a case study to examine how the global public health crisis affected destitute migrants in the Middle East and how employers and the government responded. It also makes a series of reform recommendations that would promote human rights by improving workers’ economic and living conditions.
The report’s central findings are two- fold: After a slow start, the government of Qatar provided migrant workers with free, adequate healthcare in response to the pandemic. But foreign laborers suffered economically as a result of construction delays, wage reductions, terminated contracts, and deportations. The contrast between the government’s vigorous public health campaign and its failure to protect workers’ livelihoods is key. Qatar should address migrants’ economic needs with the same energy and resourcefulness illustrated by its efforts to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Seeking to better understand the risks of forced labour and human trafficking in the Thai seafood industry, Nestlé contracted Verité to conduct a focused investigation of six production sites in Thailand—three shrimp farms (one in Maha...Read More
In today’s globalized economy, the issue of international labor migration in supply chains is one of the most critical – yet largely unexplored – issues for our member companies and all businesses operating globally. Labor migrants now repr...Read More
The Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2011. More than 10 years later, this global standard for how business should respect human rights has driven some positive change. While ...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic has once again exposed the fragility of global supply chains and the enormous risks to human and labour rights in a highly interconnected global economy that is not governed by the rule of law. With the global drop in dema...Read More
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