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.
Migrants with insecure immigration status often feel unable to report cases of abuse and exploitation for fear that government authorities will prioritise their immigration status over the harm they have experienced and that they will face seri...Read More
Systemic wage theft has long been part of the labour migration landscape in every region of the world. During COVID-19, egregious underpayment of migrant workers was even more widespread as businesses encountered financial pressures and vast numbers...Read More
Right now, climate change is negatively affecting many of the most vulnerable people in the poorest countries in the world. A combination of sudden-onset disasters and slow-onset events are having a destabilising effect on urban and, in particular, ...Read More
The guide is for boards of companies in the United Kingdom. It sets out five steps boards should follow to satisfy themselves that their companies identify, mitigate and report on the human rights impacts of their activities. These steps will also he...Read More
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