Prompted by international scrutiny of working conditions on flagship projects in Qatar and the UAE, in 2016, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre surveyed construction companies on their approach to safeguarding migrant workers’ rights in both countries.
Two years on and with a second survey, the findings show that while a consistent but small group of construction companies demonstrate real commitment to tackling the risks to migrant workers in their operations, the overwhelming majority operate with high risks to human rights and continued disregard for workers’ welfare. In both years, more than 70% of surveyed companies did not respond and over 60% did not have a public commitment to human rights.
This briefing analyses the survey responses and public human rights commitments of construction companies with current projects in the region and makes recommendations to companies, clients and governments to advance the rights of migrant workers.
An overview of the risks to migrant workers on construction projects across the Gulf. Migrant workers make up between 60% and 90% of the workforce in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Low-wage construction workers are at...
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has quizzed 100 construction companies operating in Qatar and the UAE on the measures they are taking to stop exploitation of migrant workers. Only 22 responded, indicating a shocking level of inaction. Despite increasing...
This report gives an insight into the link between corporate practices in the Arabian Gulf’s engineering and construction sector and the recruitment – in South Asian countries like India and Bangladesh – of many of the migrant workers who staff the industry’s projects.
Funded by the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children through its Safe Online initiative, ECPAT, INTERPOL and UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti worked in partnership to design and implement Disrupting Harm – a rese...Read More
Over the last few years, research about child sexual exploitation and abuse online has received increased attention, particularly as our lives shifted further online during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the picture remains decidedly unclear – pa...Read More
Unlocking Potential: A Blueprint for Mobilizing Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking is the final report of the Liechtenstein Initiative for a Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, which has now formed Finance Again...Read More
Over the past few decades, some of the EU’s largest and most well-known companies have been involved in appalling human rights abuses and environmental harm in countries across the globe. The companies have failed to address abuses perpetuated by ...Read More
2025 © Copyright, RESPECT International. All Rights Reserved. Website Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
