The Expo 2020 will see an estimated 25 million people visit Dubai as the UAE showcases itself to the world. Yet 12 months ahead of the Expo’s launch, migrant workers on UAE construction sites continue to suffer exploitation and abuse – from heat stress and unsafe conditions to late or non-payment of wages and curbs on being able to change jobs.

A new report by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre finds 62 of the new construction projects awarded in UAE since January 2018 went to companies that have failed to disclose how they protect migrant workers.

Two contracts went to companies with records of alleged human rights abuses: Saudi firm the BinLadin Group and UAE company Al Arif Contracting.

The report also finds that the UAE government has a big role in awarding construction projects, with $25.3 billion – 66% of the contracts (by monetary value) – since January 2018 awarded by government bodies or companies fully or partially owned by the state.

This means the UAE government has a key responsibility to award contracts to companies that safeguard migrant workers’ rights, and to pay contractors on time to avoid delays to supply chain workers’ wages.

One year to Expo 2020: A Snapshot of UAE Construction Sector and Risks to Vulnerable Workers DOWNLOAD

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

Forced to beg Child trafficking from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal
GuidancePublications

Taking children from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal and forcing them to beg on the streets has become the most visible form of human trafficking in both countries. Many Quranic teachers and intermediaries’ prey on vulnerable families in Guinea-Bissau. O...Read More

TAGS: Africa
Teens of Tobacco Fields
Publications

In July 2015, Human Rights Watch interviewed 26 children, ages 16 and 17, who worked on tobacco farms in North Carolina that summer. Almost all of the children inter- viewed—25 out of 26—said they experienced sickness, pain, and discomfort while...Read More

Strengthening Protection Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal and Corporate Supply Chains
Publications

Verité has collected comprehensive data about global industries with a significant history or current evidence of human trafficking or trafficking-related activity, and has analysed the over-lap between global supply chains deemed to be at risk for ...Read More

Flag States & Human Rights Report 2019: Protecting Human Rights at Sea
Publications

The human rights obligations of States apply equally at sea, as they do on land. That said, human rights are frequently violated at sea, but the violations remain unpunished. This is hardly surprising given that it is difficult to monitor violation...Read More