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Nov 30, 20232 min read

The Violation of Migrant Workers’ Rights in the Middle East – An Environmental Perspective

On November 30, 2023, in Dubai, the 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) started. Migrant workers in the UAE constitute 88% of the entire population – including construction workers, drivers, airport staff, hotel workers, and security guards – and the preparation and delivery of COP28 relied on their exploitation. In fact, the COP28 sites were themselves linked to serious abuses against migrant workers, including illegal recruitment fees, nonpayment of wages, passport retention, and discrimination. Under the Kafala system – which regulates migrant workers’ legal status in several Gulf countries – employers enjoy disproportionate control over migrant workers’ lives and legal status. Not surprisingly, abuses like wage theft and exorbitant recruitment fees are rampant. Of further concern, as reported by Human Rights Watch (2023a/b), is the fact that protections against extreme heat are grossly inadequate. This constitutes a contradiction with the founding essence of the Climate Change Conference, that is, the pursuit of sustainable development by addressing the issue of climate change and its consequences, including the protection of human rights. In fact, the extreme working conditions to which labourers were and still are subjected frequently lead to serious health problems against which foreign workers are not protected under existing labour laws, resulting in unemployment. This can be described as climate-related harm.


Another glaring example is the case of the abuse suffered by foreign workers involved in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Baker (2022) and Amnesty International (2024) drew attention to the extreme heat and unsafe working conditions that led to many migrant workers losing their lives, while the Qatari authorities neither appropriately investigated their deaths, nor offered effective remedy to their families. Migrant workers were forced to work in temperatures reaching 44.4°C, with breaks of only a few hours at lunchtime, resulting in frequent instances of bloody noses, headaches, muscle cramps, vomiting and collapses. Hot temperatures are even more dangerous when combined with high humidity. As the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index illustrates, a WBGT of 32.5°C is considered the upper limit for heat injuries. However, the typical late summer afternoon in Qatar, during which many workers were and are employed, far exceeded this limit.


Both the evidence gathered in the UAE and Qatar only reflects what does constantly occur on a broader regional scale, especially to foreign workers under the Kafala (sponsorship) system. It calls for urgent reform of national labour codes to ensure greater transparency, inclusive protection measures, and effective compensation.


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