Githu Muigai, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism and xenophobia, ended a recent 5-day visit to the UAE by calling for an end to discrimination against the country’s population of migrant workers.
He voiced concerns about the system of granting citizenship, the problem of hu…
Archive for the ‘UAE’ Category
UN Special Rapporteur Asks UAE to End Racism
October 18th, 2009
Radisson CSR for migrant workers – kind gesture or missing the point?
October 11th, 2009
Abusive employers General Gulf UAE Workers
An appeal backed by Radisson Hotels raised DH 1 million for construction workers during the month of Ramadan, according to this press release. The ‘Shoe Box Appeal 2009′ called on school children in the Emirates to donate gift boxes filled with basic items such as toothbrushes, nail clip...
UAE: 13-year-old girl and two women from Iraq forced into prostitution
October 9th, 2009
Legal cases News Trafficking UAE
The Khaleej Times reported today about a horrible case of human trafficking and child exploitation in the UAE. An Iraqi couple was charged with human trafficking and running a prostitution ring after the police found in their apartment in Sharjah two women and one girl who were engaged in prostituti...
Passport Confiscation Still Rife in Middle East
September 13th, 2009
The practice of withholding the passports of migrant workers is still rife among employers in the Middle East, according to this recent post by blogger and M-R.org reader Sreekrishnan. Construction workers and maids are routinely forced to hand over their passports to their employer when they start...
7 Pakistani worker starve to death during attempt to reach Dubai
August 4th, 2009
A Pakistani official reported to AFP that at least seven Pakistani nationals and one Iranian sailor died during a failed attempt by the Pakistanis to reach Dubai. The four survivors for the group of 12 Pakistanis reported that they crossed by land to Iran, from where the human-traffickers were suppo...
Cities of Exclusion in the Gulf: Evidence in a UAE Mall’s Ban on Laborers
July 12th, 2009
Last week, I read a blog post with a link to an article in the Maktoob Business on one Dubai mall’s recent decision to ban low-skilled laborers from entering on evenings and weekends. While this is an example of pretty blatant discrimination, the Al Bawadi Mall’s spokesperson, Mr. Khalid Shraim ...
‘Indian Worker Suicides Down 41%’ in UAE
May 3rd, 2009
The annual number of suicide deaths of Indian migrant workers in the UAE fell by 41% year-on-year in 2008, falling from 118 deaths to 69, according to this recent news report. The results mark a reverse of the trend that has been seen in the past four years. Between 2005 and 2006 the number of suic...
Hell for Migrants: The Dark Side of Dubai
April 7th, 2009
I urge you all to read this article by British journalist Johann Hari, The Dark Side of Dubai, which deals which contains a heartbreaking description of the conditions enduring by migrant construction workers in the Emirate. Hari goes where few journalists venture, to a labour camp away from the gl...
UAE Rejects UN Recommendations for Migrant Workers’ Rights
March 23rd, 2009
The UAE has rejected more human rights suggestions put forward by the United Nations as part of the country’s Universal Periodic Review, including a number which specifically concern the treatment of migrant workers. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, appeared ...
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