GCC States: Ratify Migrant Rights Treaty
Saudi Arabia/GCC States: Ratify Migrant Rights Treaty
(New York, April 11, 2003) -- Millions of migrants who work in Saudi
Arabia and neighboring countries lack real legal protection, Human
Rights Watch said today. In letters to the six states of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates -- Human Rights Watch strongly urged their
leaders to endorse the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.Nearly ten million foreigners, most of them unskilled and semi-skilled
migrants, work in the GCC states. Some 5.5 million are employed in Saudi
Arabia, where foreigners comprise one-third of the population. In
Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, non-citizens are in the
majority and total about 4.4 million people.“Saudi Arabia and the other GCC states have a special responsibility to
participate in all international efforts to guarantee rights and justice
for this vulnerable population,” said Hanny Megally, executive director
of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch.
“Becoming parties to the migrant rights convention will signal the GCC’s
willingness to help address a serious worldwide problem.”The convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on
December 18, 1990, and will enter into force on July 1, 2003. It
promotes and protects the rights of migrant workers and their families
and applies not only to documented workers -- migrants who are in
compliance with local law – but also to those who lack or have lost
legal authorization for residency and employment, described in the
treaty as persons in “irregular situations.”“In the Gulf states, documented migrants can easily slip into illegal
status through no fault of their own,” said Megally. “Unscrupulous
employers and sponsors deliberately let residence permits expire, or
literally sell workers to other employers, thereby invalidating their
work permits. Desperate migrants also flee terrible working conditions
and end up outside the law.”The convention guarantees basic human rights to all migrants, including
the rights to life, due process, fair trials, and freedom of expression
and religion, as well as equal treatment with nationals in respect to
economic and social rights. Its provisions also address the following
key problems found in the GCC states:Intimidation and violence
Migrants, including large numbers of women employed as domestic
servants, face intimidation and violence at the hands of employers,
supervisors, sponsors, and police and security forces. Intimidated by
violence or the threat of it, workers are often afraid to demand unpaid
wages, protest poor conditions, or seek legal recourse for abuses.
Article 16(2) of the convention guarantees to migrants and their
families “effective protection by the State against violence, physical
injury, threats and intimidation, whether by public officials or by
private individuals, groups or institutions.”Restrictions on freedom of movement
Sponsors and employers continue to confiscate migrants’ documents,
including passports and residence permits. This severely restricts
freedom of movement and limits migrants’ ability to report mistreatment
to authorities without risking arrest, imprisonment, and steep fines.
Article 21 of the convention prohibits anyone other than a duly
authorized public official from confiscating such vital documents, and
requires that migrant workers receive detailed receipts when their
documents are legally confiscated.Migrants in the GCC states typically cannot obtain an exit visa to leave
the country of employment without the approval of their sponsor or
employer; arbitrary denials of exit visas can place migrants in
situations that amount to forced labor. Article 8 of the convention
reaffirms the right of migrant workers and their families to leave any
state.Trafficking and forced labor
Migrants in undocumented or “irregular” situations are among the most
vulnerable. Recruiters in their home countries traffic migrants en
masse, promising them jobs and salaries that never materialize. These
workers have often paid recruiters significant sums to secure what they
believed were legally enforceable contracts and work visas. Deeply in
debt and with no other options once they arrive, they have little choice
but to work for local sponsors or employers under highly exploitative
conditions that effectively amount to forced labor or servitude.The convention stipulates that migrant workers and members of their
families may not be held in “servitude” or “required to perform forced
or compulsory labor.” Article 68(1) calls for cooperation among States
parties to prevent and eliminate such “illegal or clandestine movements
and employment,” and requires states to undertake the following
measures:• prevent the dissemination of misleading information relating to
emigration and immigration;
• detect and eradicate illegal or clandestine movements of migrant
workers and members of their families;
• impose effective sanctions on persons, groups or entities that
organize, operate or assist in organizing or operating such movements;
• impose effective sanctions on persons, groups or entities that use
violence, threats or intimidation against migrant workers or members of
their families in an irregular situation; and
• impose sanctions on employers of workers in irregular situations,
whenever appropriate.Restrictions on the right to organize and join trade unions
In all the Gulf states, laws and regulations either prohibit or restrict
migrants’ participation in independent trade union activities. Article
40(1) of the convention provides for the right of migrants “to form
associations and trade unions in the State of employment for the
promotion and protection of their economic, social, cultural and other
interests.” Article 26 affirms the right to join such groups and freely
participate in their meetings and other activities.Links:
Text of Migrant Rights Convention –
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/m_mwctoc.htm
