By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DOHA, Qatar-Pressure is being raised by the United Nations against Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, to end labor abuse.  Qatar has implemented a sponsorship system for migrant workers that is at the root of the abuse.

“This marks a stain on Qatar’s reputation and is something that can be improved right away,” said Francois Crepeau, a U.N. Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.   Crepeau reported that living conditions of foreign workers tended to be poor, referencing them to “slums.”

With the World Cup quickly approaching, Qatar has been scrambling to complete major construction and infrastructure projects, increasing the number of its estimated 1.8 million foreigners (88 percent of Qatar’s population) working on projects for the event.

The system that Qatar has implemented prohibits employees from changing jobs or leaving the country without permission from their sponsors, who are frequently labor supply companies or wealth Qatar individuals who provide workers to personal profit businesses.

“A majority of the employee sponsors confiscate their passports for the duration of their contract, placing most of the workers in the construction and domestic work sectors.  Qatari Labor Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

“This system that is used to regulate the relationship between employers and migrant workers, with a work permit linked to a single employer, is problematic and a source of abuse against migrants,” said Crepeau.

Crepeau visited Qatar, meeting with government officials, migrant workers, academics, and Qatar’s National Human Rights committee.  He was able to visit every location that he wished to see and sat down to discuss drafting laws for domestic workers and a blacklist of companies who abuse migrant workers.

Crepeau also certified the establishment of a minium wage, a more developed labor inspection system, and the kafala system, the system that binds workers to a single employer and forbids the to change jobs or acquire an exit visa.

Living conditions were criticized by Crepeau,  “The dwellings I have visited do not conform to Qatari legislation.  I saw bunk beds, which are prohibited.  I saw overcrowding.  I saw very shoddy construction of these camps.  One place in particular had no kitchens…the latrines are, let’s say, minimal.  Access to water was problematic at times.”

In September, dozens of Nepali workers died during the summer in Qatar as laborers were not given enough food and water.  However, Nepal recalled its ambassador from Qatar this past Thursday after she claimed that Qatar was an “open jail” for Nepalis who suffer labor abuses.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-UN official urges Qatar labour reforms-10 November 2013

Gulf News-UN urges Qatar to improve migrant labour conditions-10 November 2013

Reuters-U.N. expert on labour abuse urges Qatar to end sponsorship system-10 November 2013

Guardian-Qatar under pressure over migrant labour abuse-26 September 2013

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMALLAH, Palestine – The Israeli/Palestinian peace process has been threatened by Israeli moves over the past week to move forward with the construction of more than 3,700 new illegal settler homes in occupied Palestinian territories.

Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, said . Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are “illegitimate.” (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Several international leaders have called upon Israel to restrict the construction of settlements in Palestinian territory seeing the construction of these settlements could derail peace process between Palestine and the state of Israel.

On Wednesday United States Secretary of State John Kerry called for Israel to limit the construction of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. Kerry said that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are “illegitimate” and are serving as a hindrance to the ongoing peace talks between Israel and Palestine. He said “Let me emphasise that the position of the United States is that we consider now, and have always considered, the settlements to be illegitimate.” He also said that there was no deal that the Palestinians accept that would recognize illegal settlements in return for peace, saying; “I want to make it extremely clear that at no time did the Palestinians in any way agree, as a matter of going back to the talks, that they could somehow condone or accept the settlements.”

Kerry’s statement reflects the growing feeling amongst the international community that Israel’s government sanctioned settlement program is preventing any real progress in talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

On Thursday Catherine Ashton, the head of foreign affairs for the European Union addressed Europe’s concerns over the announcement that Israeli’s decision to allow the construction of more than 1,5000 homes in the West Bank, which she feels can damage the peace process. She said “The EU deplores the latest settlement announcement and calls on the Israeli government to reverse its decision.”

Ashton also said in a statement that the European Union has “repeatedly stated that settlements are illegal under international law and that bold and decisive leadership is needed for the current peace negotiations to succeed,” and that the planed actions that “could hamper or undermine the ongoing negotiations must be avoided.”

Secretary Kerry met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. According to his spokesman, President Abbas told the Secretary of State that “the Palestinians are committed to negotiations that would lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.” He also said that the Palestinians consider all Israeli settlements to be illegitimate.

An anonymous senior Palestinian official said that Palestinian officials would refuse to continue the talks with Israel as long as Jewish settlement on the West Bank are allowed to continue to proliferate. He said “The Israeli side is determined to continue its settlement and we cannot continue negotiations under these unprecedented settlement attacks,” he said after a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – EU Deplores Israel’s New Settler Homes Plan – 7 November 2013

Al Jazeera – Kerry: Israeli Settlements are Illegitimate – 6 November 2013

The Jerusalem Post – Kerry: US Considers Israeli Settlements to Be Illegal – 6 November 2013

The New York – Kerry Presses Israel on Settlement Construction – 6 November 2013

DAMASCUS, Syria-The United States and Russia have failed to agree on a date to bring Syria’s disputing sides back to the table to negotiate.  The two powers have currently remained divided over what role Iran should play in an aspired for Geneva peace conference.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League’s top envoy to Syria, reported that even though Russia and the U.S. did not reach an agreement at the end of their discussions, all hope is not lost in resuming negotiations.  Another round of talks is set for November 25^th.

Brahimi further went on to say that one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the various divisions among the Syrian opposition.  “It is no secret to anyone that the opposition has a lot of problems and is working seriously to overcome these problems to reach a position and appoint a convincing delegation to represent them in Geneva, and that is what has delayed us a bit,” he said.

Diplomats have experienced numerous challenges throughout the negotiation process with world powers strongly disagreeing over what steps should be taken to end the fighting and how the Syrian government should be shaped moving past President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, has once again insisted that Iran, a supporter of Assad, should join them in the discussion of the Syrian conflict.  Russia has been an avid supporter of Assad as well but Iran’s presence at a Geneva conference would cause controversy among Syrian rebels and their Gulf Arab supporters.

Syria’s Information Minister, Omran al-Zoubi, claimed that the Assad government is not ready to hand over their power causing many to insist that Assad should not be present at any negotiations.

The United Nations announced that outside aid in the form of food, shelter, medicine, and other basic necessities is in need to at least 40 percent of Syrians, as storages are running low.  “It’s a disaster, and it continues,” said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

More than 9 million people, including 6.5 million who are internally displaced, are in need of humanitarian assistance.  The war has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the past three months.

The plan to incorporate a government body to replace the Assad regime began in June 2012 with talks of establishing a government with full executive powers agreed to by both sides with implementation of elections.  However, once again, no general agreement has been achieved on how this should be done.

For more information, please see the following:

Aljazeera-No date agreed for Syria peace conference-06 November 2013

USA Today-Syria peace talks postponed in blow to Obama-06 November 2013

Associated Press-UN envoy: No deal on Syrian peace talks date-05 November 2013

Reuters-Arab League backs Syria peace talks, urges opposition to go-04 November 2013

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Last week an amateur video showing a native Saudi man beating a migrant worker for allegedly talking to his wife sparked outrage in Saudi Arabia and around the world. The video highlighted the harsh reality of life for millions of migrant workers in the Arab state.

The Saudi government-backed Human Rights Commission has condemned the video. Mohammed Al-Madi, of the Human Rights Commission, said “We are taking this very seriously and are looking into it with Saudi security.” He added “We are doing our utmost to ensure the accused abuser is arrested and tried. We are also doing everything we can to find the abused man, so that we can help him in any way.”

An estimated nine million migrant workers live in Saudi Arabia. Migrant workers make up more than half of the state’s workforce mostly filing manual, clerical and services possessions.

Legal migration into the country depends on the Kafala system which requires migrant workers to be sponsored by their employer’s in order to enter and remain in the country. This system has been criticized by human rights organizations around the world. Human Rights Watch has called this system abusive saying that “the kafala, or sponsorship system ties migrant workers’ residency permits to sponsoring employers, whose written consent is required for workers to change employers or leave the country.”

Human Rights Watch argued that under the Kafala system “employers often abuse this power in violation of Saudi law to confiscate passports, withhold wages and force migrants to work against their will or on exploitative terms.”

Azfar Khan of with the International Labour Organization argued that the Kafala system allows for widespread abuses of labourers. Because many migrant workers are forced to surrender their passports upon entering many Arab states in the Middle East they become vulnerable to abuse.

“When the employer has that kind of power, then they can dictate the working conditions,” explains Khan. “Whether it’s a question of the wage rates, whether it’s a question of the work time. “Because legal residency under this system depends on employer sponsorship, rather than a system of residency less tied to individual employees, migrant workers are often suitable to workplace abuses out of feat that if they defy their bosses or quit their jobs they may be forced to leave the country.

In an effort to reduce the 12% unemployment rate among native Saudis the government announced that it would crack down on illegal migrant workers in the country.

On April 3, 2013 the Saudi government announced an amnesty period for illegal workers which would allow them to get their papers in order or leave the country without being penalized by the state.

The deadline passed on November 4^th and one million worker are estimated to have left the country since the amnesty period began in April while four million are reported to have found employers to sponsor them under the kafala system, making these migrants dependent on their employers for their residency in the state.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Should Saudi Arabia End Its Kafala System? – 4 November 2013

BBC News – Saudi Arabia Rounds Up Migrant Workers As Amnesty Ends – 4 November 2013

The Economic Times – 10,000 Sri Lankan Migrants Return On Saudi Amnesty – 4 November 2013

CNN International – Abuse Video Shocks Saudi Arabia – 4 November 2013

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: Protect Migrant Workers’ Rights – 2 July 2013