Human right violation against foreign workers in Saudi Arabia

Third largest country in the middle east

Capital city: Riyadh

Government: Islamic absolute monarchy

Population size- 25.7 million

5.5 million are non-citizen

Background

Expatraite

Bangladesh, India and PakistanEgypt, Sudan and the PhilippinesIndonesiaSri Lanka

1.5m

900K

500K

350K

1973 Oil Price Boom!

New Project

LABOUR DEMAND INCREASED

Local workers were not meet the demandAsian workers are easier to controlCheaperWilling to work in bad condition

Forced to sign contract that they could not understand

formation of unions is prohibitedstrikes are forbiddenno collective bargainingCannot leave the country without employers

permission

How they were treated

300 women from India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines worked 12-hour shifts, six days a week and have to share the room with 13 other women where the door was locked from the outside.

Case

“The abuses we found against foreign workers demonstrate appalling flaws in the kingdom’s criminal justice system as a whole”

Sarah Leah Whitson (executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division)

Article 8 – No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

Article 10 – All person deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity.

Article 12 - The right to liberty and freedom of movement, and freedom to leave the country

Article 16 - The right to be recognised as a person before the law

Article 26- Everyone is equal before the law and has a right to legal protection of the law without discrimination.

ICCPR article violated

Take immediate action to inform all foreign workers in the kingdom of their rights under Saudi and international law.

Suspend implementation of death sentences for Saudi citizens and foreigners, until it can be determined independently that torture was not used and confessions were not coerced.

End immediately the forced confinement of workers, impose substantial penalties on employers who continue the practice, and provide fair and equal compensation to the victims.

Bring interior ministry practices into conformity with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which is the international treaty that establishes the right of consular officials to prompt notification about the arrest of their nationals.

Recommendation report to government