Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
Forum:
The Ad Hoc Commission on Global Inequality
Issue:
Protecting the rights, security, and welfare of guest workers in the
Persian Gulf
Student Officer: Eric Zhang
Position:
Deputy Chair
Introduction
“We conducted a risk assessment looking at basic fundamental labor rights. The Gulf region stood out
like a red light. They were absolutely at the bottom end for rights for workers. They were fundamentally
slave states."
-Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation
“Fleeing extreme poverty and harsh living conditions, millions of migrant domestic workers from across
Asia and Africa flock to the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Leaving underdeveloped countries such as Sri Lanka,
the Philippines, Nepal and Ethiopia, the workers seek higher salaries which they send home as
remittances. However, higher wages often come at a high cost in human rights abuses and labor
violations.”
-Richard Lyon, Eyes of Egypt and the Region
The oil boom in the Persian Gulf during the early 1970s created an unprecedented demand for
labor. This demand was met by guest workers, largely from Arab states, and later, Asian countries.
Since then, a large percentage of the population has become foreign workers, and nowadays, they
account for roughly 40% of the population. Unsurprisingly, this high ratio of migrant workers to those
native to the country presents a multitude of social, political, and economic problems.
Workers come from all over the world. However, while some are highly skilled technical people
from Europe and the United States (such as petroleum engineers), the majority of the non-native
workforce is made up by unskilled to semi-skilled laborers from South Asian countries, for example,
India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Research Report ◆ Page 1 of 8
Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
Definition of Key Terms
Persian Gulf
The sea area between the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Bahrain, Iran,
Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have coasts along the Gulf.
Many of the major cities of the Middle East are situated in this region.
Guest Workers
Workers of foreign origin who come to a country for job prospects, otherwise known as foreign
workers or migrant workers. These terms will be used interchangeably in this report. Guest workers can
vary from skilled individuals to illegal migrant workers, and temporarily reside in the country they work in.
Kafala System
Used to monitor the number of foreigners working in the Persian Gulf. It requires an in-country
sponsor, usually the employer, for all unskilled laborers. This systems has been criticized for creating
easy chances for exploitation, and many employers take away passports and abuse their workers with
minimal legal repercussion. Bahrain's Labour Minister Majeed al-Alawi likened the system to slavery.
History
Migration and globalization is a process that wax and waned over history. The beginning of the
European colonialism and global trade in the sixteenth century was an example of globalization. At the
time, the migration of labor from Europe and Asia was the largest surge of globalization. After disrupted
by the two World Wars and the great depressions in the twentieth century, it resumed with renewed
energy as the world recovered.
The process of migration, throughout history, has always been the combination of an expansion
for world trade with the movement of people looking for better economic potential for their labor. With the
technological advancements in transportation, migration nowadays has become increasingly complex
flows of labor and economic and political conflicts that arise from it. Issues about migrant labor are
impacting most places in the world, such as in the United States, where migrants from Latin America has
created conflicts, or Europe, where the worry is about migrants from Africa and Asia.
The Persian Gulf presents an unusually extreme case. Collectively, they hold the largest
concentration of oil reserves in the world, and the rapid rise of oil consumption and prices in the 1970s
proved immense revenues. One side effect of this rapid growing wealth is the dramatic influx of
expatriate workers to these countries. Along with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait’s population nearly doubled the
decade between 1975 to 1985.
Research Report ◆ Page 2 of 8
Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
Key Issues
Xenophobia and Racism
Xenophobia in host countries is a prominent issue. As of 2007, 10 million workers from Southeast
and South Asia and Africa live and work in the Persian Gulf region. Often allocated to menial labor, guest
workers are treated with prejudice despite attempts to eliminate malpractice and exploitation.
Racism is widespread. An increased number of unskilled workers meant the racism will start to
pervade the market. The incorrect association with dangerous or dirty jobs to that of Asians and Africans
(from whence the workers came) is increasingly common.
Treatment of workers
Substandard wages and poor living conditions are just some of the many problems surrounding
the welfare of guest workers. In regards to injuries and death, worker and their dependents are not paid
due to compensation. Many workers pay up to $3,000 to recruitment agencies, only to find themselves
working overtime without payment, no time off, and jobs that are completely different from what they
signed up for in their home countries.
Mistreatment, including the sexual sort, is relatively common. According to the International Labor
Organization (ILO), a body under the United Nations, estimates 600,000 workers in the Persian Gulf can
be classified as victims of trafficking. Wage complaints, the inability to change employers or leave the
country because their passports are held in custody are common complaints. Legal slavery wasn’t
abolished in the region until the 1960s. Now, migrant labor often serves as a functional substitute.
Major Parties Involved and Their Views
Qatar
In preparation for the 2022 football World Cup, Qatar imports more workers to build stadiums and
facilities to a country already 94% foreign. There has been pressure from international labor
organizations asking to call of the World Cup due to work right concerns.
The Qatar Foundation, founded by the emir (the muslim leader of Qater), has drafted rules for
guest workers, including, contractors under the foundation must pay for the worker’s ticket to the country,
provide three weeks off a year, and access to a washing machine. According to Nicholas McGeehan of
Human Rights Watch, "Qatar has been quite successful at giving off a progressive image when, in fact,
the [labor] system is exploitative".
Research Report ◆ Page 3 of 8
Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has 80% of its total workforce as guest workers. Following Qatar’s example, and
with the urging of the Philippine government (where many of the migrant workers originate from), Saudi
Arabia has recently agreed that Filipino workers should earn at least $400 a month. Runaways have
difficulty leaving the country as they need to show their original residency papers, often held by the
employer.
Accordng to a 2008 Human Rights Watch report, Saudi Arabia’s kafala system means that “an
employer assumes responsibility for a hired migrant worker and must grant explicit permission before the
worker can enter Saudi Arabia, transfer employment, or leave the country. The kafala system gives the
employer immense control over the worker”.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates has 85% of its total workforce as guest workers. An estimated
600,000 foreign workers in the United Arab Emirates obtained work permits through the kafala system.
Workers are not allowed to change jobs for at least two years. Domestic servants represent up to 5% of
the total population. Security concerns prompts national media to use terms such as “demographic
imbalance” to gloss over statistics regarding the amount of expatriates in the country. This obscuration
can be very harmful to the understanding of the situation for other nations or organizations seeking to
improve the situation.
According to Jane Bristol Rhys, an associate professor of anthropology at Zayed University, “the
foreign population in the UAE is enormous but hardly monolithic: It is fragmented first by nationality and
then further divided by ethnicity, education, employment, and economics”
Timeline of Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events
Date
Description of event
1973
Oil price boom causes a rush of migrant workers to the region
1973-1982
1985
1990-91
The “oil decade”. A more than three fold rise of guest workers increased the
non-native workforce to 4.4 million by 1985
Rapid fall in oil prices prompted a decrease in infrastructural development in the
Gulf states. Migration from Asia dropped by almost one third
Persian Gulf War. Many migrants were forced to return home
Research Report ◆ Page 4 of 8
Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
2009
Bahrain repealed kafala system
Research Report ◆ Page 5 of 8
Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue
Discussions of migrant labor in the Persian Gulf often overly focus on the financial and human
cost of migration, or the exploitation and human rights abuses. While these are serious issues
themselves, without taking into consideration the subtleties and the complex lives in the region as well as
the push factors from their home countries tends to paint them as victims. Rather than examining all
stages of the migration, discussions concentrate on the guest workers experience in the gulf. Delegates
must keep in mind this issue is multifaceted, and strive to look at the migration process more holistically.
In Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, legal regulatory frameworks have been implemented.
These states have tried to balance their (often nationalistic) development narratives of the desires of
their citizens to the pressure from transnational actors attempting to grant universal rights. According to
Sarah Leah Whitson from the Human Rights Watch, says the Qatar Foundation’s code could be the
model that will spark regional change. But she also worries that the regulations, which have not yet been
enshrined by Qatari law, will not be put into practice. Passports are still being confiscated from foreign
workers in the United Arab Emirates despite court orders to the contrary. From Lebanon to Kuwait,
cruelty towards these workers remains widespread.
Possible Solutions
A more holistic approach is recommended when tackling this issue. Delegates must keep in mind
this issue is multifaceted, and strive to look at the migration process as a whole.
Major issues surround the kafala (sponsorship) system, and the situation in the Gulf is unlikely to
change without its reform. Revision of this system is imperative in improving the rights of those who work
in the Persian Gulf.
A working group to study the situation is recommended. The World Bank has many blank spots in
regards to the distribution of wealth, and filling these blanks is essential towards a better understanding
of the situations. The group may also choose to track individuals over time, with reports on their
treatment. Situations differ from case to case, so to have a variety of different workers to monitor can
help others paint a better picture of the region.
Research Report ◆ Page 6 of 8
Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
Bibliography
Abella, Manolo. Asian migrant and contract workers in the Middle East. N.p.: n.p., 1995. Print.
Hansen, Judith M.L. "HUMAN MIGRATION PATTERS: QATAR AND THE PERSIAN GULF." Shoreline
Community College. Shoreline, Washington. 17 Nov. 2010. Lecture.
Harmassi, Mohammed. "Bahrain to end 'slavery' system." BBC News. BBC, 6 May 2009. Web. 14 Nov.
2014. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8035972.stm>.
Jureidini, Ray. "Migrant Workers and Xenophobia in the Middle East." United Nations Research
Institute for Social Development. N.p., 31 Dec. 2003. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/0/045B62F1548C9C15C1256E970031
D80D>.
Lyon, Richard. "Migrant Labor in the Gulf." Daily Kos :: News Community Action. Kos Media,
LLC, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/11/955225/Migrant-Labor-in-the-Persian-Gulf>.
"The Middle East's migrant workers: Forget about rights." The Economist.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21583291-attempts-improve-lotmigrants-working-middle-east-are-unlikely, 10 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21583291-attempts-improve-lotmigrants-working-middle-east-are-unlikely>.
"Migration and the Gulf." Réseau Voltaire. N.p., Feb. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.voltairenet.org/IMG/pdf/Migration_and_the_Gulf.pdf>.
Montague, James. "World Cup hosts Qatar face scrutiny over 'slavery' accusations." CNN. Cable News
Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 1 May 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
<http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/30/sport/football/football-qatar-world-cup-2022-worker-rights>.
Shah, Nasra M. "JSTOR: International Migration Review, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 410-424."
JSTOR. iTHAKA, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2545795?uid=3737800&uid=2&uid=4&sid=211045477081
41>.
Research Report ◆ Page 7 of 8
Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Sixth Annual Session
"What are Guest Workers? (with pictures)." wiseGEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-guest-workers.htm>.
Research Report ◆ Page 8 of 8