EVENT SUMMARY: “Living as Commodities: Human trafficking and migrant exploitation in the Arab Gulf”

On 25 October 2016, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), along with Bahrain Institute for Rights & Democracy (BIRD), and Amnesty International co-hosted a panel at the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament. The event coincided with the release of ADHRB’s newest report, Living as Commodities: Human and sex trafficking in the GCC,[…]

Stranded in Saudi: Citizens and Migrants Unite in Rare Protest

In September, hundreds of Saudi and foreign workers employed at a private hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province went on strike in protest over months of unpaid wages. The strike, coordinated and orchestrated by both Saudi citizen-workers and migrants, marks a turning point in migrant and labor relations in the Gulf, and indicates the escalation[…]

HRC33: ADHRB raises concerns re: enforced disappearances & debt bondage in GCC

On 15 September 2016, Erin Sigmon, ADHRB’s Advocacy Associate, delivered an oral intervention at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council under item 3 on the Emirati government’s use of enforced disappearances & issue of debt bondage in Saudi Arabia Please continue reading for full remarks or click here to download a PDF. Esteemed Rapporteurs, Americans[…]

Bahraini Officials Use Free Market Economy to Justify Lack of Minimum Wage

Two weeks ago, Bahrain’s Labor Affairs under-secretary of the Labour and Social Development Ministry, Mohammed Al Ansari, stated that the Gulf country is not considering a minimum wage for domestic workers or anyone working in the private sector. In 2011, Bahrain implemented a BHD 300 minimum wage for employees in the public sector. While the Bahraini[…]