Labor Trafficking in the Middle East
“In the context of the Middle East, the occurrence of forced labor and human trafficking is often linked to ineffective labor migration governance, which leaves migrant workers particularly vulnerable to exploitation,” states a pivotal report from the International Labor Organization. “Labour migration in the region has been influenced by trade, wars, tourism, and the discovery of oil. It is distinguished by its scale (in respect of both its absolute size and its exponential growth, at rates far beyond the global average).”
Conflicts leave individuals from neighboring Middle Eastern countries, Southeast Asia, and North Africa needing stable work. This makes them vulnerable to recruitment by employers who promise well-paying jobs. According to the ILO and the Global Slavery Index, these are common industries where individuals are in forced labor in the Middle East:
- Domestic work (housekeeping, nannying, cleaning)
- Construction
- Agriculture (including farming and animal herding)
- Manufacturing
- Seafaring (including fishing)
- Security services
Although most countries in this region have minimum age requirements for labor, they are rarely enforced. For example, Kuwait requires domestic laborers to be 21 or older. The BBC easily found a 16-year-old girl from Guinea trapped in an abusive work situation in a Kuwaiti home.
The United Arab Emirates provides a shocking case study. The 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report identified that almost 90% of the UAE’s residents are foreign workers. Although not all of these workers are being trafficked because of the kafala system, many of them are. The TIP report identifies the following labor abuses commonly happening in industries of service and manual labor:
- Withheld passports
- Lack of pay
- Limited movement
- Contract changes
- False job promises
- Inadequate food and shelter
These labor abuses affect people from a wide variety of backgrounds. For example, there has been an increasing influx of African women into the UAE and Saudi Arabia for domestic work. According to the ILO, in most countries throughout the Middle East, domestic workers are not considered to be protected by state labor laws.
The Exodus Road encountered a situation like this firsthand with Maria (not her real name), a woman from Kenya who was trafficked into Saudi Arabia. We were able to help Maria get home, supporting her as she was repatriated and accepted a role as a teacher at a nearby school. Unfortunately, thousands more young women are never connected to the right tools to help them get out.
