FairSquare is a non-profit organisation. We combine thorough, hard-hitting research with impactful advocacy to promote systemic change and stop human rights abuses.
We produce original findings to generate debate and shape narratives in our specialist areas of labour migration, political repression, and sport. We work mainly in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
We challenge government policies that put low-paid migrant workers in wealthy countries at grave risk of abuse and exploitation.
Our research and advocacy focuses particularly on the pernicious impacts of temporary labour migration schemes in Europe and the Middle East and issues relating to migrant worker health, notably deaths and injuries linked to heat. Our Five Corridors Project was a major piece of comparative research into the role of governments in ensuring fair recruitment of migrant workers. We led the Vital Signs Partnership, which examined the health and mortality of South Asian migrant workers in Gulf states. In the UK, we are part of the Seasonal Worker Interest Group.
We work with activists and victims of human rights abuses to push back against state repression.
We focus primarily on states in the Middle East region that are supported by governments in Europe, including the UK where we are based. As well as research and campaigning on individual cases, we examine the impacts of western foreign policy, and draw connections between repression and the extraction of fossil fuels and the activities of businesses and cultural bodies. We focus on the real risks faced by activists living outside their countries in supposedly safe states such as the UK, as the states we work on seek to extend the reach of their repression beyond their borders.
We promote better, more democratic governance to prevent sporting institutions contributing to harm and suffering.
Sport has the potential to play a transformative, positive role in society, but too often its power is misappropriated and exploited. Our work on accountability in sport is informed by years of research and advocacy on abuses connected to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and the role of FIFA. We have taken a strong stance against state ownership of English football clubs, and explored the political implications of such projects. We call for better rule-making by governing bodies on how they respond to violations of international law.
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01.
Exploitation of
Migrant WorkersWe challenge government policies that put low-paid migrant workers in wealthy countries at grave risk of abuse and exploitation.
Our research and advocacy focuses particularly on the pernicious impacts of temporary labour migration schemes in Europe and the Middle East and issues relating to migrant worker health, notably deaths and injuries linked to heat. Our Five Corridors Project was a major piece of comparative research into the role of governments in ensuring fair recruitment of migrant workers. We led the Vital Signs Partnership, which examined the health and mortality of South Asian migrant workers in Gulf states. In the UK, we are part of the Seasonal Worker Interest Group.
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May 14, 2025
New report predicts surge in unexplained migrant worker deaths in Saudi Arabia
A FairSquare report published today has found that there is a critical absence of effective policies and processes to determine the cause of migrant worker deaths in Saudi Arabia, and concluded that the surge of construction associated with projects such as NEOM and the 2034 men’s World Cup will in all likelihood lead to thousands […]
Aramco Business and Human Rights Climate Exploitation of Migrant Workers FIFA Football Fossil fuels Health Saudi Arabia Vital Signs -
02.
Political
RepressionWe work with activists and victims of human rights abuses to push back against state repression.
We focus primarily on states in the Middle East region that are supported by governments in Europe, including the UK where we are based. As well as research and campaigning on individual cases, we examine the impacts of western foreign policy, and draw connections between repression and the extraction of fossil fuels and the activities of businesses and cultural bodies. We focus on the real risks faced by activists living outside their countries in supposedly safe states such as the UK, as the states we work on seek to extend the reach of their repression beyond their borders.
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July 17, 2025
UK must overhaul response to transnational repression
Victims of transnational repression (TNR) in the UK may lose trust in the British system to take the threats to them seriously, a Select Committee inquiry has been told in relation to cases linked to the governments of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Arbitrary detention Authoritarianism Bahrain Civil society Egypt Middle East and North Africa Political Repression Saudi Arabia Transnational Repression Travel Bans UAE UK UN Working Group on Arbitary Detention -
03.
Accountability
in SportWe promote better, more democratic governance to prevent sporting institutions contributing to harm and suffering.
Sport has the potential to play a transformative, positive role in society, but too often its power is misappropriated and exploited. Our work on accountability in sport is informed by years of research and advocacy on abuses connected to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and the role of FIFA. We have taken a strong stance against state ownership of English football clubs, and explored the political implications of such projects. We call for better rule-making by governing bodies on how they respond to violations of international law.
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October 2, 2025
FIFA and International Cricket Council under scrutiny over Saudi Aramco ties in light of UN Human Rights Warning
Six of the world’s biggest sports organisations, including FIFA, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Formula 1, have been challenged to justify their sponsorship deals with state-owned Saudi Aramco following concerns that such partnerships may place them in breach of international human rights standards.
Accountability in Sport Aramco Authoritarianism Business and Human Rights Climate Concacaf Cricket FIFA Football Formula 1 Motor racing Saudi Arabia Sport and Human Rights UN UN Human Rights Council Women's Rights
