fairsquare – FairSquare

Manchester’s political leaders should use influence to call for release of detained UAE activists

A coalition of five human rights NGOs has urged Manchester City Council to make a public call on the government of the United Arab Emirates to release Ahmed Mansoor and others in the UAE who have been unfairly imprisoned for expressing criticism of its government.

Urgent appeal to UN on case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah

FairSquare has joined 33 other human rights organisations in writing to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) to consider and announce their opinion on Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s case at the earliest opportunity.

India should refuse Israeli calls to replace Palestinian workers with Indian nationals

Acceding to any Israeli request for Indian migrant workers would further enable Israel’s war crimes and support illegal settlements

The Indian government should refuse to enter into any agreement with Israel to allow Indian nationals to replace Palestinian workers from Gaza and the West Bank, FairSquare said today. Any such deal would further enable Israel’s forced displacement of the Palestinian population and support illegal settlements, in addition to leaving Indian workers vulnerable to serious abuse and exploitation.

New UK coalition on migrant agricultural worker rights

FairSquare joins Seasonal Worker Interest Group as an associate member.

Today, key civil society organisations and trade unions actively supporting and engaging with migrant seasonal workers in agriculture on the UK’s Seasonal Worker visa are launching a new coalition, the Seasonal Worker Interest Group.

UK Home Office criticised for decision on migrant agriculture worker review

The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in the UK has criticised the government’s failure to publish a review of the “seasonal workers route”, the scheme in which multiple media investigations and NGO reports have identified labour exploitation and abuse of migrant workers.

The Home Office’s decision not to publish a promised review of the scheme came in a 20 September letter to NGOs – including FairSquare – and other experts from the UK and countries of migrant workers’ origin, who had originally written to the minister in May calling for stronger controls on recruitment processes and other areas to protect migrant workers.

New briefing: COP28 site workers at critical risk of serious heat injury

A new FairSquare investigation, This Weather isn’t for Humans has found that in September 2023, migrant construction workers on Dubai’s COP28 site were put to work outdoors in extreme heat that posed very serious threats to their health and could be fatal, and in clear violation of the United Arab Emirates’ laws designed to protect outdoor workers from its harsh climate.

Exporting Authoritarianism: new UAE briefing

FairSquare today released a briefing paper examining how the UAE has used its oil and gas revenues to finance an interventionist and ruinous foreign policy, most notably in the Middle East and North Africa.

Five year anniversary vigil for Jamal Khashoggi

On 2 October, FairSquare will join partner organisations ALQST for Human Rights, English PEN, and RSF UK, in holding a candle-lit vigil for Jamal Khashoggi outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in London, five years after his state-sponsored murder. The vigil will mark Jamal’s life and legacy, and support ongoing calls for justice.

Climate movement must be aware of the threats the UAE poses ahead of COP28

A trio of human rights organisations today released a new briefing that looks to highlight the threats that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) poses to the aims of the climate justice movement in advance of the country’s hosting of COP28.

100+ UK Parliamentarians write to Foreign Office on case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah

A letter signed by more than 100 MPs and members of the House of Lords was today submitted to the UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, to urge fresh approaches on the case of British-Egyptian pro-democracy writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah.