News – FairSquare

Featured

New report links lack of healthcare access to migrant worker deaths in the Gulf

Research for the Vital Signs Project identifies inability to access healthcare as a likely significant factor in the number of preventable deaths of migrant workers in the Gulf, and lack of documentation and affordability as key barriers.

A coalition of organisations, including NGOs from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines, today issued a report on low-income migrant workers’ access to healthcare in the Gulf. The Cost of Living, based on quantitative and qualitative research in the Gulf states and in multiple countries of origin, describes how multiple barriers prevent low-income migrant workers from accessing non-emergency healthcare in the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Climate movement must switch on to UAE threat

In this article for Climate Home News, FairSquare director James Lynch explores the relationship between fossil fuel extraction and authoritarianism in the UAE, and the threat this poses to the planet.

UK’s seasonal agriculture visa scheme exposes migrant workers to serious risk of abuse, say rights experts

Migrant agricultural workers in the UK could face comparable risks to migrant labourers in the Gulf, advocacy groups and experts from the UK, Nepal and Bangladesh warned today.

Joint statement ahead of COP28 in the UAE

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue their sustained assault on human rights and freedoms, including targeting human rights activists, enacting repressive laws, and using the criminal justice system as a tool to eliminate the human rights movement. These policies have led to the closure of civic space, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, both online and offline, and the criminalisation of peaceful dissent.

New report on Dutch government, business and human rights in authoritarian states

A new Amnesty International report, produced with the assistance of FairSquare, has found that the Dutch government has incentivized Dutch companies to do business in China, Saudi Arabia and Russia without ensuring human rights due diligence responsibilities are met.

NGOs call on Boeing to urge Saudi Arabia to lift travel bans on peaceful activists

FairSquare has joined Saudi Arabian and international civil society organisations in calling on Boeing to take a principled stand on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia and specifically to urge the Saudi authorities to lift the travel bans they have imposed on numerous peaceful dissidents, rights advocates and their family members.

Call on UK government to prohibit and phase out state ownership of football clubs

Systemic stability not possible with nation state involvement

FairSquare has this week written to Lucy Frazer, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, urging the UK government to outlaw state ownership of English football clubs.

Talabat Food Delivery Riders in Qatar Unpaid for 8 Months then Deported

One rider died after road accident while “working for tips”

A group of 160 migrant workers in Qatar, scores of whom have been working exclusively for the food delivery service Talabat, have been subjected to wage theft, in some cases going unpaid for as long as 8 months, FairSquare has found. The parent company of Talabat is the German company Delivery Hero.

Call on UEFA to protect competition integrity

Qatari state takeover of Manchester United would strengthen autocrats’ grip on the game

FairSquare has written to UEFA to call on European football’s governing body to outline a clear public position prohibiting a Qatari state takeover of Manchester United.

UAE must not extradite political commentator to Egypt, where he would face torture

FairSquare has joined more than 20 concerned organisations in calling on the UAE not to deport Sherif Osman to Egypt, where he would be at high risk of being subjected to torture and other human rights violations.

FIFA Misleading World on Remedy Fund for Migrant Workers

New Legacy Fund Should Be Used to Ensure Workers’ Compensation

FIFA is still failing to fulfill its human rights responsibilities by refusing to commit to compensate migrant workers and their families for abuses while preparing and delivering the World Cup 2022 tournament in Qatar, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, FairSquare, and Equidem said today.