Qatar

In the Gulf, an inaccurate but telling distinction is often made between expatriates and migrants. Asian employees in lower-income jobs are referred to as migrant workers, while those in higher income jobs are referred to as expatriates. Regardless of lexicon, they are all governed by the same set of repressive sponsorship (Kafala) laws. For the purpose of this story, we use ‘expats’ and ‘migrant workers’ interchangeably.

Recognize the work and rights of migrants.

If you are a lower-income migrant worker in Qatar and find yourself in an unfavourable employment situation, the feeble system in place to ‘protect’ your rights will more often than not fail you.

Thousands of workers are unlikely to die on World Cup sites but Qatar’s response to criticism is also misplaced.

The UN High Commissioner took a seemingly softer approach to the country’s migrant rights violations – contrasting with a previously more critical stance of the UN.