“Protect Migrant Workers on the Frontlines of Conflict in the Middle East”

As the crisis in the Middle East escalates, Equidem is issuing this statement based on rapid investigation findings from conversations with 44 migrant workers across six Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

The statement documents the immediate impacts of the crisis on workers’ safety, livelihoods, and well-being, while situating these within long-standing structural failures in labour governance and migration systems.

It sets out urgent, coordinated actions required from employers, governments, and embassies to safeguard workers during the crisis, alongside longer-term reforms needed to address root causes and prevent the recurrence of such harms.

Together, these measures aim to ensure that migrant workers are not left exposed in moments of crisis, but are recognised as rights-holders entitled to safety, dignity, and protection.