Global Slavery Index
A man climbs a palm tree to harvest dates. Iraq’s date production has been blighted by decades of conflict and environmental challenges, which has led to greater rates of poverty, food insecurity, and vulnerability to modern slavery. Photo Credit: Asaad Niazi / AFP. Getty Images.
Global Slavery Index / Regional Findings

Arab States

Regional Highlights

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Overview

The Arab States region is comprised of 12 countries, accounting for 2 per cent of the world’s population. While the Arab States is the world’s least populated region and smallest in terms of land mass, it comprises a rich diversity of culture, religion, industry, and geography. Yet, the region is impacted by the effects of conflict, political instability, economic shocks, and climate change — factors, among others, that drive modern slavery. More than 20 million refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) originate from the Arab States, and the region continues to host nearly 14.5 million of those who were forcibly displaced.1 The effects of protracted conflicts in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen spur displacement, food insecurity, and economic instability.

The region is also home to nearly 37 million migrants, originating from within the region, Asia and the Pacific, and Africa.2 Populations are vulnerable to sexual slavery and forced labour imposed by armed groups, forced labour as a result of displacement from their homes, and forced and child marriage to ease financial strain on households. In Jordan, Lebanon, and wealthier Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — migrant workers are vulnerable to modern slavery under the exploitative kafala (sponsorship) system. Forced labour is reported in sectors such as domestic work,3 construction,4 hospitality,5 and security.6 Within these contexts, gender inequality, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic work to amplify existing vulnerabilities.

Bahrain took the most action to address modern slavery in the Arab States, followed by the UAE, while Iraq and Lebanon took the least action. Syria and Yemen were excluded from the assessment of government action on modern slavery due to ongoing conflict and extreme disruption to government function. The need to reform gender discriminatory laws and grant all workers, including migrants, equal protection under national labour laws remains a pressing issue. At the same time, far greater action is needed to address modern slavery in the context of conflict, crisis, and displacement.

What is the extent and nature of modern slavery in the region?

An estimated 1.7 million men, women, and children were living in modern slavery in the Arab States region on any given day in 2021. Despite having the lowest number of people living in modern slavery across all regions, once population was considered, the Arab States had the highest prevalence of modern slavery. An estimated 10.1 people per thousand people were living in modern slavery in the region, which breaks down to 5.3 in forced labour and 4.8 in forced marriage. Forced labour was the most common form of exploitation, accounting for just over half of people living in modern slavery (52 per cent). As in all other regions, the prevalence of forced marriage was higher among females (5.5 per thousand) compared to males (4.3 per thousand).

Within the region, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait were the countries with the highest prevalence of modern slavery. Saudi Arabia also had the highest estimated number of people in modern slavery, followed by Iraq, and together they accounted for half of all people in modern slavery in the region. Migrant workers face particular risk of labour exploitation in the region as a result of the kafala (sponsorship) system that operates in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.7 While not a form of modern slavery itself, the system embeds a steep power imbalance between workers and employers, with the result that employers control whether a migrant worker can enter, reside, work, change jobs, and, in some cases, exit the country.8 Female domestic workers residing the GCC and Jordan and Lebanon are particularly at risk of forced labour in private households9 and males vulnerable to debt bondage in construction.10

Conflict continues to shape experiences of modern slavery in the Arab States.11 Families displaced by conflict in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen rely on negative coping mechanisms such as forced and child marriage to relieve economic stress and protect daughters from the threat of sexual violence.12 Syrian and Iraqi refugees have been trafficked from host communities in Jordan and Lebanon for forced marriage, forced commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labour, including forced begging.13 Almost 3,000 Yazidi men and women remain missing after being abducted by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014.14 Anecdotal reports note that some missing Yazidi women and children are still enslaved in Iraq, Syria, and Türkiye,15 while others are reportedly held captive inside ISIS widow camps, such as the al-Hawl detention camp in north-eastern Syria.16

Although these figures are the most reliable to date, they are conservative estimates given the gaps and limitations of data collection in the Arab States. It is not possible to conduct nationally representative surveys in countries experiencing profound and current conflict which leads to an underestimate of some forms of modern slavery. Moreover, the estimates do not capture all forms of modern slavery, such as the recruitment of child soldiers, trafficking for the purposes of organ removal, and all child marriages. Despite gaps in data, sources indicate that children have been recruited into armed forces in Lebanon,17 Iraq,18 Syria,19 and Yemen,20 while trafficking for organ removal has been reported in Jordan21 and Lebanon.22

Table 1: Estimated prevalence and number of people in modern slavery, by country
Rank Country Estimated prevalence of modern slavery (per 1,000 population) Estimated number of people in modern slavery Population
1 Saudi Arabia 21.3 740,000 34,814,000
2 United Arab Emirates 13.4 132,000 9,890,000
3 Kuwait 13 55,000 4,271,000
4 Jordan 10 102,000 10,203,000
5 Syria 8.7 153,000 17,501,000
6 Lebanon 7.6 52,000 6,825,000
7 Qatar 6.8 20,000 2,881,000
8 Bahrain 6.7 11,000 1,702,000
9 Oman 6.5 33,000 5,107,000
10 Yemen 6 180,000 29,826,000
11 Iraq 5.5 221,000 40,223,000

What drives vulnerability to modern slavery in the region?

Figure 1: Level of vulnerability to modern slavery, by dimension

The Arab States is the second most vulnerable region in the world to modern slavery. Conflict as a driver of vulnerability is more significant in the Arab States than any other region. Other drivers of vulnerability were discrimination towards minority groups, political instability, and lack of political rights. At the country level, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq were the most vulnerable countries; these countries also fall within the top 10 most vulnerable countries globally. Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE had the lowest levels of vulnerability within the region; yet compared with the least vulnerable countries around the world, vulnerability is still relatively high in these countries.

Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation is the greatest driver of vulnerability in the region. In Yemen minority groups such as the Al-Muhamasheen have long experienced marginalisation,23 while in Jordan, Lebanon, and GCC countries, migrant workers are highly vulnerable to exploitation under the kafala system, which grants employers substantial control over their lives.24 Risks have compounded in the wake of COVID-19,25 with reports of increased wage theft,26 detention,27 confinement to the workplace,28 and unemployment.29 In GCC countries where migrants comprise 82 per cent of the workforce on average,30 the pandemic has led to an escalation of workforce nationalisation policies; that is, efforts to increase the proportion of nationals employed.31 Such policies have spurred increased xenophobia and stereotyping of migrants as responsible for the spread of coronavirus.32 Individuals belonging to the LGBTQI+ community also face widespread discrimination throughout the region, as homosexuality and gender non-conformity are criminalised in several countries in the region.33

Governance issues linked to political instability, restricted political rights, and government inaction to combat modern slavery drive vulnerability across the Arab States. In Iraq and Yemen, corruption and conflict contribute to severe political instability and disrupt government functions, exacerbating vulnerability.34 Throughout the region, gender inequality both drives, and is reinforced by, governance issues compounding vulnerability for women and girls. Despite some progress, all Arab States countries except the UAE were ranked in the bottom fifth of more than 150 countries assessed in the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Index, reflecting poorer gender equality in the region across economic, education, health, and political dimensions.35 No countries in the region afford women equal rights in matters of divorce, inheritance, citizenship, and employment, while in most countries women lack equal access to justice and freedom of movement.36 These domains are typically governed by personal status laws and male guardianship systems,37 which severely restrict women’s agency and increase their risk of exploitation.38 Further, during the pandemic, women and girls across the region experienced a heavier domestic work burden39 and heightened risk of gender-based violence.40

“My mother was sick and wanted someone to help her with the housework.” Qatari male on his forced marriage at age 24

Conflict drives vulnerability in the Arab States, yet the effects are not uniform throughout the region. While Oman and the UAE experience comparatively low levels of conflict, heightened risk of modern slavery in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen is spurred by conflict. The erosion of state protection has led to increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence and slavery in these countries.41 Meanwhile, conflict-related displacement has entrenched risks region-wide. At least 12.3 million people were internally displaced in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen in 2021,42 and a further 2.1 million refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and others of concern were recorded throughout the Arab States.43 With resources in host countries increasingly strained,44 most of these people face insecure conditions and complex humanitarian needs,45 fuelling their vulnerability to modern slavery. For example, Syrian refugee girls in Jordan46 and Lebanon47 may be forced to marry as a means to access supplies and private shelters, and to protect against sexual violence and community perceptions of impurity. At the same time, research indicates that the influence of the host community may see families resist traditional expectations and delay child marriage.48 Underreporting of sexual violence due to patriarchal norms, particularly when victims are men and boys,49 as well as a lack of services for males, limits our understanding of their experiences of child and forced marriage in displacement settings.50

The effects of climate change are felt across the region, from severe drought in Syria51 to desertification in Jordan,52 with extreme water stress affecting most Arab States countries.53 In Yemen, natural disasters displaced more than 220,000 people in 2020 alone,54 while the war in Ukraine has caused disruptions to critical food imports in the Arab States region,55 worsening the humanitarian crisis there. The impacts of climate change exacerbate the push factors that make people vulnerable to modern slavery, including poverty, loss of livelihoods, displacement, and distress migration,56 with women and girls disproportionately impacted.57 Where livelihoods are threatened, families may turn to negative coping mechanisms such as forced and child marriage,58 or resort to irregular migration in search of alternative income, where risks of trafficking are heightened.59 Climate-related resource scarcity can also trigger conflict, or spur recruitment into armed groups due to loss of livelihoods,60 further compounding vulnerability to modern slavery.

Table 2: Level of vulnerability to modern slavery, by country
Country  Total (%)
Yemen 89
Syria 83
Iraq 82
Lebanon 60
Saudi Arabia 53
Jordan 49
Bahrain 40
Oman 40
United Arab Emirates 40
Kuwait 39
Qatar 38

What are governments in the region doing to address modern slavery?

Walk Free assessed government responses to modern slavery in nine countries in the region.61 Due to ongoing disruptions to government and limited data, Palestine, Syria and Yemen were excluded. The Arab States region scored an average government response rating of 43 per cent, the third highest score of the five regions. Government responses featured efforts to improve survivor support and better coordinate the response to modern slavery at the national and regional level. Despite some efforts to strengthen criminal justice mechanisms, the criminal justice response remained the weakest of any region. As in the 2018 GSI, no countries in the Arab States region have taken action to combat modern slavery in supply chains.

GDP per capita PPP (current international $) varied greatly at the country level,62 with wealthier GCC countries typically taking relatively stronger action to respond to modern slavery. For example, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar are among the region’s wealthiest nations and demonstrated the strongest responses to modern slavery in the region. However, when compared to countries of similar wealth in other regions, GCC countries — particularly Kuwait — displayed a weak response relative to wealth,63 with significant gaps in protections for migrant workers persisting across the subregion. Migrant workers are highly vulnerable to exploitation under the kafala system, Jordan, Lebanon, and the GCC countries.64 During the reporting period, these countries continued to implement laws or policies that made it difficult for migrant workers to freely leave abusive employers. Across the region, only Kuwait and Iraq covered all categories of workers under national labour laws.65 In a positive step, Oman,66 Qatar,67 and Saudi Arabia68 adopted reforms to the kafala system, yet these were insufficient to dismantle the system entirely.

GCC countries have significantly higher GDP per capita than Lebanon and Iraq, the two countries taking the least action to address modern slavery. Government response efforts in Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq were constrained by limited resources as these countries continued to grapple with the flow-on effects of conflict in Syria and Yemen.69 However, despite this, Jordan took some positive action to respond to modern slavery in 2021, amending its 2009 anti-trafficking law to enhance witness and victim protection and access to compensation.70

Since 2018, most countries have taken further action to improve their response to modern slavery. For example, the government of Qatar established its first dedicated shelter for survivors of trafficking71 and Kuwait commenced meetings of its national anti-trafficking committee.72 Saudi Arabia launched an awareness campaign on how to identify and report modern slavery73 and established a National Referral Mechanism,74 with the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 also entering into force there in 2021.75 No other countries made efforts to ratify international conventions since 2018 and, concerningly, the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)76 has to date not been ratified by any country in the region. Further, no country has fully criminalised all forms of modern slavery, hampering access to justice for survivors. Oman,77 the UAE,78 and Qatar are the only countries to criminalise forced labour, while forced marriage is criminalised only in Iraq.79 No countries have established a minimum marriage age of 18 without exception.

“I think Lebanese law needs to change so that we may have our rights protected. I wouldn’t have had to escape.” 33-year-old Ethiopian female survivor of domestic servitude in Lebanon

Gaps in support services appeared across the region, with four countries neglecting to make services available for all survivors. Lebanon took the least action to identify and support survivors, while Saudi Arabia joined Bahrain as the only other country in the region to distribute national victim identification guidelines to all first responders.80 Three countries provided training for police recruits and only Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided regular training for frontline responders. There is evidence that survivors were detained or deported for immigration violations in all countries except the UAE,81 where information suggests that inconsistent application of screening procedures may have meant survivors were wrongly criminalised.82

“I needed support from the police but the police didn’t help. I wanted them to contact my consulate but they only called the agent.” 24-year-old Sierra Leonean female survivor of domestic servitude in Lebanon

Notably, all countries in the region have established a national body to coordinate the government’s response to modern slavery. All countries except Bahrain and Lebanon had a National Action Plan (NAP) to combat slavery in place, yet there is no evidence the NAPs were fully funded or independently monitored. No governments in the region addressed modern slavery in government and business supply chains.

Table 3: Government response score, by country and milestone
Country* Survivors identified and supported (%) Criminal justice mechanisms (%) National and regional level coordination (%) Risk factors are addressed (%) Government and business supply chains (%) Total (%)
Bahrain 77 50 63 57 0 55
United Arab Emirates 59 42 75 64 0 50
Qatar 59 42 63 64 0 49
Saudi Arabia 59 54 63 43 0 49
Jordan 50 54 50 50 0 46
Oman 41 38 50 50 0 38
Kuwait 36 42 50 43 0 37
Iraq 41 38 38 29 0 33
Lebanon 32 42 50 29 0 33

* Yemen and Syria excluded from analysis due to limited data

Recommendations for governments

  1. Dismantle kafala by expanding coverage of national labour laws to include all workers, including migrant, domestic, seasonal workers. Ensure that migrant workers can freely enter, reside and exit the country and leave or transfer jobs without employer consent.

  2. Abolish provisions in the law that criminalise absconding and enforce measures to discourage employers from filing false allegations against workers. Enforce laws that criminalise charging of recruitment fees and withholding of passports and identity documents.

  3. Equip humanitarian practitioners to respond to modern slavery risks in crisis settings by rolling out the Global Protection Cluster’s Introductory Guide to Anti-Trafficking Action in Internal Displacement Contexts.108

  4. Introduce a suite of legal protections to tackle forced marriage, including by criminalising all forms of modern slavery in line with international law and raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 with no exceptions.

  5. Tackle underlying gender inequality by affording women equal rights in matters of divorce, inheritance, citizenship, and employment, and strengthen access to access to justice and freedom of movement for women and girls.

Endnotes

1United Nations Refugee Agency 2021, Refugee Data Finder. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=ce9SY6. [29 November 2021].
2Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2019, International migrant stock 2019: International migrant stock as a percentage of the total population by sex and by major area, region, country or area, 1990-2019, United Nations Population Division. Available from: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/international-migrant-stock. [7 July 2022].
3Amnesty International 2020, ‘Why do you want to rest?’: Ongoing abuse of domestic workers in Qatar. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/05/MDE2231752020ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Amnesty International 2019, ‘Their house is my prison’: Exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/05/MDE1800222019ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021]; McQue, K 2021, ‘Alone in Oman: Covid worsens abuse for trafficked women’, The Guardian, 23 March. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/mar/23/alone-oman-covid-worsens-abuse-trafficked-women-africa. [30 November 2021]; Zelalem, Z 2021, ‘‘She just vanished’: Ethiopian domestic workers abused in Lebanon’, Al Jazeera, 16 June. Available from: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/6/16/vanished-the-plight-of-3-ethiopian-domestic-workers-in-lebanon. [30 November 2021].
4Amnesty International 2021, ‘In the prime of their lives’: Qatar’s failure to investigate, remedy and prevent migrant workers’ deaths. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/08/MDE2246142021ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Migrant Forum Asia 2021, Crying Out for Justice: Wage Theft Against Migrant Workers during COVID-19, pp. 18-23. Available from: http://mfasia.org/migrantforumasia/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MFA_Crying-Out-for-Justice_04.12.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Equidem 2020, The Cost of Contagion: The human rights impacts of COVID-19 on migrant workers in the Gulf, pp. 24-25. Available from: https://www.equidem.org/assets/downloads/1837_Equidem_The_Cost_of_Congation_Report_ART_WEB.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Sheffield, H 2016, ‘UAE migrant workers ‘trapped’ in construction jobs on man-made Yas island’, Independent, 26 July. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uae-migrant-worker-ansam-residential-yas-insland-abu-dhabi-human-rights-watch-kafala-a7131051.html. [13 February 2022]; Human Rights Watch 2020, ‘How Can We Work Without Wages?’: Salary Abuses Facing Migrant Workers Ahead of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2020/08/qatar0820_web_3.pdf. [13 February 2022]; Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 2020, Snapshot: Allegations of Abuse Against Migrant Workers in the Gulf, pp. 1-3. Available from: https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/Gulf_Snapshot_v7.pdf. [13 February 2022]; Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 2018, From Unacceptable Risks to Shared Prosperity: Building Human Rights into Jordan & Lebanon’s Construction Sector, pp. 8-9. Available from: https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/Jordan_Report_FINAL_WEB.pdf. [13 February 2022].
5Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 2021, Checked Out: Migrant Worker Abuse in Qatar’s World Cup Luxury Hotels. Available from: https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/2021_Qatar_Hotels_v547.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Pattison, P 2021, ‘‘We have fallen into a trap’: Qatar’s World Cup dream is a nightmare for hotel staff’, The Guardian, 18 November. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/nov/18/we-have-fallen-into-a-trap-for-hotel-staff-qatar-world-cup-dream-is-a-nightmare. [2 December 2021]; 2020, ‘Restaurant workers driven to starvation in Saudi’, Migrant-Rights.Org, 4 August. Available from: https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/08/restaurant-workers-driven-to-starvation-in-saudi/. [13 February 2022]; Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 2019, Inhospitable: How hotels in Qatar & the UAE are failing migrant workers. Available from: https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/Gulf-Hotels-Briefing.pdf. [13 February 2022].
6Amnesty International 2022, ‘They think that we’re machines’: Forced labour and other abuse of migrant workers in Qatar’s private security sector. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde22/5388/2022/en/. [13 April 2022].
7The International Labour Organization and Government of Qatar claim that the kafala system has been abolished in the country following several legislative reforms, including removal of the No Objection Certificate, allowing migrant workers to change jobs without permission from their employer. However, migrant workers are still required to complete six months of their contract and give one month’s notice. Other elements of the kafala system remain in place and undermine reform efforts; for example, migrant workers can still be criminalised for absconding. See: Amnesty International 2020, Reality Check 2020: Countdown to the 2022 World Cup Migrant Workers’ Rights in Qatar, p. 10 – 11. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MDE2232972020ENGLISH.pdf. [31 January 2022]; Pattisson, P 2020, ‘New labour law ends Qatar’s exploitative kafala system’, The Guardian, 1 September. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/sep/01/new-employment-law-effectively-ends-qatars-exploitative-kafala-system. [2 February 2022]; International Labour Office 2019, Monitoring compliance with international labour standards: the key role of the ILO Committee of Experts of the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, International Labour Organization, p. 51. Available from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—normes/documents/publication/wcms_730866.pdf. [26 August 2022].
8Motaparthy, P 2015, ‘Understanding Kafala: An archaic law at cross purposes with modern development’, Migrant-Rights.Org, 11 March. Available from: https://www.migrant-rights.org/2015/03/understanding-kafala-an-archaic-law-at-cross-purposes-with-modern-development/. [13 February 2022]; Begum, R 2020, ‘What Will it Take for Saudi Arabia to Abolish Abusive Sponsorship System?’, Human Rights Watch, 30 October. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/30/what-will-it-take-saudi-arabia-abolish-abusive-sponsorship-system. [13 February 2022].
9Amnesty International 2020, ‘Why do you want to rest?’: Ongoing abuse of domestic workers in Qatar. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/05/MDE2231752020ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Amnesty International 2019, ‘Their house is my prison’: Exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/05/MDE1800222019ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021]; McQue, K 2021, ‘Alone in Oman: Covid worsens abuse for trafficked women’, The Guardian, 23 March. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/mar/23/alone-oman-covid-worsens-abuse-trafficked-women-africa. [30 November 2021]; Zelalem, Z 2021, ”She just vanished’: Ethiopian domestic workers abused in Lebanon’, Al Jazeera, 16 June. Available from: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/6/16/vanished-the-plight-of-3-ethiopian-domestic-workers-in-lebanon. [30 November 2021].
10Amnesty International 2021, ‘In the prime of their lives’: Qatar’s failure to investigate, remedy and prevent migrant workers’ deaths. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/08/MDE2246142021ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Migrant Forum Asia 2021, Crying Out for Justice: Wage Theft Against Migrant Workers during COVID-19, pp. 18-23. Available from: http://mfasia.org/migrantforumasia/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MFA_Crying-Out-for-Justice_04.12.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Equidem 2020, The Cost of Contagion: The human rights impacts of COVID-19 on migrant workers in the Gulf, pp. 24-25. Available from: https://www.equidem.org/assets/downloads/1837_Equidem_The_Cost_of_Congation_Report_ART_WEB.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Sheffield, H 2016, ‘UAE migrant workers ‘trapped’ in construction jobs on man-made Yas island’, Independent, 26 July. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uae-migrant-worker-ansam-residential-yas-insland-abu-dhabi-human-rights-watch-kafala-a7131051.html. [13 February 2022]; Human Rights Watch 2020, ‘How Can We Work Without Wages?’: Salary Abuses Facing Migrant Workers Ahead of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2020/08/qatar0820_web_3.pdf. [13 February 2022]; Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 2020, Snapshot: Allegations of Abuse Against Migrant Workers in the Gulf, pp. 1-3. Available from: https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/Gulf_Snapshot_v7.pdf. [13 February 2022]; Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 2018, From Unacceptable Risks to Shared Prosperity: Building Human Rights into Jordan & Lebanon’s Construction Sector, pp. 8-9. Available from: https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/Jordan_Report_FINAL_WEB.pdf. [13 February 2022].
11Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict 2021, Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence S/2021/312, United Nations, pp. 19-35. Available from: https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/report/conflict-related-sexual-violence-report-of-the-united-nations-secretary-general/SG-Report-2020editedsmall.pdf. [30 November 2021].
12As above, p. 7; Ferguson, S 2020, ‘Helping Girls Escape Early Marriage in Yemen’, UNICEF, 26 June. Available from: https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/helping-girls-escape-early-marriage-yemen/37409. [31 January 2022].
13Sala, D 2020, ‘The Syrian women and girls sold into sexual slavery in Lebanon’, Al Jazeera, 11 February. Available from: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/2/11/the-syrian-women-and-girls-sold-into-sexual-slavery-in-lebanon. [1 December 2021]; Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: Lebanon Country Narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 351-354. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. [11 March 2022]; 2021, ‘UNODC Supports Jordan and Lebanon to Respond to Trafficking of Refugees’, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 11 June. Available from: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/Webstories2021/unodc-supports-jordan-and-lebanon-to-respond-to-trafficking-of-refugees.html. [28 April 2022].
14Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict 2021, Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence S/2021/312, United Nations, pp. 19-35. Available from: https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/report/conflict-related-sexual-violence-report-of-the-united-nations-secretary-general/SG-Report-2020editedsmall.pdf. [30 November 2021]; Arraf, J & Khaleel, S 2021, ‘3,000 Yazidis Are Still Missing. Their Families Know Where Some of Them Are.’, The New York Times, 3 October. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/world/middleeast/yazidis-missing-isis.html. [11 March 2022].
15Hagedourn, E 2020, ‘Rescuers scour Syria for Yazidis still trapped in enslavement’, Middle East Eye, 4 March. Available from: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/its-making-my-mission-harder-rescuers-search-yazidis-sold. [28 April 2022]; Arraf, J & Khaleel, S 2021, ‘3,000 Yazidis Are Still Missing. Their Families Know Where Some of Them Are.’, The New York Times, 3 October. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/world/middleeast/yazidis-missing-isis.html. [11 March 2022].
16Denereaz, K 2021, ‘‘Still going through hell’: the search for Yazidi women seven years on’, The Guardian, 3 August. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/aug/03/still-going-through-hell-the-search-for-yazidi-women-seven-years-on. [28 April 2022].
17United Nations General Assembly 2021, Children and armed conflict: Report of the Secretary-General A/75/873-S/2021/437, p. 14. Available from: https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2021/437&Lang=E&Area=UNDOC. [29 November 2021].
18As above, p. 10.
19Human Rights Watch 2018, Syria: Armed Group Recruiting Children in Camps. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/03/syria-armed-group-recruiting-children-camps#. [29 November 2021]; United Nations General Assembly 2021, Children and armed conflict: Report of the Secretary-General A/75/873-S/2021/437, p. 14. Available from: https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2021/437&Lang=E&Area=UNDOC. [29 November 2021].
20United Nations General Assembly 2021, Children and armed conflict: Report of the Secretary-General A/75/873-S/2021/437, pp. 2, 26. Available from: https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2021/437&Lang=E&Area=UNDOC. [29 November 2021].
21Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: Jordan Country Narrative, United States Department of State, p. 322. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TIP_Report_Final_20210701.pdf. [29 November 2021].
22Forsyth, A 2017, ‘Meeting an organ trafficker who preys on Syrian refugees’, BBC News, 25 April. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-39272511. [29 November 2021].
23Gebeily, M 2022, ‘Millions of Black Yemenis and African migrants see little hope of escaping poverty and marginalisation due to centuries of discrimination’, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 28 March. Available from: https://news.trust.org/item/20220328081750-73vsy/. [14 June 2022]; Freedom House 2022, Freedom in the World: Yemen. Available from: https://freedomhouse.org/country/yemen/freedom-world/2022. [14 June 2022]; Minority Rights Group 2018, Yemen: Muhamasheen. Available from: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/muhamasheen/. [14 June 2022].
24Barkawi, B 2020, ‘Race protests spark calls for Arab states to end ‘exploitative’ migrant worker system’, Reuters, 9 June. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-workers-rights-trfn-idUSKBN23F2IY. [13 February 2022].
25Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 2020, COVID-19 crisis response in MENA countries, pp. 22-24. Available from: https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/view/?ref=129_129919-4li7bq8asv&title=COVID-19-Crisis-Response-in-MENA-Countries&_ga=2.134461233.1375866201.1638350672-795216289.1635990514 [1 December 2021]; United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific 2020, COVID-19: Economic Cost to the Arab Region E/ESCWA/CL3.SEP/2020/Policy Brief 1, United Nations, pp. 1-3. Available from: https://archive.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.org/files/escwa-covid-19-economic-cost-arab-region-en.pdf. [1 December 2021].
26Migrant Forum Asia 2021, Crying Out for Justice: Wage Theft Against Migrant Workers during COVID-19, pp. 18-23. Available from: http://mfasia.org/migrantforumasia/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MFA_Crying-Out-for-Justice_04.12.pdf. [30 November 2021]; 2020, ‘UAE: 500 employees of oil & gas giant Altrad strike to protest unpaid wages; co. did not respond’, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 29 May. Available from: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/uae-500-employees-of-oil-gas-giant-altrad-strike-to-protest-unpaid-wages-co-did-not-respond/. [20 August 2020].
27Brown, W & Zelalem, Z 2020, ‘Investigation: African migrants ‘left to die’ in Saudi Arabia’s hellish Covid detention centres’, The Sunday Telegraph, 30 August. Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/investigation-african-migrants-left-die-saudi-arabias-hellish/. [01 September 2020].
28Equidem 2020, The Cost of Contagion: The human rights impacts of COVID-19 on migrant workers in the Gulf. Available from: https://www.equidem.org/assets/downloads/1837_Equidem_The_Cost_of_Congation_Report_ART_WEB.pdf. [30 November 2021].
29As above.
30Data is from 2020. Excludes UAE. Gulf Labour Markets and Migration 2022, GCC: Percentage of nationals and non-nationals in employed population in GCC countries (2020), Gulf Research Center. Available from: https://gulfmigration.grc.net/gcc-emp-1-1-percentage-of-nationals-and-non-nationals-in-employed-population-in-gcc-countries-2016/. [7 July 2022].
31United Nations Development Programme 2021, The socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and low oil prices on migrants and remittances in the Arab region, pp. 17-24. Available from: https://www.arabstates.undp.org/content/rbas/en/home/library/crisis-response0/the-socio-economic-impact-of-covid-19-and-low-oil-prices-on-migr.html. [25 May 2022].
32Alsahi, H 2020, COVID-19 and the Intensification of the GCC Workforce Nationalization Policies, Arab Reform Initiative. Available from: https://www.arab-reform.net/pdf/?pid=14948&plang=en. [28 April 2022]; 2020, ‘The COVID-19 crisis is fueling more racist discourse towards migrant workers in the Gulf’, Migrant-Rights.Org, 5 April. Available from: https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/04/the-covid-19-crisis-is-fueling-more-racist-discourse-towards-migrant-workers-in-the-gulf/. [29 April 2022]; Barkawi, B 2020, ‘Race protests spark calls for Arab states to end ‘exploitative’ migrant worker system’, Reuters, 9 June. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-workers-rights-trfn-idUSKBN23F2IY. [13 February 2022]; Equidem 2022, EXPOsed: Discrimination and forced labour practices at Expo 2020 Dubai, pp. 7-8. Available from: https://www.equidem.org/assets/downloads/Equidem_EXPOsed_Report.pdf. [28 April 2022]; Kalush, R, Saraswathi, V, Mohamed, A & Fousdeen, F 2019, Lived Experience Of Migrant Women: Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait Migrant-Rights.org, pp. 6, 23. Available from: https://respect.international/lived-experience-of-migrant-women-qatar-bahrain-and-kuwait/. [29 April 2022].
33Human Rights Watch 2018, Audacity in Adversity: LGBT Activism in the Middle East and North Africa. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/04/16/audacity-adversity/lgbt-activism-middle-east-and-north-africa. [02 September 2020]; Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict 2021, Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence S/2021/312, United Nations, pp. 19-35. Available from: https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/report/conflict-related-sexual-violence-report-of-the-united-nations-secretary-general/SG-Report-2020editedsmall.pdf. [30 November 2021].
34Freedom House 2022, Freedom in the World: Yemen. Available from: https://freedomhouse.org/country/yemen/freedom-world/2022. [14 June 2022]; Freedom House 2022, Freedom in the World: Iraq. Available from: https://freedomhouse.org/country/iraq/freedom-world/2022. [16 June 2022].
35World Economic Forum 2021, Global Gender Gap Report pp. 10-26. Available from: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf. [28 April 2022].
36Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Gender, Institutions and Development Database (GID-DB) 2019. Available from: https://stats.oecd.org/viewhtml.aspx?datasetcode=GIDDB2019&lang=en#. [28 April 2022].
37Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Bahrain. Available from: https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/files/datasheets/2019/BH.pdf. [28 April 2022]; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Iraq. Available from: https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/files/datasheets/2019/IQ.pdf. [28 April 2022]; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Jordan. Available from: https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/files/datasheets/2019/JO.pdf. [28 April 2022]; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Kuwait. Available from: https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/files/datasheets/2019/KW.pdf. [28 April 2022]; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Lebanon. Available from: https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/files/datasheets/2019/LB.pdf. [28 April 2022]; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Oman. Available from: https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/files/datasheets/2019/OM.pdf. [28 April 2022]; United Nations Human Rights Council 2019, Situation of human rights in Yemen, including violations and abuses since September 2014 A/HRC/42/CRP.1*, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, pp. 148-150. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/GEE-Yemen/A_HRC_42_CRP_1.PDF. [12 June 2020]; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019, Syrian Arab Republic. Available from: https://www.genderindex.org/wp-content/uploads/files/datasheets/2019/SY.pdf. [28 April 2022].
38Said, S 2019, ‘Saudi Arabia to Allow Women to Travel Abroad Without Permission’, The Wall Street Journal, 2 August. Available from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-to-allow-women-to-travel-abroad-without-permission-11564693852. [28 April 2022]; 2021, ‘‘Everything I Have to Do is Tied to a Man’: Women and Qatar’s Male Guardianship Rules’, Human Rights Watch, 29 March. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/03/29/everything-i-have-do-tied-man/women-and-qatars-male-guardianship-rules. [28 April 2022].
39United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia 2020, The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality in the Arab Region E/ESCWA/2020/Policy Brief.4, United Nations, p. 2. Available from: https://arabstates.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field%20Office%20Arab%20States/Attachments/Publications/2020/04/Impact%20of%20COVID%20on%20gender%20equality%20-%20Policy%20Brief.pdf. [31 January 2022]; Phelps, C 2020, Rapid Gender Analysis – COVID-19 Middle East and North Africa Region, CARE International, pp. 11-14. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/CARE-MENA-COVID-19-RGA-200720201.pdf. [28 April 2022].
40Anderson, K 2020, Daring to Ask, Listen, and Act: A Snapshot of the Impacts of COVID-19 on Women and Girls’ Rights and Sexual and Reproductive Health, United Nations Population Fund, p. 4. Available from: https://jordan.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/20200511_Daring%20to%20ask%20Rapid%20Assessment%20Report_FINAL.pdf. [31 January 2022]; UN Women 2020, Violence against Women and Girls and COVID-19 in the Arab Region, United Nations, pp. 2-4. Available from: https://arabstates.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field%20Office%20Arab%20States/Attachments/Publications/2020/12/COVID_and_VAWG_UN_Brief_Final.pdf. [31 January 2022]; UN Women 2020, Rapid Assessment: The Effects of COVID-19 on Violence Against Women and Gendered Social Norms, United Nations, pp. 49-63. Available from: https://arabstates.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field%20Office%20Arab%20States/Attachments/Publications/2021/06/Effects_of_COVID_on_VAW_in_ARAB_STATES_July_08_V02%20%281%29.pdf. [31 January 2022]; UN Women 2020, Gender Alert on COVID-19 Lebanon, United Nations, p. 2. Available from: https://arabstates.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field%20Office%20Arab%20States/Attachments/Publications/2020/06/Lebanon%20Gender%20ALert%20issue3/Update%20652020/Gender%20Alert%20on%20COVIDLebanon%20Issue%203English.pdf. [31 January 2022]; El-Nimr, NA, Mamdouh, HM, Ramadan, A, El-Saeh, HM & Shata, ZN 2021, ‘Intimate partner violence among Arab women before and during the COVID-19 lockdown’, Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association, vol. 96, no. 15, pp. 1-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8206903/pdf/42506_2021_Article_77.pdf. [28 April 2022]; Phelps, C 2020, Rapid Gender Analysis – COVID-19 Middle East and North Africa Region, CARE International, pp. 11-14. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/CARE-MENA-COVID-19-RGA-200720201.pdf. [28 April 2022].
41 Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict 2021, Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence S/2021/312, United Nations, pp. 19-35. Available from: https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/report/conflict-related-sexual-violence-report-of-the-united-nations-secretary-general/SG-Report-2020editedsmall.pdf. [30 November 2021].
42 IDMC data on Internally Displaced Persons and the demographic data for the population and solutions datasets are not collected at mid-year and are available up until year-end in the previous year (2021): United Nations Refugee Agency 2021, Refugee Data Finder. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=ce9SY6. [29 November 2021].
43Data for the latest year (2021) is available up until the mid-year. United Nations Refugee Agency 2021, Refugee Data Finder: Country of Asylum. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=55VkcP. [16 June 2022].
44United Nations Refugee Agency 2020, Middle East. Available from: https://reporting.unhcr.org/node/36?y=2020. [02 September 2020]; 2021, ‘UN: Syrian refugees in Lebanon struggle to survive amid worst socioeconomic crisis in decades’, United Nations Refugee Agency, 29 September. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/press/2021/9/615430234/un-syrian-refugees-lebanon-struggle-survive-amid-worst-socioeconomic-crisis.html. [11 March 2022]; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research & Ministry of Water and Irrigation 2021, Influx of Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Effects on the Water Sector, Government of Germany & Government of Jordan, p. x. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/attachments/84865346-c0f9-3423-93d9-f27f425b937e/2021_Influx%20of%20Syrian%20Refugees%20in%20Jordan%20-%20Effects%20on%20the%20Water%20Sector.pdf. [11 July 2022]; United Nations Refugee Agency 2021, Refugee Data Finder. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=ce9SY6. [29 November 2021]. Human Rights Watch 2021, ‘They Killed Us from the Inside’: An Investigation into the August 4 Beirut Blast. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/03/they-killed-us-inside/investigation-august-4-beirut-blast#. [1 December 2021]; 2020, ‘Lebanon: Why the country is in crisis’, BBC News, 5 August. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53390108. [20 August 2020]; Chulov, M 2021, ‘Six dead as Beirut gripped by worst street violence in 13 years’, The Guardian, 15 October. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/14/gunfire-beirut-protest-judge-leading-port-blast-inquiry. [1 December 2021]; United Nations Children’s Fund 2021, ‘Lebanon in danger of losing critical access to water: Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore’, 21 August. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/lebanon-danger-losing-critical-access-water. [1 December 2021]; United Nations Children’s Fund 2021, ‘Water supply systems on the verge of collapse in Lebanon: over 71 per cent of people risk losing access to water’, 23 July. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/water-supply-systems-verge-collapse-lebanon-over-71-cent-people-risk-losing-access. [1 December 2021]; Chehayeb, H 2021, ‘Fuel shortage forces shutdown of main Lebanese power plants’, Al Jazeera, 9 October. Available from: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/9/fuel-shortage-forces-shutdown-main-lebanese-power-plants. [1 December 2021]; 2021, ‘Lebanon’s main government power plants shut, deepening the country’s energy crisis’, ABC News, 10 October. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-10/lebanon-main-power-plants-shut/100527430. [1 December 2021].
45United Nations Refugee Agency 2021, Global Trends in Forced Displacement in 2020, p. 24. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/60b638e37/unhcr-global-trends-2020. [18 January 2022]; 2020, ‘Internal Displacement in Yemen Exceeds 100,000 in 2020 with COVID-19 an Emerging New Cause’, International Organization for Migration, 21 July. Available from: https://www.iom.int/news/internal-displacement-yemen-exceeds-100000-2020-covid-19-emerging-new-cause. [31 January 2022]; Barrington, L 2021, ‘Humanitarian situation worsening in Yemen’s Marib conflict zone -IOM’, Reuters, 24 November. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/humanitarian-situation-worsening-yemens-marib-conflict-zone-iom-2021-11-24/. [11 March 2022]; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2021, Global Humanitarian Overview 2021, United Nations, pp. 98-113. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/GHO2021_EN.pdf. [11 March 2022].
46GBV Sub Working Group – Jordan 2021, Gender Based Violence Risk Assessment for the Emirati Jordanian Camp, International Organization for Migration, pp. 24-28. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/attachments/b7cd1a0b-aee3-3afc-b40c-82c2ba9efccf/GBV%20Risk%20Assessment%20Report_EJC_Final.pdf. [18 August 2022].
47Bartels, SA, Michael, S & Bunting, A 2020, ‘Child Marriage among Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: At the Gendered Intersection of Poverty, Immigration, and Safety’, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 472-487. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2020.1839619. [12 July 2022].
48Gausman, J, Huda, FA, Othman, A, Al Atoom, M, Shaheen, A, Hamad, I, Dabobe, M, Mahmood, HR, Ibnat, R & Langer, A 2022, ‘Girl child marriage and the social context of displacement: a qualitative comparative exploration of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’, BMC Public Health, vol. 22, no. 2417, pp. 1-12. Available from: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-14832-z. [12 January 2023].
49GBV Sub Working Group – Jordan 2021, Gender Based Violence Risk Assessment for the Emirati Jordanian Camp, International Organization for Migration, pp. 24-28. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/attachments/b7cd1a0b-aee3-3afc-b40c-82c2ba9efccf/GBV%20Risk%20Assessment%20Report_EJC_Final.pdf. [18 August 2022].
50As above.
51United Nations Development Programme 2018, Climate Change Adaptation in the Arab States: Best practices and lessons learned, United Nations, pp. 23-28. Available from: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/Arab-States-CCA.pdf. [12 July 2022].
52Mirzabaev, A, Wu, J, Evans, J, García-Oliva, F, Hussein, IAG, Iqbal, MH, Kimutai, J, Knowles, T, Meza, F, Nedjraoui, D, Tena, F, Türkeş, M, Vázquez, RJ & Weltz, M 2019, ‘Desertification’, in PR Shukla, J Skea, EC Buendia, V Masson-Delmotte, H-O Pörtner, DC Roberts, P Zhai, R Slade, S Connors, Rv Diemen, M Ferrat, E Haughey, S Luz, S Neogi, M Pathak, J Petzold, JP Pereira, P Vyas, E Huntley, K Kissick, M Belkacemi & J Malley (eds), Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, pp. 249-343. Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/11/06_Chapter-3.pdf. [11 July 2022]; UN Women 2018, Rural women and climate change in Jordan, United Nations, pp. 1-12. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/attachments/2fc415b6-e262-3e9c-92d8-f0439722bd2b/66494.pdf. [11 July 2022].
53These countries include Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and are among the world’s 17 most water stressed countries. World Resources Institute 2019, Aqueduct 3.0 Country Rankings. Available from: https://www.wri.org/data/aqueduct-30-country-rankings. [11 July 2022].
54 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre 2021, Global Report on Internal Displacement 2021, Norwegian Refugee Council, p. 41. Available from: https://www.internal-displacement.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/grid2021_idmc.pdf. [18 January 2022].
55Khorsandi, P 2022, ‘Yemen: Millions at risk as Ukraine war effect rocks region’, World Food Programme, 14 March. Available from: https://www.wfp.org/stories/yemen-millions-risk-ukraine-war-effect-rocks-region. [1 December 2022].
56International Organization for Migration 2017, The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus. Available from: https://publications.iom.int/books/climate-change-human-trafficking-nexus. [18 September 2019]; Bharadwaj, R, Bishop, D, Hazra, S, Pufaa, E & Annan, JK 2021, Climate-induced migration and modern slavery: A toolkit for policy-makers, Anti-Slavery International & International Institute for Environment and Development, pp. 6-34. Available from: https://www.antislavery.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ClimateMigrationReportSep2021_low_res.pdf. [7 June 2022].
57United Nations Development Programme 2018, Climate Change Adaptation in the Arab States: Best practices and lessons learned, United Nations, pp. 23-28. Available from: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/Arab-States-CCA.pdf. [12 July 2022].
58United Nations Population Fund, Sama & King Hussein Information and Research Center 2022, Climate Change and Gender-Based Violence in Jordan, United Nations, p. 4. Available from: https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/91192. [12 July 2022]; Farge, E 2020, ‘Child labour, marriages on rise in Yemen as COVID spreads: U.N. agency’, Reuters, 26 May. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-yemen-un/child-labour-marriages-on-rise-in-yemen-as-covid-spreads-u-n-agency-idUSKBN2321C3?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews. [31 January 2022].
59International Organization for Migration 2017, The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus. Available from: https://publications.iom.int/books/climate-change-human-trafficking-nexus. [18 September 2019]; Bharadwaj, R, Bishop, D, Hazra, S, Pufaa, E & Annan, JK 2021, Climate-induced migration and modern slavery: A toolkit for policy-makers, Anti-Slavery International & International Institute for Environment and Development, pp. 6-34. Available from: https://www.antislavery.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ClimateMigrationReportSep2021_low_res.pdf. [7 June 2022].
60United Nations Development Programme 2018, Climate Change Adaptation in the Arab States: Best practices and lessons learned, United Nations, pp. 23-28. Available from: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/Arab-States-CCA.pdf. [12 July 2022]; Schwartzstein, P 2017, ‘Climate Change and Water Woes Drove ISIS Recruiting in Iraq’, National Geographic, 14 November Available from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/climate-change-drought-drove-isis-terrorist-recruiting-iraq. [12 July 2022].
61Yemen and Syria are excluded from analysis due to limited data.
62The World Bank 2022, GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic, Republic of Yemen. Available from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?locations=QA-AE-KW-BH-SA-OM-LB-JO-IQ-SY-YE&most_recent_value_desc=true. [11 March 2022].
63As above.
64Amnesty International 2019, ‘Their house is my prison’: Exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/05/MDE1800222019ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021]; McQue, K 2021, ‘Alone in Oman: Covid worsens abuse for trafficked women’, The Guardian, 23 March. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/mar/23/alone-oman-covid-worsens-abuse-trafficked-women-africa. [30 November 2021]; Zelalem, Z 2021, ‘‘She just vanished’: Ethiopian domestic workers abused in Lebanon’, Al Jazeera, 16 June. Available from: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/6/16/vanished-the-plight-of-3-ethiopian-domestic-workers-in-lebanon. [30 November 2021]; Amnesty International 2021, ‘In the prime of their lives’: Qatar’s failure to investigate, remedy and prevent migrant workers’ deaths. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/08/MDE2246142021ARABIC.pdf. [30 November 2021].
65Private Sector Labour Law, 2010 (No. 6 of 2010) (Kuwait); Law No. 68 on Domestic Workers, 2015 (Kuwait); Labor Law, 2015 (Iraq).
662020, ‘Oman eases restrictions on sponsorship transfer’, Migrant-Rights.Org, 8 June. Available from: https://www.migrant-rights.org/2020/06/oman-eases-restrictions-on-sponsorship-transfer/. [3 November 2020].
672020, ‘Qatar: Significant Labor and Kafala Reforms’, Human Rights Watch, 24 September. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/24/qatar-significant-labor-and-kafala-reforms. [2 November 2020].
682020, ‘Saudi Arabia eases ‘kafala’ system restrictions on migrant workers’, BBC News, 4 November. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54813515. [5 November 2021]; 2020, ‘Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development Launches Labor Reforms for Private Sector Workers’, Saudi Press Agency, 4 November. Available from: https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2153476#2153476. [13 May 2021].
69The World Bank 2022, GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic, Republic of Yemen. Available from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?locations=QA-AE-KW-BH-SA-OM-LB-JO-IQ-SY-YE&most_recent_value_desc=true. [11 March 2022].
70Law No. 10 of 2021 amending the Prevention of Human Trafficking Law, 2021 (Jordan).
71Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2020, Trafficking in Persons Report: Qatar country narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 413-417. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-TIP-Report-Complete-062420-FINAL.pdf. [22 June 2022]; Pathak, S 2019, ‘Qatar opens shelter for trafficking victims’, Qatar Tribune, 31 July. Available from: https://www.qatar-tribune.com/news-details/id/169331/qatar-opens-shelter-for-trafficking-victims. [22 June 2022].
72Government of Kuwait 2019, National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21 – Kuwait A/HRC/WG.6/35/KWT/1, United Nations Human Rights Council, p. 10. Available from: https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2FWG.6%2F35%2FKWT%2F1&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False. [22 June 2022].
73United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2020, UNODC & Saudi Arabia Join Forces to Protect Victims of Human Trafficking. Available from: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2020/November/unodc-and-saudi-arabia-join-forces-to-protect-victims-of-human-trafficking.html. [22 June 2022].
74United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2020, Saudi Arabia takes concrete steps to counter trafficking. Available from: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/Webstories2020/saudi-arabia-takes-concrete-steps-to-counter-human-trafficking.html. [26 July 2021].
75International Labour Organization 2021, ‘Saudi Arabia reinforces its commitment to eradicate forced labour in all its forms,’ 27 May. Available from: https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/subjects-covered-by-international-labour-standards/forced-labour/WCMS_795244/lang–en/index.htm. [12 December 2022].
76NORMLEX n.d., Ratifications of C189 – Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), International Labour Organization. Available from: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:11300:0::NO:11300:P11300_INSTRUMENT_ID:2551460. [24 January 2022].
77Royal Decree Number 35/2003 Issuing the Labor Law, 2003 (Oman) arts 3bis & 123.
78Promulgation of the Penal Code, 1987 (No. 3 of 1987) (United Arab Emirates) art 347.
79Personal Status Law, 1959 (Iraq) art 9.
80Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: Saudi Arabia Country Narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 481-486. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. [11 March 2022]; The National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons 2017, The National Referral Mechanism for Victims of Trafficking in Person, Kingdom of Bahrain, p. 5. Available from: http://endtrafficking.bh/nrm/MediaHandler/GenericHandler/documents/NRM%20Eng-2019.pdf. [10 March 2021]; End Trafficking Bahrain 2019, NRM. Available from: http://endtrafficking.bh/nrm/. [10 March 2021].
81See the country narratives for Bahrain (pp. 104-109), Kuwait (pp. 339-343), Iraq (pp. 264-269), Jordan (pp. 321-324), Oman (pp.434-437), Qatar (pp. 463-467), Saudi Arabia (pp. 481-486), and Lebanon (pp. 351-354) in Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report, United States Department of State. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. [11 March 2022].
82Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: United Arab Emirates Country Narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 575-580. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. [11 March 2022].
83Haddad, M 2020, ‘Palestine and Israel: Mapping an annexation’, Al Jazeera, 26 June. Available from: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/6/26/palestine-and-israel-mapping-an-annexation. [17 June 2022].
84Human Rights Council 2022, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967* A/HRC/49/87, Office of the High Commissioner, pp. 2-6. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc4987-report-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-palestinian. [17 June 2022].
85Human Rights Watch 2017, Unwilling or Unable: Israeli Restrictions on Access to and from Gaza for Human Rights Workers, Human Rights Watch. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/04/02/unwilling-or-unable/israeli-restrictions-access-and-gaza-human-rights-workers. [17 June 2022].
86Human Rights Council 2022, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967* A/HRC/49/87, Office of the High Commissioner, pp. 2-18. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc4987-report-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-palestinian. [17 June 2022]; Amnesty International 2022, Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians, Amnesty International, pp. 16-17. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en/. [17 June 2022]; Human Rights Watch 2021, A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution, Human Rights Watch. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution. [17 June 2022].
87Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: Israel Country Narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 306-310. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TIP_Report_Final_20210701.pdf. [29 November 2021]; Girls Not Brides n.d., Atlas: Palestine, Girls Not Brides. Available from: https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/learning-resources/child-marriage-atlas/regions-and-countries/palestine/. [17 June 2022]; SAWA 2013, Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Palestinian Women and Girls: Forms of Modern Day Slavery. Available from: ISBN-13: 978-9950-8510-1-6. [17 June 2022].
88Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: Israel Country Narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 306-310. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TIP_Report_Final_20210701.pdf. [29 November 2021].
89Al’sanah, R 2021, Workers’ Rights in Crisis: Palestinian workers in Israel and the settlements, International Trade Union Confederation, pp. 10-15. Available from: https://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc_palestinereport_en.pdf. [17 June 2022].
90SAWA 2013, Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Palestinian Women and Girls: Forms of Modern Day Slavery. Available from: ISBN-13: 978-9950-8510-1-6. [17 June 2022].
91As above.
92Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2018, Registered Marriages Cases in Palestine by Age of Groom and Bride – 2018, State of Palestine. Available from: https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/VS-2018-04e.html. [17 June 2022].
93Presler-Marshall, E, Jones, N, Alheiwidi, S, Youssef, S, Abu Hamad, B, Bani Odeh, K, Baird, S. Oakley, E, Guglielmi, S & Małachowska, A 2020, Through their eyes: Exploring the complex drivers of child marriage in humanitarian contexts, Gender & Adolescence: Global Evidence, p. 13. Available from: https://www.gage.odi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Child-marriage-report-final.pdf. [17 June 2022].
942018, State of Palestine: Gender Justice & The Law, United Nations Development Programme, p. 22. Available from: https://arabstates.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Palestine.Country.Assessment.Eng_.pdf. [17 June 2022].
95As above; Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: Israel Country Narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 306-310. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TIP_Report_Final_20210701.pdf. [29 November 2021].
96Amnesty International 2022, Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians, Amnesty International, p. 18. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en/. [17 June 2022].
97Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2021, Trafficking in Persons Report: Israel Country Narrative, United States Department of State, pp. 306-310. Available from: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TIP_Report_Final_20210701.pdf. [29 November 2021].
982022, Who is protecting the rights of Palestinian workers in Israel? Gaps in the enforcement of Palestinian workers’ labor rights, Kav LaOved, pp. 1-5. Available from: https://www.kavlaoved.org.il/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/02/Enforcement-of-Palestinian-workers-rights-brief.pdf. [17 June 2022].
99Maharmeh, I 2021, Israel’s Violations of Palestinian Workers’ Rights: COVID-19 and Systemic Abuse, Al Shabaka: the Palestinian Policy Network. Available from: https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/israels-violations-of-palestinian-workers-rights-covid-19-and-systemic-abuse/. [17 June 2022]; 2022, Who is protecting the rights of Palestinian workers in Israel? Gaps in the enforcement of Palestinian workers’ labor rights, Kav LaOved, pp. 1-5. Available from: https://www.kavlaoved.org.il/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/02/Enforcement-of-Palestinian-workers-rights-brief.pdf. [17 June 2022].
1002018, State of Palestine: Gender Justice & The Law, United Nations Development Programme, p. 22. Available from: https://arabstates.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Palestine.Country.Assessment.Eng_.pdf. [17 June 2022].
101The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 1960, Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960; Rights Lab & Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 2018, Antislavery in domestic legislation country reports: States’ international obligations and domestic legislation regarding slavery, servitude, forced labour, and human trafficking, University of Nottingham & Monash University, p. 484. Available from: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/documents/beacons/rights-lab/antislavery-in-domestic-legislation-country-reports.pdf. [3 October 2022].
1022008 ‘Palestinian Labour Law No. 7 & Worker’s Rights’, Palestine Investment Conference, 21-23 May 2008, Palestinian Economic Policy Institute (Mas) Bethlehem, pp. 1-2. Available from: http://www.palst-jp.com/eg/pdf/inv/02/Palestinian_Labour_Law.pdf. [3 October 2022].
103Personal Status Law (1976), art. 14 – 15; Family Rights Law (1954), art. 21 – 22; as cited in Musawah: for Equality in the Family 2018, Thematic Report On Muslim Family Law And Muslim Women’s Rights In Palestine, Musawah: for Equality in the Family, p. 11. Available from: https://www.musawah.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Palestine-Thematic-Report-2017-CEDAW70.pdf. [3 October 2022].
104As above.
1052021, ‘Little Women’: Adolescence and Child Marriage in Palestine, International Women’s Initiative. Available from: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/552fe729e4b0c33e91169c8e/t/619745eb95232736a035b9e4/1637303791424/The+IWI+-+%E2%80%9CLittle+Women%E2%80%9D+Adolescence+and+Child+Marriage+in+Palestine+.pdf. [17 June 2022].
106As above; 2017, Palestine: Overview Of Muslim Family Laws & Practices, Musawah: For Equality in the Family. Available from: https://www.musawah.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Palestine-Overview-Table-English.pdf. [17 June 2022].
107Personal communication.
108Global Protection Cluster Anti-Trafficking Task Team 2020, An Introductory Guide to Anti-Trafficking Action in Internal Displacement Contexts, Global Protection Cluster, pp. 1-2. Available from: https://www.globalprotectioncluster.org/wp-content/uploads/Introductory-Guide-on-Anti-Trafficking-in-IDP-Contexts_2020_FINAL-1.pdf. [13 January 2022].
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