The International Federation for Human Rights and Development (IFRD) has called for a serious international pressure on the Saudi Arabia to end the restrictions on its workers' travel, which violates their most basic rights.
the International Federation said in a press statement on Wednesday that " the Saudi Arabia remains the only Gulf state that requires their workers to obtain the permit leave to leave the country, increasing their vulnerability to ill-treatment, including forced labour.”
The Saudi Arabia has 11 million workers of different nationalities under the sponsorship system, the largest number of migrants in the region, and the fourth in the world.
The federation pointed out that "The migrant labour system in Saudi Arabia is close to slavery, because of the requirements associated with the difficulties faced by these workers in switching employers, which increases their vulnerability to ill-treatment, including forced labour".
The federation shed light on " the recording of hundreds of cases of the workers' rights abuse in Saudi Arabia, as a result of arrogance and domination, under poor labour laws that fragilize the foreign workers. Such violations occur especially in the private sector, where the sponsor keeps the resident's passport and deprives him of his most basic rights”. It stressed the need for the improvement of the workers’ situation in Saudi Arabia, in light of the suffering of the majority from abuse and exploitation, which sometimes amounts to forced labour.
It called for the abolition of the sponsorship system which links the residence permits of migrant workers to the employer (sponsor), whose written consent is necessary for the worker to change his employer or leave the country under the normal circumstances. Some employers illegally confiscate the passports of their workers and deprive them from their salaries or force migrants to work against their will. "
The Federation asked for the abolition of the Saudi Arabia's exit visa and the employer’s permit for leaving the kingdom. The worker who leaves the employer without obtaining his consent can be accused of "escaping" and faces imprisonment and deportation and the victims who escape get punished.
The federation also stressed on the necessity of putting an end to the arrest and expulsion of foreign workers from Saudi Arabia for discriminatory reasons and to stop the unfair trials, which can even lead to death and long-term imprisonment.
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