the house of saud deserves the sword.
According to the U.S. State Department as of 2005:
Saudi Arabia is a destination for men and women from South and East Asia and East Africa trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation, and for children from Yemen, Afghanistan, and Africa trafficked for forced begging. Hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers from India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya migrate voluntarily to Saudi Arabia; some fall into conditions of involuntary servitude, suffering from physical and sexual abuse, non-payment or delayed payment of wages, the withholding of travel documents, restrictions on their freedom of movement and non-consensual contract alterations. The Government of Saudi Arabia does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.[46]
After the abolition of slavery, poor migrant workers were employed under the Kafala system, which have been compared to slavery.[47]
Kafala system in Saudi Arabia
Further information: Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia and Kafala system
From 1991 to 2019, 300,000 Bangladeshi women went to Saudi Arabia under the kafala system.[48] In early November 2019, protests took place in Dhaka in response to the case of Sumi Akter, who claimed "merciless sexual assaults", being locked up for 15 days, and having her hands burnt by hot oil by her Saudi employers.
The case of another Bangladeshi, Nazma Begum, who claimed being tortured, also attracted media attention. Both had been promised jobs as hospital cleaning staff but were tricked into becoming household servants. Begum died in Saudi Arabia of an untreated illness.[48]
According to a 2008 Human Rights Watch report,[49] under the kafala system in Saudi Arabia, "an employer assumes responsibility for a hired migrant worker and must grant explicit permission before the worker can enter Saudi Arabia, transfer employment, or leave the country. The kafala system gives the employer immense control over the worker."[50] HRW stated that "some abusive employers exploit the kafala system and force domestic workers to continue working against their will and forbid them from returning to their countries of origin" and that this is "incompatible with Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".[50]
HRW stated that "the combination of the high recruitment fees paid by Saudi employers and the power granted them by the kafala system to control whether a worker can change employers or exit the country made some employers feel entitled to exert 'ownership' over a domestic worker" and that the "sense of ownership ... creates slavery-like conditions".[50] In 2018, France 24 and ALQST reported on the use of Twitter and other online social networks by kafala system employers, "kafils", to "sell" domestic workers to other kafils, in violation of Saudi law. ALQST described the online trading as "slavery 2.0".[51]
On 4 November 2020, as part of its 2030 vision, Saudi Arabia announced a reformation plan for its labor law. Effective on 14 March 2021, the new measures are meant to curb the kafala system through:[52]
Mandatory digital documentation of labor contracts.
Dropping the stipulation of sponsor consent for exit visas, final exit visas, re-entry visas, and change of sponsor, so long as they are to be applied for after the end of a contractual term or an appropriate notice period previously specified in the contract. Other requirements may still apply in case of applying within a contractual term.
The changes are to be implemented in the Absher and Qiwa portals, both being part of the e-government in Saudi Arabia.[52]
In March 2021, Saudi Arabia introduced new labour reforms, allowing some migrant workers to change jobs without their employer's consent. HRW claimed that the reforms did not dismantle the abuses of the kafala system, "leaving migrant workers at high risk of abuse".[53] Many domestic workers and farmers who are not covered by the labour law are still vulnerable to multifold abuses, including passport confiscation, delayed wages and even forced labour. Although migrant workers are allowed to request an exit permit without their employer's permission, the need to have an exit permit in order to leave the country is a human rights violation.[53]
An investigation by France 24 in April 2021 documented abuses of female migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. A 22-year-old woman migrant worker from Madagascar was murdered by the underground prostitution mafia she used to work for after running away from her employer's home and buried without a coffin in al-Jubail. Due to the practice of some sponsors who confiscate the passports of migrant workers, young women from East Africa find it difficult to return home after perceived mistreatment by their employers. The women often end up falling into prostitution.[54]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Saudi_Arabia
"V. Country Narratives -- Countries Q through Z". US Department of State. Archived from the original on 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2019-05-25. Public domain This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
"The Kafala System: An Issue of Modern Slavery". 19 August 2022.
"'Sexual assaults': Bangladesh seeks worker's return from Saudi". Al Jazeera English. 3 November 2019. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
"'As If I Am Not Human' — Abuses against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia". Human Rights Watch. 8 July 2008. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
"'As If I Am Not Human' — Abuses against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia (pdf)" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 8 July 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
"En Arabie saoudite, des employées de maison sont vendues sur Internet" [In Saudi Arabia, domestic workers are sold on the Internet]. France 24 (in French). 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
"Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development Launches Labor Reforms for Private Sector Workers". hrsd.gov.sa. 4 November 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
"Saudi Arabia: Labor Reforms Insufficient". Human Rights Watch. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
"Crude burial of 22-year-old highlights plight of female migrant workers in Saudi Arabia". France 24. 5 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.