Drawn by the promise of jobs, thousands of men from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal work on Saadiyat Island in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a development project which will host branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums and a New York University campus. The project has become a focal point for scrutiny of the UAE’s treatment of migrant workers. Human Rights Watch first revealed serious human rights abuses on Saadiyat in a 2009 report, and a 2015 report highlighted that significant problems remain, despite the institution of codes of conduct for contractors. These include systematic human rights violations of migrant workers on the island, such as forced labor. Nowadays, there still remain serious concerns.
© 2010 Samer Muscati/Human Rights Watch