UN human rights experts call on Saudi Arabia to abolish the kafala sponsorship system for migrant workers

Summary

UN special rapporteurs on contemporary forms of slavery, the human rights of migrants and trafficking in persons urged Saudi Arabia on 19 May 2026 to effectively abolish the kafala sponsorship system, which ties the residency status and employment rights of approximately 13 million migrant workers to a single employer. The experts documented persistent violations despite Saudi Arabia's 2021 Labor Reform Initiative, including unaccountable deaths in the workplace, wage theft, violence, confiscation of identity documents and recruitment fees that trap workers in debt bondage before they begin employment. The kafala system, variants of which also operate in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, enables employers to cancel workers' visas as a disciplinary tool and makes filing labour complaints practically impossible without risking deportation. The 2026 Hormuz crisis has added a layer of economic volatility, with civil society organisations documenting cases of employers suspending operations without paying wages due to shipping disruption.

The split

South Asian media, particularly from India, the Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, covered the UN experts' statement as directly affecting their largest overseas labour populations. Filipino and Indian human rights journalists tracked individual cases alongside the policy narrative. Gulf state media in Saudi Arabia and Qatar largely did not carry the statement; state newspapers framed the 2021 Labor Reform Initiative as proof of progress. Al Jazeera provided more critical coverage. European media focused on the implications for FIFA's accountability commitments in connection with the Qatar 2022 World Cup and for European companies that source labour for Gulf construction projects. UK civil society linked the kafala debate to British government decisions on which Gulf states receive bilateral labour cooperation agreements.

By the numbers

• ~13 million, migrant workers in Saudi Arabia subject to kafala-linked employment conditions
• 2021, year of Saudi Arabia's Labor Reform Initiative (reforms assessed as partial by ILO and UN experts)
• May 19, 2026, date of the UN special rapporteurs' public call for abolition
• GCC countries covered by kafala variants: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman

Why it matters

The kafala system is the structural mechanism underpinning the Gulf South Asia migration corridor, one of the world's largest labour flows, sending remittances that constitute major shares of GDP in Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and parts of India. If the system is not reformed, workers remain in conditions that parallel forced labour under international law definitions, regardless of legal terminology used by Gulf governments. The UN experts' 2026 statement builds pressure on Saudi Arabia specifically as it seeks to project a reformed image ahead of hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The Hormuz disruption has also placed additional strain on migrant workers caught in volatile employment situations with no legal right to exit or change employers.

What to watch

• Saudi government's formal response to the UN special rapporteurs' May 2026 communication
• ILO bilateral negotiations with GCC countries on worker mobility rights
• Whether the 2034 FIFA World Cup triggers any comparable Qatar-2022-style labour rights scrutiny in Saudi Arabia
• Remittance flow data from South Asian countries tracking economic conditions for workers in the Gulf