US EditionRights groups say migrant workers are dying on Saudi job sites as kingdom prepares for World Cup
- On May 14, 2025, Human Rights Watch and FairSquare published investigations revealing numerous avoidable fatalities among migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, linked to workplace accidents and health issues amid preparations for the 2034 World Cup.
- The reports come amid long-standing accusations related to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic reform plan and were released shortly after FIFA President Gianni Infantino accompanied President Donald Trump during his diplomatic trip to the kingdom.
- The investigations reveal deaths from electrocution, road accidents, and falls, which are often misreported, preventing families from compensation and obscuring the true causes.
- Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch stressed the need for Saudi officials and FIFA to establish fundamental labor protections, highlighting that unlike Qatar, which implemented measures such as life insurance and safeguards against heat, Saudi Arabia currently lacks these provisions.
- Rights groups caution that without measures to ensure accountability, thousands of preventable migrant worker fatalities could occur in the coming years amidst Saudi Arabia’s extensive infrastructure developments, including preparations for the 2034 World Cup.
85 Articles
85 Articles
HRW warns of migrant worker deaths in 2034 World Cup hosts Saudi Arabia
PARIS: Human Rights Watch on Wednesday said grave abuses were being committed on giant construction sites in Saudi Arabia and warned the risks to migrant workers could increase as the building of stadiums for the 2034 World Cup gathers pace. HRW said that “scores of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia die in gruesome yet avoidable workplace-related accidents, including falling from buildings, electrocution, and even decapitation”. The NGO, which has…
A propos - HRW report: migrant workers in Saudi Arabia electrocuted, decapitated and falling to death
We speak to Ahmed Benchemsi, advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch, which has published a report on grave abuses committed on construction sites in Saudi Arabia.…
Human rights organizations warn of deaths in run-up to World Cup in Saudi Arabia
Human rights organizations warn that migrant workers will die in Saudi Arabia in the coming years if working conditions are not improved. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and FairSquare, dozens of workers have already died in preventable accidents. Saudi Arabia is organizing the 2034 World Cup. To build the stadiums, the West Asian country is deploying workers from countries such as Bangladesh, India and Nepal. These migrant workers work un…
Scores of migrant workers, including Indians, dying on Saudi job sites, say rights groups
Riyadh: Scores of labourers from countries including India, Bangladesh and Nepal have faced preventable deaths from electrocution, road accidents, falling from heights, and more while working in Saudi Arabia, according to a report Wednesday by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch and another rights group, FairSquare, released separate investigations Wednesday detailing preventable deaths of migrant workers from job-site acci…
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