Pete Pattisson

In Saint-Louis, Senegal, boys as young as five who are sent to Qur’anic schools, or daaras, are often forced to beg for food and money under daily quotas imposed by some marabouts. Human-rights groups estimate that at least 100,000 talibés are subjected to forced begging nationwide, with many living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions and facing beatings, trafficking, and sometimes sexual abuse. The practice has deep cultural roots, but urbanization and weak oversight have enabled exploitation. Rights advocates say government enforcement of Senegal’s anti-trafficking law is obstructed by pressure from religious leaders, communities, and politicians.

A FairSquare report documents 23 alleged labor-rights abuses involving migrant workers employed by Aramco contractors and subcontractors in Saudi Arabia. Workers reportedly faced dangerous conditions, extreme heat, excessively long shifts, overcrowded housing and serious barriers to compensation after injury or death. Shrawan Shah Rauniyar says his legs were crushed while working on an Aramco-related project and that he was threatened and sent back to Nepal without compensation. The family of Manjay Kumar Sah, who died after collapsing at an Aramco project site, likewise received no compensation from Saudi Arabia. Aramco and Saipem said worker safety and wellbeing are priorities and described measures intended to support contractor staff, while FairSquare argued that Aramco’s influence over its extensive supply chain gives it responsibility for protecting migrant workers.

Debt-bonded brick kiln workers around Lahore are being pressured or deceived into selling kidneys to repay loans that kiln owners manipulate and inflate. Victims report receiving far less than promised, surrendering the money to owners, and remaining trapped in debt while suffering lasting pain and reduced ability to work. Lawyers and Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights characterize the system as contemporary slavery and suggest that coerced organ sales may amount to human trafficking, with women, children, minority communities and illiterate workers especially vulnerable.

Mohammad Arshad’s family in Pakistan has reportedly received neither the legally owed death compensation nor his outstanding salary and end-of-service benefits nearly a year after he died while working on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco Stadium project for the 2034 World Cup. Besix says the benefits have been transferred for payment and that it is helping the family complete documents for the insurance claim. Rights groups say the delay illustrates the bureaucratic barriers faced by families of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and urge FIFA to accept responsibility for worker deaths connected to the tournament’s construction program.

Young Nepalis led mass protests in Kathmandu against government corruption, nepotism and a ban on social media platforms. Police gunfire left hundreds injured and at least 22 people dead, intensifying anger toward Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who resigned the following day. Celebrations and demands for political change were accompanied by severe violence, including the burning and destruction of government buildings and other properties. Protesters described the movement as a generational revolution, but many also feared that outside groups had pushed it toward retribution and chaos. Nepal remained under a strict curfew with its political future uncertain.

Trade unions from 36 countries have filed a complaint with the International Labour Organization seeking a commission of inquiry into alleged labour-rights violations against migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. The complaint cites human trafficking, forced labour, wage theft, abuse, recruitment-fee exploitation, passport confiscation and dangerous heat exposure as development accelerates ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup and other giga-projects. Saudi Arabia has agreed to a two-year cooperation programme with the ILO involving possible reforms such as fair recruitment, job mobility, a minimum wage and improved injury compensation, but unions say these commitments are insufficient, particularly because trade unions remain prohibited and domestic workers lack key protections.

Families in Nepal’s impoverished southern plains say they have been left without compensation, unpaid wages or clear explanations after relatives died while working in Saudi Arabia. Cases involving Sitaram Das, Kisan Teli and Surya Nath Ray Amat illustrate allegations that employers and Saudi authorities fail to investigate workplace deaths, while certificates often inaccurately record causes as accidents or “natural” deaths. Rights groups FairSquare and Human Rights Watch argue that Saudi Arabia lacks an effective system for investigating migrant-worker fatalities, raising concerns as the country expands major construction projects ahead of the 2034 men’s World Cup.

Human rights groups warn that Saudi Arabia’s construction boom, driven partly by preparations for the 2034 men’s World Cup and projects such as Neom, could result in thousands of migrant worker deaths. Reports by FairSquare and Human Rights Watch describe fatal workplace accidents, opaque or potentially inaccurate death classifications, and families receiving little or no compensation. The groups accuse FIFA of failing to prevent foreseeable abuses, while FIFA says it is collaborating with Saudi authorities and labor organisations to strengthen worker protections.

Nepal is experiencing rapid electric-vehicle adoption, with more than 70% of four-wheeled passenger vehicles imported in the previous year being electric and the government targeting 90% of private-vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. The shift is driven mainly by lower running costs, stable electricity prices, tax advantages and improved power availability, while hydropower means the vehicles are powered largely by clean electricity. EVs could help address Kathmandu’s severe air pollution, which contributes to nearly 19% of deaths in Nepal and reduces life expectancy in the capital by an estimated 2.6 years. However, experts warn that the benefits will remain limited unless polluting diesel buses and trucks are electrified, charging infrastructure is expanded and the chaotic public-transport system is improved.

Muhammad Arshad, a Pakistani foreman in his mid-30s, died after falling from an upper level while working on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco Stadium in Al Khobar, making him the first known migrant-worker death linked to the 2034 World Cup. Besix Group, whose subsidiary Six Construct is a main contractor, confirmed that a platform tilted during formwork operations and said Arshad was not connected to an anchor point. A source alleged that workers were told to delete footage and avoid discussing the incident, while the company said authorities were investigating and that it would support the family. The death has renewed concerns about labor conditions at the stadium, including alleged recruitment debts, cramped housing, excessive heat exposure and withheld wages, as Saudi Arabia undertakes a major construction program ahead of the tournament.

Saudi Arabia’s plans to host the 2034 World Cup will require millions of migrant workers to build stadiums, transport infrastructure and hotels, but testimonies from Bangladeshi workers indicate that exploitation is already widespread. Workers report illegal recruitment fees, false contracts, unpaid wages, invalidated residence permits, detention and deportation. At least 13,685 Bangladeshis died in Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2022, with most deaths unexplained. Rights groups warn that construction for the tournament could increase the toll, while Saudi authorities say robust worker protections and legal procedures are in place.

FIFA awarded Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup after giving its bid a high evaluation and describing its human-rights risk as medium, despite warnings from campaigners. The decision came alongside FIFA’s rejection of compensation for migrant workers who suffered abuses on projects connected to Qatar 2022. The article argues that Saudi Arabia’s plans for stadiums, transport and hotels will rely heavily on migrant labor already vulnerable to recruitment debt, withheld wages, excessive heat and poor living conditions, raising fears that the exploitation seen in Qatar will be repeated.

Human rights organizations accused AS&H Clifford Chance of whitewashing Saudi Arabia’s record of migrant worker exploitation and broader rights abuses in its assessment of the country’s bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Critics said the report omitted abuses including unpaid wages, illegal recruitment fees, repression of activists, restrictions on expression and executions because its scope was limited to rights instruments Saudi Arabia had ratified. Saudi Arabia, the sole bidder, was expected to receive the tournament, while FIFA said it would publish an evaluation before the December 2024 Congress vote.

Nepal’s legalization of abortion in 2002 helped contribute to a sharp decline in maternal mortality, but access remains difficult in rural and socially conservative communities. Anti-abortion activist Soman Rai, whose Voice of Fetus Nepal receives support from US Christian groups, campaigns against abortion and benefits from limited public awareness of its legality. Experts and MSI Nepal warn that the US global gag rule, which restricts foreign organizations receiving US healthcare funding from discussing or advocating for abortion, has already disrupted services and could cause further damage if Donald Trump returns to office. Funding cycles have forced MSI Nepal to close projects, while stigma and poor access push some women toward unsafe abortions.

Devi Khadka, a former Maoist rebel fighter and parliamentarian, was tortured and raped by Nepalese police during the country’s civil war. After years of trauma and silence, she became an outspoken advocate for survivors of wartime sexual violence, leading organizations that document abuses, seek reparations and pressure Nepal’s transitional justice system. The 2024 documentary Devi chronicles her life and activism. Although Nepal’s government proposed amendments that could classify conflict-era rape as a serious human rights violation and provide reparations, rights groups say the measures remain insufficient and could preserve impunity. Khadka nevertheless continues to campaign for justice and recognition for survivors.

Saudi Arabia, the sole bidder for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, faces a complaint to the International Labour Organization alleging widespread forced labor and migrant-worker abuses, including unpaid wages, passport confiscation, recruitment fees, debt bondage and restrictions on changing jobs. Building and Wood Workers’ International, supported by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and FairSquare, is urging an investigation. The complaint increases pressure on FIFA to require binding human-rights commitments before awarding the tournament, particularly as Saudi Arabia’s migrant workforce and construction needs are expected to grow. A survey cited in the complaint found widespread document confiscation and limits on workers leaving employment.

Nearly 70,000 Bangladeshi workers were deported from Saudi Arabia in 2022, many returning to Dhaka hungry, traumatised and unable to afford transport home. Workers describe deceptive recruitment contracts, unpaid wages, cancelled or unrenewed residence permits, arbitrary arrests and overcrowded detention centres. Rights groups warn that Saudi Arabia’s reliance on low-wage migrant labour for its proposed 2034 World Cup could reproduce the abuses seen before Qatar 2022. Saudi authorities deny wrongdoing, saying deportations follow verified legal violations and that detention centres protect workers’ rights, while FIFA and the Bangladesh government did not respond.

Human-rights groups warn that Saudi Arabia’s likely hosting of the 2034 World Cup could repeat the abuses associated with Qatar 2022 unless FIFA imposes binding labour and human-rights safeguards. Bangladeshi government records show that at least 13,685 Bangladeshis died in Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2022, with many deaths recorded as natural despite incomplete cause-of-death information and the workers’ mandatory pre-departure medical checks. Advocates say extreme heat, harsh working and living conditions, and stress may contribute to the deaths, and urge investigations, credible dismantling of the kafala system, and transparency from FIFA. Saudi authorities defend recent labour reforms and deny negligence, while FIFA did not respond to requests for comment.

Thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers have died in Saudi Arabia, with many deaths recorded as natural causes, cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest without meaningful postmortem investigation. Families are left with debt, lost income and no compensation, while rights groups warn that harsh working and living conditions, exploitation, stress and heat may be contributing factors. Campaigners say FIFA must require strong human-rights safeguards before awarding Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup, whose construction projects could sharply increase demand for migrant labor. Saudi authorities reject allegations of negligence, saying worker protections and death investigations meet international standards.