abstract: 'Systematic violations of migrant workers'' human rights and striking

  health disparities among these populations in the United Arab Emirates

  (UAE) are the norm in member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council

  (GCC). Migrant laborers comprise about 90 percent of the UAE workforce

  and include approximately 500,000 construction workers and 450,000

  domestic workers. Like many other GCC members countries, the UAE

  witnessed an unprecedented construction boom during the early 2000s,

  attracting large numbers of Western expatriates and increasing demand

  for cheap migrant labor. Elite Emiratis'' and Western expatriates''

  dependence on household staff further promoted labor migration. This

  paper offers a summary of existing literature on migrant workers and

  human rights in the UAE, focusing on their impact on related health

  ramifications and disparities, with specific attention to construction

  workers, domestic workers, and trafficked women and children.

  Construction workers and domestic laborers are victims of debt bondage

  and face severe wage exploitation, and experience serious health and

  safety problems resulting from inhumane work and living conditions. High

  rates of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse impact the health of

  domestic workers. Through a review of available literature, including

  official reports, scientific papers, and media reports, the paper

  discusses the responsibility of employers, governments, and the global

  community in mitigating these problems and reveals the paucity of

  systematic data on the health of migrant workers in the Gulf.'
affiliation: 'Sonmez, S (Corresponding Author), Univ N Carolina, Bryan Sch Business
  \& Econ, Greensboro, NC 27412 USA.

  Soenmez, Sevil, Univ N Carolina, Bryan Sch Business \& Econ, Greensboro, NC 27412
  USA.

  Apostopoulos, Yorghos; Tran, Diane; Rentrope, Shantyana, Univ N Carolina, Greensboro,
  NC 27412 USA.

  Apostopoulos, Yorghos, Emory Univ, Sch Med, Atlanta, GA USA.'
author: Soenmez, Sevil and Apostopoulos, Yorghos and Tran, Diane and Rentrope, Shantyana
author-email: sesonmez@uncg.edu
author_list:
- family: Soenmez
  given: Sevil
- family: Apostopoulos
  given: Yorghos
- family: Tran
  given: Diane
- family: Rentrope
  given: Shantyana
da: '2023-09-28'
eissn: 2150-4113
files: []
issn: 1079-0969
journal: HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS
keywords-plus: 'IMMIGRATION POLICY; SLEEP RESTRICTION; DOMESTIC WORKERS; LABOR

  MIGRATION; GULF'
language: English
month: DEC
number: '2'
number-of-cited-references: '130'
pages: 17-35
papis_id: 5371ea20797b9bcfb1c9f23e663dee26
ref: Soenmez2011humanrights
times-cited: '22'
title: HUMAN RIGHTS AND HEALTH DISPARITIES FOR MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE UAE
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000208960700003
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '33'
volume: '13'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health
year: '2011'