The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a nation built largely on migrant labour, with approximately 90 percent of its population composed of foreign workers recruited from across the globe. A significant portion of these migrant workers are brought to the UAE under false pretences and exploited, both physically and sexually, a practice that constitutes human trafficking. Once in the country, many become bound to their employers through the kafala system, which severely restricts their mobility and limits their opportunities to lead a dignified life. Despite the government’s claims of progress in preventing exploitation, protecting migrant workers, and prosecuting offenders, many continue to face exploitation and abuse, highlighting the gap between official rhetoric and the reality on the ground.
Human trafficking is a grave violation of human rights that encompasses the recruitment, transfer and exploitation of individuals through coercion, fraud, deception, or the use of force. One of the most insidious methods traffickers use is the exploitation of fraudulent contracts – false promises of lucrative employment or safe migration pathways. These deceptive agreements are designed to lure vulnerable individuals into situations of abuse and servitude they never agreed to.
Trafficking manifests in various forms, with sexual coercion and forced labour being the most common. According to a UN report, women and girls continue to make up for most trafficking victims worldwide, reflecting the persistent gendered nature of this abuse and the heightened vulnerability of females to exploitation.
To make matters worse, under the kafala system, migrants are subjected to a range of mistreatments. Common violations include withholding of passports, non-payment of wages, restricted movement, last-minute contract changes, false job promises, and inadequate food and shelter. These practices perpetuate a cycle of dependency and fear, trapping workers in exploitative conditions with little ability to seek redress.
The UAE administration has long sought to present itself as a modern and progressive state, committed to reform and human rights. The government’s official website cites the country as a leading player in the fight against human trafficking, highlighting initiatives and efforts that the country has allegedly undertaken to prevent exploitation, protect victims, and prosecute offenders. Yet, the website largely refers to laws and measures that date back more than a decade and are now obsolete, particularly in the face of the sharp rise in human trafficking during the COVID-19 pandemic. This disconnect between public image and actual enforcement reveals a system more focused on reputation management than on dismantling the structures that enable exploitation.
This contradiction becomes particularly evident in the case of Christy Gold (born Christiana Jacob Uadiale), a key figure in a criminal operation that lured African women to Dubai and coerced them into sex work. Gold would recruit women by providing false information about employment opportunities in the UAE, covering their passport, visa, and travel expenses to make the offer appear legitimate. Once in the country, these women were subject to sexual exploitation, abuse and poor living conditions, as well as threats of violence if they failed to meet financial demands or refused to comply. She ran businesses and owned property in the UAE, yet despite authorities being fully aware of her illicit operations, they turned a blind eye – until she was eventually arrested and imprisoned in her home country, Nigeria. Even the arrest proved insufficient; a few months later, she walked free after paying a fine, almost certainly with money earned through her sexual exploitation network. Her release effectively enables her to resume the very trafficking activities in the UAE that she once ran with impunity.
This case underscores the broader impunity faced by traffickers in the UAE and the systemic failures that leave vulnerable migrant women at risk. Until the government takes meaningful action to abolish the kafala system, enforce labour protection, seriously collaborate with international anti-trafficking bodies to prevent exploitation and hold perpetrators accountable, migrant workers will continue to face abuse and manipulation with little recourse.