A coalition of rights groups on Monday urged the UK to incorporate human rights protections before signing a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), amid documentation of abuses faced by migrant workers across these countries.

In a joint statement, the groups urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to include human rights conditions in the agreement, warning that the UK is implicitly complicit in labor exploitation and forced labor through its trade relationships.

Additionally, the statement criticized GCC countries and the UK for the shortcomings in their human rights frameworks, including the UK’s failure to implement legislation recommended by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights.

In 2017, the Joint Committee on Human Rights recommended a legal obligation to pr

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