In March, Coda Story’s Burhan Wazir reported how blocked free voice and video apps in a number of Gulf countries in the Middle East were keeping low-income migrant workers from getting in touch with their families during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our story featured a Filipino administrator in a labor camp near Doha and found that because most free Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) apps such as WhatsApp and Skype, Facetime were blocked by authorities in Gulf countries like Qatar, Oman and United Arab Emirates, migrants were hardly able to communicate with their friends and relatives back home.    

Human rights organizations have called for Gulf countries to lift the ban on free VoIP services. The UAE, Qatar and Oman have eased some restrictions by permitting the use of platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams for the purpose of distance learning.

But not much has changed for migrant workers who are still facing connectivity issues with VoIP services when trying to call their families. On July 8 Euro-Mediterranean Monitor, an independent human rights organization released a statement at the 44th session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva: