Amid extremely harsh working conditions, often at the cost of their very lives, many Christians work in Pakistan, a grim reality documented in a report by the international NGO International Support For Human Rights, which was submitted to the UN.

Christians make up just 1.37% of Pakistan’s population, but are disproportionately represented in dangerous and arduous jobs. They account for 80% of workers involved in sewer cleaning, where they generally work without protective clothing, masks or other safety equipment.

Read the report HERE

The report states that since April 2026, 16 worker deaths from asphyxiation caused by inhalation of toxic gases have been recorded, while many dozens of deaths from the same cause have occurred in recent years. Since 1988, the number of deaths of Christian sanitation workers is estimated at 70.

Almost three out of four workers (78.6%) have never received protective equipment, while 57.1% have been injured. Another study found that 14% of workers had happened to be present when a colleague died amid the nightmarish conditions inside the sewers.

Some 77% paid their healthcare expenses out of their own pockets, while very many reported illnesses such as typhoid fever and hepatitis. All this for poverty wages of 18,000 to 25,000 rupees a month (€57 to €79). It is a nightmarish situation that begins with job advertisements.

The state and municipalities publish advertisements stating that sewer cleaning is intended exclusively for non-Muslims and people from lower castes.

Local authorities even offer 89-day contracts in order to avoid permanent employment, pensions and any other employment rights. If workers ask for protective equipment, they are dismissed.

Under these conditions, 55% of workers say that their religious identity was the sole reason they were forced to do this job, while 44% say they face daily discrimination because of the work they do.

The report, which is based on data from Amnesty International and Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, calls on the UN to take urgent action on the issue. It also calls for the dispatch of special rapporteurs to Pakistan, as well as the prosecution of municipal authorities and contractors for negligent homicide.