Citizenship, Rights, and the Moral Obligation of the State: Lessons from Florida and Saudi Arabi

A fundamental principle in political science is that citizens confer legitimacy upon the state in exchange for security. This is the core of the Social Contract. 

Under this contract, the state assumes a moral and legal responsibility to safeguard its citizens’ safety, dignity, rights, and access to justice. Citizens comply with laws, pay taxes, and offer loyalty because they trust that the state will act decisively when they face threats.

Crucially, this principle extends beyond national borders. Citizenship does not end at the frontier. Whether for education, labour, research, or livelihood, a citizen abroad remains entitled to protection, legal support, and moral accountability from their home state.

International law codifies this principle: The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations mandates that states provide consular assistance for citizens abroad. Similarly, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that human dignity, personal security, and access to justice are inherent rights, irrespective of geography.

These legal frameworks establish a normative baseline: A state that fails to protect or advocate for its citizens abroad risks violating both moral and legal imperatives.

The recent murders of Bangladeshi PhD students Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy at the University of South Florida are a tragic case study in the limits of state accountability.

Media reports confirm that Limon’s remains were recovered, while Bristy remains missing, though presumed dead. The accused, Hisham Abugharbieh, faces two counts of first-degree premeditated murder (AP News).

However, this is not an isolated ethical question; it mirrors long-standing issues with Bangladeshi female migrant workers returning from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries in coffins, victims of abuse, neglect, and systemic exploitation. Here, class, socioeconomic status, and social visibility differ dramatically, yet the state’s response, or lack thereof, remains strikingly consistent.

One is a highly educated student; another is a low-income domestic worker. One is murdered in the U.S.; the other returns from the Middle East in a coffin.

Should their citizenship and rights hold different moral or legal weight? Normatively, the answer is emphatically no. Citizenship entails equal protection, legal recognition, and moral concern, regardless of socioeconomic status, occupation, or location.

A 2020 report by The Daily Star highlighted that between 2016 and 2020, 473 Bangladeshi female migrant workers died abroad, with 175 bodies returned from Saudi Arabia alone. Among these cases was that of a 13-year-old girl named Nodi, whose body was returned in a coffin.

Yet, the mechanisms of accountability, government oversight, enforcement of labor protections, and consular advocacy, appear inconsistent or absent.

How does a 13-year-old obtain a passport to work abroad? Which recruitment agencies, brokers, or government offices failed? How does the state intervene in post-mortem investigations, compensation, or accountability of recruitment networks?

These questions are not merely administrative, they are political and legal. A state that regards its citizens solely as economic contributors (through remittances) or statistical units (through labor migration records) fails the foundational promises of the Social Contract.

Bangladeshi students abroad are often celebrated as “national pride,” and remittance-sending workers as “economic warriors.” But when they are murdered or abused, they become files, statistics, and fleeting headlines. This duality represents not administrative inefficiency but a profound moral failure, exposing structural weaknesses in both governance and citizen protection.

Globally, state practice demonstrates the possibility of more rigorous citizenship protection. For instance, India has implemented visible operations such as Operation Ganga,

Operation Kaveri, and the Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate citizens trapped in crises abroad, from Iraq to Ukraine. These missions do more than rescue, they signal the political and ethical principle that citizens’ rights and lives matter, irrespective of borders.

Similarly, the Philippines has historically intervened in cases of abuse of domestic workers abroad. After the 2018 murder of Filipina worker Joanna Demafelis in Kuwait, Manila suspended labour deployment and exerted diplomatic pressure, demonstrating a clear prioritization of citizen dignity over economic imperatives.

Western nations, including the U.S., routinely mobilize embassies, consular offices, and public diplomacy when citizens are harmed abroad, reflecting both legal obligations and political accountability.

Where does Bangladesh stand? Has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a principled, public statement regarding the US student murders? Has the embassy in Washington formally communicated concerns to U.S. authorities? Has the mission in Riyadh actively pursued legal protection, post-mortem transparency, compensation, and accountability for abusive recruitment agencies? Silence, in these cases, is not neutrality, it is a political signal that these deaths are deemed low priority.

Critically, silence also violates legal expectations. Citizens possess rights under both domestic law and international conventions. Unequal protection of citizens abroad constitutes not only a moral lapse but also a breach of international obligations. A state that fails to ensure these rights diminishes both its legitimacy and the trust of its citizens.

If two American students had been murdered in Bangladesh, or if a minor from a Western country had returned from the Middle East in a coffin after abuse, international pressure, diplomatic interventions, and public accountability would have been immediate and visible.

Bangladesh’s failure to act similarly indicates not merely administrative weakness but a structural deficit in its commitment to citizen protection and human rights.

A self-respecting state must publicly and decisively assert the equal value of all citizens’ lives. Demanding safety, justice, and protection is not diplomatic arrogance, it is the minimum requirement of sovereignty.

Whether a PhD student in Florida or a domestic worker returning from Saudi Arabia, the principle is the same: The state must recognize, protect, and advocate for all citizens equally. We do not merely demand justice; we demand presence, accountability, and moral integrity.

The most basic expectation of any citizen is profoundly simple:

"Wherever I am, my country should not remain silent after my death."

Dr. Lubna Ferdowsi is an academic and researcher based in England.

References:

1) AP News. (2026, April 16). Roommate charged with killing 2 missing USF students; one found dead, search continues for second. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/983f85642596c8ef9db9bfd76dd79669

2) Bdnews24. (2026, April 16). Bangladeshi USF students murdered in Florida: Roommate arrested. bdnews24.com. https://bdnews24.com/world/e219f243f8eb

3) The Daily Star. (2020, November 12). 473 women migrant workers dead abroad since 2016; 175 bodies returned from Saudi Arabia. https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/473-women-migrant-workers-dead-abroad-2016-175-saudi-arabia-alone-1987181

4) The Daily Star. (2020, November 15). How many more ‘Nodis’? Children sent abroad under false identities and exploited. https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/how-many-more-nodis-we-start-taking-false-identification-papers-seriously-1990565

5) United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

6) United Nations. (1963). Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_2_1963.pdf

7) Philippine Government. (2018). Suspension of Overseas Employment of Domestic Workers to the Middle East following Joanna Demafelis case. Department of Labor and Employment, Philippines. https://www.dole.gov.ph/news

8) Indian Ministry of External Affairs. (2022). Operation Ganga, Operation Kaveri, Vande Bharat Mission: Evacuation of citizens abroad. Government of India. https://mea.gov.in

9) Human Rights Watch. (2020). Migrant domestic workers: Protection and abuses in the Gulf. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/middle-east-north-africa