Human rights should not be "violated", Pope Francis said Thursday after he arrived in the Gulf state of Bahrain, which has been criticised by rights groups for alleged abuses.
Religious freedom should be "complete and not limited to freedom of worship", said the pontiff, who had been urged by activists to speak out during his trip to the Sunni-led monarchy.
The pontiff also demanded "safe and dignified" conditions for workers. Rights for the Gulf's migrant labourers have been in the spotlight in the run-up to the World Cup in neighbouring Qatar.
The pope warned that "much labour is in fact dehumanising. This does not only entail a grave risk of social instability, but constitutes a threat to human dignity".
"Labour is as precious as bread... and often too, it is a bread that is poisoned, since it enslaves," he told assembled dignitaries in the opening speech of his visit.
Men and women, "rather than being the sacred and inviolable end and goal of work, are reduced instead to a mere means of producing wealth," he added.
He was addressing dignitaries including his host King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, hours after arriving in Manama on a trip aimed at fostering ties with Islam.
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