UPDATES TO KAFALA
The definitive place to get the latest updates on Kafala.
April 21, 2021 | English
Thousands of families in Lebanon can no longer afford to buy food. Between a collapsing economy, damage to the capital following the port explosion last August, and soaring Covid-19 cases, Lebanon teeters on the brink.
While the social and economic climate has reduced the quality of life for everyone in the country, women and girls have been disproportionately affected in ways both obvious and invisible.
February 28, 2018 | English
KUWAIT CITY: The murder of a Filipina maid whose body was found in a freezer in Kuwait has triggered outrage and prompted Manila to impose a departure ban for its citizens planning to work in the Gulf state.
April 22, 2021 | English
KUWAIT CITY: A UN rights expert on Thursday urged Kuwait to abolish its “kafala” system for foreign workers which has long been criticized as a form of bonded labor or even slavery.
March 22, 2021 | English
Amnesty International calls on Fifa President Gianni Infantino to implement “independent and regular” monitoring of all 2022 sites to detect and prevent rights abuses as Qatar says “progress is being made.”
April 7, 2021 | English
Launch of Amnesty International’s global annual report. Pandemic lays bare systemic inequality in MENA and worldwide with refugees, migrants and prisoners severely impacted.Throughout 2020 MENA governments ramped up assault on freedom of expression and in some cases punished health workers who spoke out. World leaders hampered recovery by undermining international cooperation. New Secretary General Agnès Callamard calls for reset of broken systems.
April 21, 2021 | English
Statement by the Kuwait Society for Human Rights on the decision not to renew work permits for persons over 60 years old.
April 11, 2021 | English
Lebanon’s local police have disclosed that a small black bag found in the Malla area in the country’s capital points at a possible murder of an Ethiopian domestic worker; promising a full investigation into the incident.
September 22, 2020 | English
The standard unified labor contract issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Labor on September 8, 2020, is the first step in a series of measures needed to abolish the Kafala / sponsorship system to which foreign domestic workers are subjected. This contract is the fruit of a series consultations and discussions conducted between a committee – consisting of Kafa, the International Labor Organization, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Caritas, the Legal Agenda and a representative of the L’Orient-Le Jour newspaper – and the Ministry of Labor for over a year. However, Kafa has reservations about the final contract as it was drafted and issued by the Ministry of Labor since it does not take into consideration the mechanisms needed to implement its provisions.
December 15, 2016 | English
KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti rights group Wednesday called on the country to abolish its “kafala” system for expats which has long been criticized as a form of bonded labor or even slavery.
June 25, 2015 | English
Lebanon has launched a 24-hour hotline for female domestic workers to allow them to report abuse or mistreatment and receive help.