Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon

The ambiguity of the Kafala system in Lebanon has resulted in migrant domestic workers facing many legal issues and violations to their basic human rights.

[2] Following the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War, many Arab domestic workers decided to leave due to a general economic decline and a crisis in security.

[19] The domestic workers have been denied the right to freedom of association and banned from union membership under Article 92 of the Labour Law, added to which they have almost no legal safeguards which leaves them subject to abuse and exploitation.

The decision made by the Lebanese forbidding the domestic workers forming their own union or being a member of one would be considered a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which Lebanon ratified in 1972 and entered into force in 1976.

[30] In April 2019, Amnesty International urged Lebanon government to end the Kafala system which has led to the abuse of thousands of domestic workers in the Mediterranean country.

[32] By suspending the implementation of a new standard unified contract, Lebanon's State Shura Council caused a sharp blow to the migrant domestic worker rights.

[41] Under the Lebanese employment system, recruitment agencies are liable to provide a replacement within the first three months after a migrant domestic worker decides to discontinue work.

[44] In order to minimize having to do this, agencies advise employers to take measures to limit the freedom of the migrant domestic workers through the confiscation of their passport and restrict their communication with the outside world.

[45] Recruitment agencies have been known to encourage employers to place restrictions on migrant domestic workers, which include the confiscation of their passport and confinement to the residence.

[15][2] A Human Rights Watch report found that workers are often made false promises about the country they are moving to, as well as the work they will do, and the conditions expected in the workplace.

[47] Many women migrating for domestic work pay fees to agencies in their home countries, which sometimes means entering into debt or selling assets to cover the cost.

In Lebanon, agencies wishing to hire Filipinas for work are required to obtain "Master Employment Contract for Domestic Helpers" from the Embassy of the Philippines in Beirut.

[50] A code of conduct was launched in June 2013, to provide guidance for recruitment agencies on promoting and protecting the rights of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon.

In fact the figure increased to 65% when the employers were informed of the obligation to reimburse the recruitment fees in case of an early termination of contract by the migrant workers.

A large number of the employers even felt that the migrant workers should not be included in the Lebanese labour code, out of fear of the expansion of these rights to other foreigners like the Syrian or Palestinian refugees.

This they do in order to help their families whom are in need of the money, but another direct result of this remittance process is the contribution these workers provide to their country of origin and their economy.

The Lebanese government; aware of the problem, has signed treaties, yet it has failed to implement any real policies that can protect the workers in their domestic working environment.

The justification for this move was that the migrants were in Lebanon to work and not create families, it is worthy to note that the implementation of these deportations had been put on hold after pressure from civil society organisations like Insan.

[56] Human Rights observers stated that more than 50% of Lebanon's private beach club owners have barred migrant workers from swimming in their pools and in some cases have physically stopped them from entering.

Lebanon also has a mile-long public beach free to all called Ramlat al Baida, where the segregated groups including the migrant workers, were the targets of discrimination.

[69] In July 2024, the International Organization for Migration reported that some 28,000 migrants were working in regions like south Lebanon and the eastern Beqaa Valley, that are an active war zone being bombed by Israel.

[70] Many of the migrant workers of African origin that were in these heavily targeted regions have since escaped to Beirut and are now homeless due to being turned away from shelters that are housing displaced Lebanese.

[72] However, the Lebanese government has been ineffective with implementing the migration workers ban from entering into Lebanon from the country of Nepal simply kept issuing pre-approved work permits and visas.

[73] Ethiopian women have reportedly tried to bypass restrictions imposed by their government to work as domestic workers in Lebanon by first embarking on journeys to Sudan or Yemen.

87, the Freedom of Association and Protection of the right to Organize, which states in Article 2 that no prior registration with government officials is needed to form a labour union.

[81] A 24/7 telephone hotline (03 018 019) provided by the Lebanese secular feminist organization KAFA offers legal, emotional and medical advice as well as referral to temporary shelters.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is enshrined in the Lebanese Constitution which states that all international conventions of which Lebanon is a signatory and supersede domestic law in case of conflict.

[85] In 2012 the Lebanese Ministry of Labour produced an information guide direct at migrant domestic workers in Lebanon funded by the European Union and under the guidance of the which gives information on how to travel to Lebanon as a migrant domestic worker, the rights and responsibilities owed to you, what to do when in trouble and how to adapt to Lebanese culture including an Arabic language guide.

Makhdoumin (A Maid for Each) is a 2016 documentary film directed by Maher Abi Samra which explores the business of recruiting migrant domestic workers for Lebanese employers in Beirut.

[100] Beirut based multimedia journalist and filmmaker, Matthew Cassel produced a photography project named Unseen Lives: Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon in partnership with the KAFA (enough) Violence and Exploitation.