Restricting the freedom of movement and living of migrant domestic workers is a crime by law

The report released during a conference yesterday by Insan Association under the heading, ‘Migrant Women Domestic Workers Trapped in Lebanon’ did not bring anything new other than the usual criticism of the unfair sponsorship (Kafala) system. What was new, however, was the detailing of legislations and conventions in observation of those rights, mainly the right to have a decent place to live and to move freely. According to the above study, the sponsorship system has in fact institutionalized the concept of enslavement of persons through the practices of employers. As such, migrant woman domestic workers (MWDWs) are deprived of their most fundamental rights like, the right to end a working contract, the right to a decent working environment, to be paid regularly, to keep her identification papers with her, or the right to health insurance. These work terms, the study expounded, should be properly applied. Yet, nearly 78% of employers tend to confiscate their workers’ passports or personal belongings throughout their stay; 80% of MWDWs are not allowed to leave the house in the absence of their employers and, around 31% of these workers are subjected to forced detention, the study indicated. Likewise, the Public Security (PS) Department, who markedly did not attend the conference organized by Insan, interprets Article 8 of the employment contract signed by the MWDW and approved by the Labor Ministry, and according to which the employer (or sponsor) is bound to provide decent housing for the migrant worker, as a mandatory live-in condition. The report concluded by warning that restricting the mobility and movement of MWDWs by their employers or by the owners of recruitment agencies, is considered, by virtue of law, a criminal offense or even a felony. In light of Article 569 of the Penal Code, the punishment for the crime of denying a person his or her freedom could reach as far as life imprisonment. This could also be applied to the cases of forced detention and confiscation of personal papers. (As Safir, Al Akhbar, June 23, 2016)