"Lebanon must end impunity for human rights abuses following UN Human Rights Council review", Amnesty International 19 Jan 2021

For years, local and international communities have called on the Lebanese state to abolish kafala, an inherently abusive migration sponsorship system, and protect the rights of women migrant domestic workers to adequate work conditions. The economic crisis, coupled with the spread of COVID-19, worsened conditions for these vulnerable workers. Since May 2020, employers have abandoned scores of migrant domestic workers outside their consulates or embassies, often without their belongings or even their passports. These migrant workers have been subjected to exploitation, including being refused pay or plane tickets to return home.

The Lebanese authorities must urgently take steps to dismantle the kafala system, including by ensuring migrant workers are not dependent on exploitative employers for their legal status in the country. Only a change to the labor law enshrining protection for migrant workers can protect the rights of these workers to a dignified and just work environment.

At least 14 governments called for an end to kafala in the UNHRC review.