"Lebanon’s Tiered Legal System Rears Its Ugly Head, Pushing Domestic Migrant Workers to the Brink", 11 September 2026

As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues, Lebanon’s mistreated domestic migrant workers are being disproportionately affected; Shelters are denying them access, employers are withholding wages, and bombs are forcing their displacement...Article seven of Lebanon’s labor law, which removes domestic workers from protections, is the culprit...

Three months later, Kaluwa left, unwilling to suffer more abuse. But her employer had illegally seized her passport, so leaving made her undocumented. She found work with another family, then fled again after further abuse. She now lives in a shelter for trafficking victims, awaiting the papers that will let her return to Kenya...

Today, over 250,000 workers from across Africa and Asia work in Lebanese homes... Caritas told FairPlanet that some employers, hit by revenue losses from the war, have cut wages... KAFA told FairPlanet that some migrants have been denied access to government-run shelters despite the Lebanese government’s promise to admit them...

Lebanon has tried, as recently as 2022, to pass laws governing the employment of domestic workers, but none have been adopted — leaving the door open to further trafficking...