Press Release: "Safe from Slavery: Empowering Migrant Workers in Lebanon"
The Lebanese Center for Human Rights organized a Panel discussion as part of a program funded by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Beirut under the title "Safe from Slavery." The aim was to produce a report that reflects the current situation of migrant workers in Lebanon and to devise a realistic action plan aiming to abolish the kafala system and regulate the work of migrant workers under the law.
In the first section of the session, lawyer and legal advisors at CLDH, Sylvie Jabbour, who facilitated the discussion, provided an overview of the event's objectives. Former captain Mohammad El-Murad discussed the legal framework in Lebanon, and according to international law. He also presented the main findings of the research, addressing the challenges faced by migrant workers in Lebanon, as well as the key points to be addressed by relevant authorities.
During the discussion session, lawyer Mohana Eshak, representing KAFA organization, provided valuable insights into the current situation of migrant workers in Lebanon stressing on amendments that should be applied to the law in order to improve the situation of migrant workers. In this context, interventions were made by the former Head of the Foreign Workers' Recruitment Offices in Lebanon, Ali Al Amin, and by Lieutenant Colonel George Abi Fadel who discussed the current positive developments in the General Directorate of General Security. Recommendations and practical strategies to improve the conditions of these workers were discussed during the third session, while necessary measures and decisions were considered to protect them.
To conclude, lawyer Sylvie Jabbour summarized the discussion, outlining the conclusions and next steps, urging attendees to commit to implementing the proposed recommendations.
This event was a substantial advocacy action aimed at amending labor laws to include all foreign workers and abolishing the kafala system, which is a fundamental requirement that everyone should work towards today.
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About CLDH:
The Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) is a local non-profit, non-partisan Lebanese human rights organization. It was founded in 2006 in Beirut by the Franco-Lebanese Movement SOLIDA (Support for Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily). CLDH’s complementary components include advocacy, public mobilization, rehabilitation for victims of torture and families of enforced disappearances, the provision of pro-bono legal services for vulnerable groups regardless of nationality or status, and the organization of capacity building activities to key stakeholders in the human rights field.
