Kafala System
Encyclopedia
The Kafala, or Sponsorship, System is a system used to monitor the construction and domestic migrant laborers in the Arab Gulf States. The system requires all unskilled laborers to have an in-country sponsor, usually their employer, who is responsible for their visa and legal status. This practice has been decried by human rights
organizations for creating easy opportunities for the exploitation of workers, as many employers take away passports and abuse their workers with little chance of legal repercussions.
was the first country in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to repeal the Kafala system in 2009. In a public statement the Labor Minister likened the system to slavery.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organizations for creating easy opportunities for the exploitation of workers, as many employers take away passports and abuse their workers with little chance of legal repercussions.
Bahrain's repeal of the Kafala System
BahrainBahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
was the first country in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to repeal the Kafala system in 2009. In a public statement the Labor Minister likened the system to slavery.