Freedom of Expression Threatened...

Excerpt taken from the Weekly Wire Publication from the Project on Middle East Democracy

Concern about Freedom of Expression in Bahrain: On Thursday, 46 human rights groups, including Freedom House and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing "grave concern" about abusive campaigns carried out by Bahraini officials to harass, prosecute, and imprison journalists and political activists. To correct this pattern of abuse, the NGOs implored the UN to apply pressure on Bahrain's government to open up space for all NGOs to operate legally without fear of repercussions and to lift censorship restrictions on both websites and independent journalists and activists.

The full letter can be viewed here.

Expatriate Suicides in Bahrain Prompt Human Rights Evaluation of Migrant Workers

The recent surge in suicide attempts reported in this blog is not confined within Kuwait's borders across the Gulf region. Similar alarming numbers of expatriate worker suicide cases has prompted an investigation by local human rights activists on alleged migrant worker abuses in Bahrain.

Over 100 expatriate workers committed suicide over the last three years; 38 cases from this year alone and large numbers considering Bahrain's small population according to local human rights advocates.

A detailed report covering issues like work safety, living conditions, non-payment of salaries and even the kinds of food that migrant workers eat is expected to be released in September by a branch of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) and will cover all 100 work-related fatalities in detail.

BHRWS' Secretary-General Faisal Fulad revealed that few if any safety standards are often followed on Bahrain's construction sites and there is little regard for workers' lives. He added that even if an accident does occur, it is often "brushed under the rug."

This report offers migrant rights activists a venue to speak out against all of the injustices that contribute to the overall disparaged lives that expatriate workers face while living in Bahrain, providing insight into long-term health problems that workers suffer as a result of poor diet and bad nutrition, the unjustifiably low salaries they receive, and consequently, the dilapidated living conditions available to them.

Although Fulad commented that 50% of the report has already been completed, the remaining portions of the report will still take another four months. A conference will be organized by the BHRWS to coincide with the report's release in September.

Source: TradeNews Arabia News Source

Domestic Worker Enslavement Leads to Increasing Suicide Attempts in Kuwait

To follow-up on an earlier posting from this blog on the startling increase in suicide attempts by mirgrant workers, new data documented in the Migrant-Rights.org blog has revealed that an already dire situation continues to detioriate in Kuwait, where a migrant or domestic worker attempts or fully commits suicide every other day. This trend is emerging as a consequence of the poor and abusive working conditions that Kuwait's expatriate workers face and how many are simply unable to cope.

Migrant-Rights.org reveals that between February 19 and March 25, 2010 (35 days), 17 suicide cases were reported in Kuwait's local media; usually in just two sentences under the "crime" section and without identifiable information other than the victim's nationality. Most of the workers who commit suicide are reported to be domestic workers who simply are not offered any legal protection under Kuwait's private sector labor law, and as a result, remain completely dependent on the sponsors that employ them.

It is illegal for domestic workers to leave the employing authority held by their sponsor, presenting limited options to move freely and escape enslavement.

India's Ambassador Warns Citizens of Sponsor Exploitation in Bahrain

In a monthly gathering held at the Indian Embassy in Adliya Bahrain last week, the Indian Ambassador Dr. George Joseph discussed two critical issues that have recently affected the sizable Indian community living in Bahrain. The Indian Embassy is one of just a few that host monthly open houses to share contemporary, relevant information to its citizens in an attempt to limit worker exploitation, deportation, and abuses often resulting from strategic loopholes Bahrainis recognize in their legal system and utilize at the expense of unsuspecting expat workers.

Most relevant to the topics covered in this blog was Ambassador Joseph's second point, which took shape in more of a warning he impressed on gathering onlookers.

There has been a recent wave of cases that are presented to the Embassy where sponsors tell their employees to not show up for work and then purposely report them as runaways to Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) to avoid paying monthly sponsorship fees.

The Indian Ambassador encouraged his citizens to report their temporary suspension to the LMRA if it exceeds one day-off, as evidence that proves they did not attempt to flee from their sponsor.

Moreover, the Embassy is now working with a new legal consultant who focuses on these, and similar cases of worker exploitation brought to the Embassy. This is an exciting, atypical service currently unavailable to most of Bahrain's migrant worker communities. Perhaps the Indian Embassy's use of a legal consultant will provide the necessary support to more adequately address cases of worker exploitation and pave the way for other diplomatic missions in the country to offer justice in local legal disputes.

Ambassador Joseph also reminded participants that workers must refuse to work for anyone but their sponsor, because if they are caught they face deportation and blacklisting for any future job opportunities in Bahrain. Similarly, he discouraged workers from beginning jobs under new sponsorship until they legally petition to switch sponsors under Bahrain's new Mobility Law and they receive a new work visa from the LMRA.

These monthly open houses are an exciting and intelligent venue through which legal rights and pertinent information for Bahrain's expatriate communities can be shared, perhaps limiting cases of employee exploitation or even having enough influence to prevent human trafficking.

Skyscrapers Built Overnight in Bahrain

It appears that pioneering initiatives led by the Bahraini Government to protect its private sector workforce, including the implementation of new working hour regulations and promoting the responsible safeguards that one would expect to see in a country that boasts a "Business Friendly" mantra have had limited effect. This video shot by me near Bahrain's Exhibition Road demonstrates that the national capital Manama is truly a city that never sleeps.

And how can it, when construction workers are forced to work late into the evening in order to finish a project in record time?

It is certainly easier to understand how skyscrapers are literally "built overnight" by the labor of exploited workers.

Bahrain's New Private Sector Labor Law Falls Short of Expectations

After months of filibustering and internal negotiations over anticipated amendments to Bahrain's private sector labor, Bahrain's Upper House, the Shura Council finally reached an agreement approving a new private sector law that will award compensation to employees if their job contracts are terminated. The key article that allows sacked employees compensation from their employers was reinstated last week after previously being rejected by the Council, stating that it was a legal loophole that allotted too much financial responsibility to the employer. Now, employers will be held accountable for compensation packages of their sacked employees if the company completely or even partially fails, or enters a period of limited activity or production.

However, employees under open contracts are only able to demand three months of their salary, or the remaining salaries owed to them in timed contracts as compensation.

Many believe that this arrangement is "catastrophic," unfair and offers insufficient coverage to employees on open contracts, many of whom are the most vulnerable and would benefit most from legal safeguards to protect and award them for untimely termination.

The new law also remitted a previously rejected article offering widows compensation for days of mourning prescribed under Islamic Law. When the article was originally rejected a few weeks ago, the Shura Councilors agreed that the financial cost for the employer would be huge. Negotiations over the required 4 months and 10 days required in Islamic Shari'a Law revealed some disagreements amongst Council members who demanded the time be shortened to just 1 month. In the end, lobbyers in favor of religious tradition prevailed and the amendment was finalized.

The approved law will now be referred to Parliament before it is fully implemented.

Source: TradeNews Arabia

Migrant Workers Melt Like Candles to Give Light to Their Families Back Home

Recent shocking statements made by Chairman K V Shamsudeen of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust (PBWT) divulged that only five percent of Indian expatriates living in Bahrain would lead a comfortable lifestyle from their earnings if they were forced to return home. These findings reflect the extravagant lifestyles their families are creating with the hard-earned remittances received from their migrant worker relatives and a disregard for responsible saving habits. The Sharjah-based representative said that this problem occurred across other national groups as well, including Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis.

The TradeArabia News Source reported that this startling percentage of low and middle income migrant workers from India who have worked in the Gulf States for decades, are returning home with little or no resources to further support their families.

The survey from which this information was derived was conducted by the PBWT and included 10,100 migrant workers from India living in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries, including 1,500 from Bahrain who admitted that their sacrifices and self-deprivation in exchange for the well-being of their families back home yielded little long-term benefit.

Shamsudeen stated that only 2% of Indian families were responsibly saving portions of the remittances they receive, and encouraged migrant workers to discuss the harsh and often unforgiving conditions they face while living in the Gulf with their families, as a way to encourage more conservative spending habits, explore wiser investment opportunities, and inspire greater appreciation for the money they receive, especially given the precarious nature of their jobs vis a vis the recent global economic downturn. Shamsudeen eloquently explained that saving in small drops will eventually make an ocean.

80% of workers surveyed were married, but only 10% had their families living with them in the Gulf.

To add insult to injury, migrant workers are often ignored by their families if they do not receive remittances. Families in India were said to not appreciate the sacrifices that their spouses/relatives make while trying to support them; many often enjoy only one meal a day and live in deplorable conditions.

5 Million "Non-Resident Indians" as they are called live and work in the GCC countries, 60% of whom come from the Kerala region in southern India.

This article is particularly au courant given recent initiatives taken by regional governments to forcibly deport migrant workers living in the GCC countries illegally, including Bahrain. Knowing that the hard work invested by these workers will yield nothing once they return home is heart-wrenching.

Kuwait's New Labor Law Now Active

Kuwait's new labor law became official on February 21 following its publication in the government-owned Kuwait Gazette Al Kuwait Al Youm, demonstrating a significant step forward to protect expatriate workers in the private sector, and paving the way for new legislation to address the rights of domestic workers.

The new law includes updated provisions that address issues of salaries, working hours, public holidays, paid leave, sick leave and suitable end of service payments, was approved by the National Assembly in 2009 and approved by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait for endorsement.

Many remain skeptical as to how these new provisions will profoundly impact or improve condtions in the private sector and question whether the new law will actually be implemented. According to an anonymous journalist interviewed by the Kuwait Times, employers can still easily devise schemes to puncture loopholes in the new law and avoid paying indemnities or other forms of remuneration payable to workers. For example, an employer can transfer workers to a different division within the company or simply fire them and find new workers to avoid paying salaries.

For detailed coverage of the new labor law, click here to be taken to the Arab Times Online.

Release of 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

"These reports are an essential tool – for activists who courageously struggle to protect rights in communities around the world; for journalists and scholars who document rights violations and who report on the work of those who champion the vulnerable; and for governments, including our own, as they work to craft strategies to encourage protection of human rights of more individuals in more places."
-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, March 2010

Near East/North Africa 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Kuwait's Minister of Social Development Reveals Domestic Worker Law Will be Issued in May 2010

It appears that new legislation to protect Kuwait's 600,000 domestic workers is now in the works following last month's official publication of an updated labor law for expatriate workers in the private sector, following months of parliamentary discussions and deliberations. Kuwait's Minister of Social Development, Mohammad al-Afassi revealed that his ministry (officially responsible for the legal rights of domestic workers) would be issuing a new law as early as this coming May. A new interest in passing legislation that addresses Kuwait's domestic labor force, affecting housemaids, drivers and landscapers follows international pressures, NGO lobbying, and heightened criticism over grievances that were not addressed in the new private sector labor law. Up until February of 2010, Kuwait's labor law had not been updated in over 45 years.

The Kuwait Times profiled several interviews with domestic housemaids, asking them what they believed would be the most important clauses the new labor law should include. One worker insisted that matters dealing with domestic workers should be addressed by civilian authorities, and not the "scary and unfriendly" uniformed representatives of the Ministry of Interior. Two other housemaids highlighted the need for one day off during the workweek. They stated that they had been working for their current employers for 5 years and were only allowed one day off a year under their current arrangement! An extension of this request is the establishment of a work-day and legal working hours.

The vulnerability of domestic workers and the lack of freedom they awarded under the current laws has been exposed recently with heightened statistics on suicide rates in the country. There is currently no option for employees to switch employers without consent and low or even non-existent wages in exchange for their work make it impossible for most to repay the debts they owe for their work visas.

Meanwhile, one Kuwaiti official has suggested reducing the number of domestic workers who are allowed to enter Kuwait and shortening the current validity periods of worker visas to shift current demographic ratios and potentially prevent human trafficking.

LMRA Stats on Migrant Worker Motivation

According to a survey done by Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Agency (profiled in the Trade Arabia News Source), 70 percent of migrant workers (mostly from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) borrowed money or sold property in order to cover their expenses to travel and secure a job in Bahrain. Jobs in the Gulf are said to hold higher prestige and greater respect for workers from the Asian sub-continent, driving many to exceed their means to find jobs there, regardless of the consequences.

In the same survey it was revealed that:
30% of workers interviewed believed that their dreams had been fulfilled,
47% of workers interviewed believed that their sacrifices were costly, but worthy,
and 23% of workers interviewed believed that the benefits of taking-up employment in the Gulf were illusions

Not surprisingly, 68% of the workers indicated that low wages in their countries of origin was the motivating factor for seeking employment in the Gulf, where higher salaries are often forwarded as remittances for families back home.

89% were unaware of regulations or procedures related to their recruitment, and 90% had no knowledge of Bahrain's residence or work permit requirements.

It's clear that stronger ties between source and destination countries, as well as greater access to information services and orientation programs for new-arrivals would dramatically drive these figures down and promote safeguards against exploitation.

Sponsors Who Withhold Passports Will Be Considered Human Traffickers in Bahrain

India's Ambassador to Bahrain, Dr. George Joseph stated last week that sponsors who fail to return the passports of their former employees within 30 days will be considered human traffickers; the Ambassador was quoting an undisclosed senior Bahraini official who attended an open house at the Indian Embassy in Adliya.

According to recent reforms under Bahrain's labor law, workers are given a grace period of 30 days without a valid visa to find a new sponsor. in order to apply for a new work visa under new employment sponsorship, the worker is understandably required to present his or her passport to appropriate facilitators. Ambassador Joseph commented that employers are now beginning to cancel the work visas of their employees but refuse to return passports within the required 30-day period, preventing them from applying for different jobs.

This is an important development since no Bahraini national has been prosecuted for trafficking charges since the Anti-Trafficking Law's inception over two years ago. The new option in Bahrain for workers to change employers is another step towards addressing the rampant injustices of the former sponsorship system that is still common-place throughout the region, and presents new opportunities to identify perpetrators of human trafficking and may prevent further exploitation of migrant workers.

Bahrain's Minister of Labor Speaks on Sources of Current GCC Unemployment Levels

The Bahraini Minister of Labor, Dr. Majeed bin Mohsen al Alawi submitted a valuable lecture at the 15th Annual Conference of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) on rising unemployment in the GCC Countries; a battle whose source he argues, traces back to the initial phases of development following the independence and subsequent economic boom as a result of exceptional natural resource wealth in the region; a blessing incompatible with small local populations.

"The basic problem with the Gulf countries is that they have laid down, with the beginning of the oil boom in the 1970s, the foundations of a process of development whose target is not all the citizens of the region. This has led to recruiting 14 million workers from abroad to fill essential roles...I reiterate that the essence of the problem of unemployment in the Gulf is the model of development. How can we conceive of the presence of 14 million jobs occupied by foreigners while we have more than a million unemployed Gulf citizens? I refer here to the figures that express this imbalance; these include the fact that 80 percent of the jobs in the Gulf are occupied by an unskilled and semi-skilled workforce. While the construction sector represents 8 percent of GDP in the UAE, it employs 40 percent of the total workforce."

Dr. al Alawi also spoke directly about Bahrain's historically high unemployment rate which has recently been "controlled" and driven down to 4% partly thanks to the Kingdom's regionally unique insurance fund for unemployment that provides safeguards for the unemployed and enhances their ability to enter the workforce by offering training and entry-level education in a variety of fields.

Trafficking in Persons 2009 Interim Assessment - Bahrain

Below is a fairly bleak review of Bahrain's human trafficking prevention, protection and persecution efforts during the 2009 reporting period. Although this assessment presents obstacles that the Bahraini government continues to face, I hope that this data will be presented in the official report within a contextualizes these current conditions and realities, and offers insight into the achievements that Bahrain has reached over the last year as well. Although they currently do not address domestic workers, glossing over "reforms" that enable labor mobility is a huge milestone for any country in the Persian Gulf and should be viewed as a springboard for further progress, rather than a perceived half-hearted effort to perpetuate limited freedoms for domestic workers. We see baby steps in Bahrain, but at least they are steps forward.

Unfortunately, we have not seen any new prosecutions under Bahrain's anti-trafficking law; however, victims of crimes that are certainly linked to trafficking have sought and gained justice. Trafficked victims who suffer abuse and withheld wages can petition for legal intervention and gain reprise from perpetrators of trafficking-related crimes. I underscore that it is very difficult to pinpoint cases of trafficking anywhere, and as this unprecedented and evolving law is taking shape in Bahrain (remember, essentially the only active anti-trafficking law in the Persian Gulf), cases stemming from trafficking will be clarified and hopefully be easily identifiable in the near future.

From the introductory text accompanying this report on the U.S. Department of State website:

"In most cases, the Interim Assessment is intended to serve as a tool by which to gauge the anti-trafficking progress of countries that may be in danger of slipping a tier in the upcoming June 2010 TIP Report and to give them guidance on how to avoid a Tier 3 ranking. It is a tightly focused progress report, assessing the concrete actions a government has taken to address the key deficiencies highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. The Interim Assessment covers actions undertaken between the beginning of May – the cutoff for data covered in the June TIP Report – and November. Readers are requested to refer to the annual TIP Report for an analysis of large-scale efforts and a description of the trafficking problem in each particular country or territory."

The Government of Bahrain has made limited progress since the release of the 2009 TIP Report. Bahrain has not initiated new prosecutions under its 2008 anti-trafficking law. The Bahraini government indicated that there have been a number of prosecutions under separate non-trafficking statutes that could be related to trafficking, including life sentences imposed on two Bahraini citizens convicted of murdering their domestic workers.

The majority of potential trafficking victims continue to be prosecuted for prostitution or immigration violations and quickly deported, although in the single application of Bahrain's anti-trafficking law in December 2008, some victims who were identified were not prosecuted and were referred to protective services. There remains no formalized procedure for identifying potential trafficking victims. The Bahraini government continues to refer suspected victims (nearly all women) on an ad hoc basis to protective services; they have not yet implemented a formal referral process.

Bahrain, in August 2009, implemented reforms designed to enable labor mobility for expatriate workers. These reforms do not cover Bahrain's approximately 70,000 migrant domestic workers – the group that is most vulnerable to trafficking. The parliament is considering draft legislation, however, that would include domestic servants in the 1976 Labor Law, giving them the same protections now afforded to other expatriate workers.

400 Workers Demand Unpaid Wages from Korean Construction Company

400 workers contracted under the Korean Construction Company Sungwon have lodged an official complaint to the Bahraini Government demanding three months of unpaid wages. The workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam were contracted for a 41 million dinar (approximately 109.7 million USD), 33-month long project to construct a fly-over causeway in Bahrain's eastern Isa Town District. The workers claim that they have not been paid since November and revealed that they have been sitting idle without work in their labor camp since the middle of January. Along with their unpaid wages, the workers demanded plane tickets to their home countries but indicated they would be happy to transfer to another company in Bahrain if given the option.

If You Refuse Carrots, Our Sticks Are Waiting

To follow my last post on the Bahraini Government-sponsored "Easy Exit Strategy" for illegal workers, this article from Dubai-based Maktoob Business sheds equally valuable light on the alternative approach that is being employed by the Ministry of Labor to facilitate the deportation of illegal workers who choose to stay. The Ministry of Labor has publicly stated that it plans to deport 20,000 illegal workers (approximately half of the estimated 41,000 living in Bahrain) through new initiatives that will drive vendors off the streets and detain workers that do not hold appropriate work visas or residency permits.

According to a senior member of Bahrain's Ministry of Labor,

"Tackling illegal workers in Bahrain is a national duty to protect the country's national economy and security. There are many negative repercussions from the presence of massive numbers of illegal foreigners on all aspects and we therefore need to eradicate this dangerous phenomenon through joint action with all ministries."

Now that incentives have been presented to illegal workers under a newly announced period of amnesty (see below), workers who refuse to turn themselves in voluntarily will face an unforgiving and radical alternative.

Amnesty Offered to Illegal Workers Under Bahrain's "Easy Exit Strategy" Campaign

In a subsequent development following a previous posting on this blog and information stemming from local news sources in Bahrain, the Kingdom's Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) in cooperation with the General Directorate for Nationality, Passport and Residence, and several local embassies and government ministries has offered amnesty to illegal workers in Bahrain who have overstayed their visas or failed to apply for extensions. Illegal workers will not face prosecution as a result of their illegal status in the kingdom but will be required to pay a fine that will be determined by the LMRA and immigration authorities and will reflect the length of time they have overstayed. Any worker involved in pending court cases will not be considered for deportation. Illegal residents are being encouraged to approach their embassies for assistance in returning home and are reminded of the benefits this temporary immunity from legal prosecution and fast-tracked paperwork processing for their deportation present. Local embassies are also being encouraged to forward lists with specific names of illegal workers to help the Bahraini Government facilitate the campaign. In an article from the TradeArabia News Service, quoted officials from the Indian, Pakistani, and Filipino Embassies underscored the positives associated with this initiative, noting that illegal workers should make best use of this chance to leave Bahrain without being arrested. Embassy involvement in this campaign may encourage more workers to step forward, since many are reluctant to deal with local Bahraini authorities for fear of being arrested by immigration when returning to their countries of origin.

No reliable figures are currently available on the population of Bahrain's illegal workers; however, the TradeArabia News Service cites figures released in early February 2010 by the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions documenting around 46,000 runaways - approximately 10% of the entire workforce.

This "Easy Exit Strategy" to rid Bahrain of illegal workers immediately follows the release of official figures by the LMRA last week stating that for the first time in its history, Bahrain's expat population outnumbers national citizens at a 51.4% majority, and official economic data indicating that employment opportunities for Bahrainis are declining, attributed partly to its endless supply of cheap labor outsourced from abroad.

Two key questions must be asked in response to this campaign. First: Does this new strategy allow the voluntary deportation of illegal workers who remain indebted to an employer under previous contracts? If workers are forced to remain in Bahrain until their debts have been repaid, they are being trafficking and held against their will. If they are given no flexibility to escape the debt or find other means of legal employment to pay back the debt, they risk being arrested when they attempt to secure another job without a legal work visa. Second: What happens if illegal workers are unable to pay their determined "exit fine" if they utilize this "easy exit strategy?" I imagine that much of this burden will fall on the local embassies; however, it is an important point that needs to be considered given the minimal incomes that most migrant workers earn legally-incomes for illegals are bound to be even less given the precarious nature of their status and the leverage employers have (and use) to threaten workers with their illegal status.

Nearly 60,000 workers were voluntarily deported or became legalized in an earlier 5 month campaign organized by the Bahraini Government which ran until January 31 of 2008, coincidentally in the immediate wake of Bahrain's Anti-Trafficking Law; second in the region behind the United Arab Emirates.