Back نظام الكفالة Arabic Sistema Kafala Catalan Kafala German Sistema kafala Spanish Kafala-järjestelmä Finnish Sistem kafala ID Kafala Italian カファラ制度 Japanese Кафала Kazakh Kafalah Malay
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The kafala system or kefala system (Arabic: نظام الكفالة niẓām al-kafāla, lit. 'sponsorship system') is a system in the Middle East that involves binding migrant workers to a specific employer throughout the period of their residence in a country. It currently exists in many Arab countries, especially those on the Arabian Peninsula.[2] A similar "binding system" existed in Israel until 2006, when the Israeli Supreme Court addressed and eliminated it.[3][4]
The system, which blocks domestic competition for overseas workers in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf,[5] requires migrant workers to have an in-country sponsor, usually their employer, who is responsible for their visa and legal status. This practice has been criticized by human rights organizations for creating easy opportunities for the exploitation of workers, as many employers confiscate their migrant workers' passports and abuse them with little chance of legal repercussions and even repatriation.[6][7] In 2014, the International Trade Union Confederation estimated that there were 2.4 million enslaved domestic workers in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, mainly from India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Nepal.[8]
- ^ Armstrong, Jeremy (20 May 2019). "Qatar World Cup stadium migrant workers being paid as little as 82p-an-hour". The Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "What is the Kafala System? | Council on Foreign Relations".
- ^ https://people.socsci.tau.ac.il/mu/adrianakemp/files/2017/03/Kemp_et_al-2014-International_Migration_Review.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Englert, Sai (2023). "Hebrew Labor without Hebrew Workers: The Histadrut, Palestinian Workers, and the Israeli Construction Industry". Journal of Palestine Studies. 52 (3): 23–45. doi:10.1080/0377919X.2023.2244188. hdl:1887/3640524.
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cnn130501was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Falconer, Rebecca; Kelly, Annie (17 March 2015). "The global plight of domestic workers: few rights, little freedom, frequent abuse". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.