The unique aspects of sponsorship systems in the Middle East, commonly known as kafala, result in a delegation of responsibility by the State to the private employer to oversee both a migrant worker’s immigration and employment status. This is inherently problematic as it creates an imbalance between the rights and abilities of workers and employers to terminate an employment relationship, and be mobile on the labour market in the respective country. This paper argues that reforming the sponsorship systems in a way which disassociates a worker’s immigration status from their employer’s control, and enables a migrant worker to resign or terminate his/ her employment contract by giving reasonable notice and without losing valid immigration status, can have significant economic, social and administrative benefits. Furthermore it may contribute to progress towards nationalization programmes, the smooth functioning of the labour market, and adherence to the rule of law.
Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on those most vulnerable to forced labour and human trafficking. Around the world, communities already suffering from poverty and exploitation have borne the brunt of the pandemic and its economic fallout. Th...Read More
This report provides a cross-system view of how the criminal justice system reacted in the immediate aftermath of the first national Covid-19 lockdown (23 March to 10 May 2020), and of how the system has managed since. The cumulative impact on th...Read More
Written by Jordan Greenbaum, Hanni Stoklosa, and Laura Murphy. The global pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus exacerbates major risk factors for global human trafficking. Social isolation of families and severe economic dis...Read More
Beginning in August 2017, the Myanmar security forces undertook a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State. They unlawfully killed thousands of Rohingya, including young children; raped and c...Read More
2025 © Copyright, RESPECT International. All Rights Reserved. Website Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
