kafala system , auch: kafala

The kafala system gives the employer immense control over the worker."

There are at least one million domestic workers in Saudi Arabia under the kafala system.

Bahrain's repeal of the kafala system

It also wants the cancellation of the Kafala system that requires the consent of the employer to repatriate migrant workers.

The kafala system (sponsorship system) is a system used to monitor the construction and domestic migrant laborers in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf.

In 2008, Bahrain was the first country in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to claim to repeal the kafala system.

According to a 2008 HRW report, under the kafala system in Saudi Arabia, "an employer assumes responsibility for a hired migrant worker and must grant explicit permission before the worker can enter Saudi Arabia, transfer employment, or leave the country.

HRW stated that "some abusive employers exploit the kafala system and force domestic workers to continue working against their will and forbid them from returning to their countries of origin" and that this is "incompatible with Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".

According to Human Rights Watch, the kafala system in Saudi Arabia has subjected thousands of migrant workers to be abused by their employers in ways such as non-payment of wages, forced confinement in workplace, confiscation of passports, excessive work hours with little rest, physical and sexual abuse, and forced labor including trafficking.