Kuwait fights human trafficking

Kuwait fights human trafficking

The Ministries of Interior, Social Affairs and Labor have launched a campaign against human trafficking and “loose” labor.

April 27, 2009 3:17 by Dana El Baltaji

In a bid to combat visa trafficking and improve Kuwait’s image regarding human trafficking allegations, joint committees comprising senior staff from the Ministries of Interior, Social Affairs and Labor and Commerce and Industry are working on a campaign to get rid of “loose” labor – those workers abandoned by sponsors and left to seek work elsewhere.

A senior security official said that these workers are to be detained, have their residency visas cancelled and be blacklisted and deported from Kuwait, while their sponsors will also be blacklisted, with any future applications for other licenses or to sponsor other workers to be automatically rejected.

The campaign will begin with the Ministry of Commerce assessing the validity and legality of various commercial licenses, reported Al-Rai. “In the case of a company or firm having no bank guarantees, the owners will be asked to deposit a non-refundable insurance fee of KD250,000 (AED3,150,084.26) to the bank to avoid license cancellation,” the official explained.

In the case of the insurance fee not being paid, the Ministry of Commerce will automatically cancel the license and contact the Ministry of Interior to cancel all the residency visas under the sponsor’s name, as well as ordering the arrest of all the workers for deportation. It would also contact the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to cancel any related contracts.

First seen in Kuwait Times.