Despite the promulgation of the anti-trafficking law in March 2013, protection of migrant workers from forceful employment and abuse has not reduced in Kuwait, the US State Department said in its 2013 Trafficking in Persons report. According to the report, most migrant workers enter Kuwait voluntarily but the sponsors and labour agents subject some of them to conditions of forced labour, including non-payment of wages, long working hours without rest, deprivation of food, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and restrictions on movement, such as confinement to the work place and the withholding of passports. Men and women migrate from a number of countries including Nepal to work in domestic service, construction and sanitation sectors in Kuwait.

Published on: 22 June 2013 | The Himalayan Times