Now Lebanon - HRW: Lebanese justice fails migrant domestic workers - September 16, 2010

The Lebanese justice system woefully fails to protect the country's large number of migrant domestic workers, many of whom face abuse by employers who act with near total impunity, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Beirut director Nadim Houry told AFP on Thursday.

"After reviewing more than 114 legal cases affecting migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, unfortunately we reached the conclusion that the justice system is failing them at every level," he added.

In a 54-page report entitled: "Without Protection: How the Lebanese Justice System Fails Migrant Domestic Workers," the New York-based watchdog found that Lebanese authorities largely ignore violations involving domestic workers, whose legal complaints can often languish in court for more than four years.

"By turning a blind eye to such violations, Lebanon's police and judiciary are complicit in the ongoing violations by employers against this vulnerable group," Houry said.

There are an estimated 200,000 migrant workers in Lebanon, primarily from Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Nepal.

Many have their passports confiscated by their employers upon arrival in Lebanon and are locked up insides homes.