While kafala itself is relatively similar in each country, and workers face similar issues, reforms are advancing at varying rates.

Introduction

The 2022 FIFA World Cup, hosted in Qatar, has shed light on migrant rights and labour conditions in the Gulf. While the construction of the tournament’s infrastructure has been associated with wage theft, injury and death, Qatar has been quick to highlight its reforms. It was one of the first countries to effectively dismantle the controversial kafala system, a visa sponsorship system that ties workers to their employers.

Under kafala, meaning ‘custodianship’ or ‘guarantee’ in Arabic, migrant workers depend on their kafil ‘sponsor’ for their employment and immigration status. Active not only in Qatar, but also in the other GCC member states, Lebanon and Jordan, kafala often does not allow workers to change employers or leave their host country without the sponsor’s permission. This has left the mostly low-income workers from Asia or Africa vulnerable to abuse.
Cases of exploitation and abuse enabled by ‘kafala’ are rife. Due to the unequal power relationship with their sponsor, who is also their employer, workers often face injustice in case of any exploitation or abuse by the latter. This vulnerability has driven civil society to seek reforms in the countries where the kafala system still exists.

While kafala itself is relatively similar in each country, and workers face similar issues, reforms are advancing at varying rates....

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