The Employment and Labour Relations Court has directed state agencies to enforce foreign labour contracts more strictly and require recruitment agencies to post a security bond for Kenyan migrant workers in the Middle East.
The ruling, issued on Friday, July 3, found the government had failed to protect workers facing modern-day slavery, human trafficking, violence, rape and death. Judges stated that migrant workers "were exposed to violations of their fundamental rights against cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, torture, slavery and servitude, right to dignity and life".
The court declared that victims "were and are entitled to effective protection by the State" and that the government "failed, neglected and has abdicated" its responsibility. It ordered the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enforce existing laws, including the security bond requirement.
An estimated 400,000 to 500,000 Kenyans work in the Middle East, with 310,000 in Saudi Arabia alone. Rights groups have documented at least 274 Kenyan deaths in Saudi Arabia over the past five years.
