Lebanon: Domestic workers risking death to flee employers

According to a 2005 survey by the non-governmental organization Caritas Lebanon, 90 percent of employers retained the passports and other legal documents of their employees, seriously limiting their freedom of movement. Many workers are also forcibly confined to the house and denied regular, if any, payment of their salaries.

On top of all that, Lebanese labor laws do not protect domestic workers, making them vulnerable to exploitation and human rights abuses.

"The Lebanese are often defensive when talking about the treatment of domestic workers," Houri said in a telephone interview. "We should move beyond this defensiveness and really think about these high [death] figures and come up with a strategy to improve" the experiences of migrant workers in Lebanon.

"While police reports usually classify cases where domestic workers fall from balconies as suicide, this classification is highly suspect," said the HWR press release, citing testimonials from survivors who said they were fleeing abuse.

Lebanon is a signatory to the International Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, but has not yet signed the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.