I.1. Recruitment Process
     Formally, a domestic woman worker has to be "sponsored" into Lebanon. That is, in order to be able to enter the country on a working visa, she has to be invited from the Lebanese side, either through an agency or on request by an individual employer. Lebanese agencies can either use the intermediary services of their counterparts in sending countries, or they can recruit the women themselves directly. The workers arrive into Lebanon with a 3 months working visa, pre-arranged by the Lebanese agency or the sponsor. The visa includes the name of her employer (sponsor) written in the passport.
There are currently around 150 recruitment agents licensed by the Ministry of Labour in Lebanon and a small number who operate illegally. Licensed agents are required to lodge a US$35,000 bond with the government to bring in 150 migrant workers per annum (Now 125,000 before 150,000 to recruit 125 women).
     Many, but not all, women wishing to migrate pay agency fees in their home country. It is not known how many do pay pre-departure agency fees. Those who do will usually need to enter into debt (to family members, banks or loan sharks) or sell assets such as jewelry to cover the cost. Agency fees in Sri Lanka, for example, are around US$200, but may vary between countries. The Lebanese agency's fees are borne by the Lebanese employer - currently around US$1,000 for Sri Lankan and African domestic workers and up to US$2000 for Filipinos. (It was only in the past 12 months that charges for Sri Lankans were reduced from US$1500, due to the economic recession and the competitive increase of agents who have entered the industry.) These fees cover the cost of the airfare, government charges (initial 3 month working visa) and agency commissions. In addition to these costs, the employer must pay separately for the residency and work permits, notary fees and insurance (to be renewed each year), which amount to US$500. Filipinos command higher up-front costs as well as monthly salaries because they are considered to be better educated can speak and are literate in English and have higher social prestige as domestic servants. Lebanese law also requires the employer/sponsor to provide insurance for domestic workers that must cover medical, disability, accident, burial and repatriation costs. The insurance must be arranged within the first three months of employment and is a precondition for the annual work and residency permits. This usually includes a medical examination and report which employers arrange soon after the domestic workers' arrival.
     Although the costs and fees of agents may vary, as there are no price-fixing or government price ceiling regulations in either country, one Lebanese agent interviewed pays to his Sri Lankan agent US$500 for each "girl". This includes around $260 for a one-way airline ticket to Beirut, leaving $240 commission for the Sri Lankan agent.
In a study of Sri Lankan domestic workers in Lebanon, Jureidini and Moukarbel (2001) found that the decision to migrate to Lebanon is often made by the Sri Lankan agents, who it is presumed make more commission from Lebanon than from other countries.
    One middle-class Lebanese employer interviewed specifically requested young, unmarried girls from a village. This employer explained that she ordered a young Sri Lankan "whose lips have not been kissed other than by her mother"; in other words, naïve, inexperienced and innocent. Others wanted older women who it was presumed had overcome their sexual desires.
     On arrival at Beirut airport, the sponsor is required to personally meet the employee at the airport to take her home. It is important to note here that when the employer picks up the employee, General Security usually calls him/her at the exit gate (General Security, housed within the Ministry for the Interior, is responsible for the control of foreigners in Lebanon). A General Security officer at this point will be in possession of the employee's passport, but will hand it directly to the employer while the employee waits behind.

I.2. Categories of Domestic Workers
     Foreign female domestic workers in Lebanon may be classified into three types with different living and working conditions, namely: "live-ins", "freelancers" and "runaways".
     Live-in workers reside within the sponsors/employer's household, usually for 2 or 3 years. The sponsor is responsible for all the financial costs such as working papers, health insurance, clothing and food, as well as the airfare to return to her home country upon completion of the employment. The employer can (and usually does) control and limit her freedom of movement. The employer usually also keeps her passport and other papers, making it impossible for her to leave the country. It is, as noted above, up to the employer to renew her work and residency papers as well as her medical insurance each year. The household worker cannot change employers, unless the employer agrees and the Lebanese authorities allow for a "release" to take place. The employer who has acquired the services of an agency has the luxury of changing his mind and changing maids within the first 3 months of the contract. This is the agency's "guarantee".
     Freelancer's living and working conditions are much less controlled. The main difference is that they live on their own (either renting, or staying in a room in exchange for services rendered) and work on hourly basis (around $4-5 per hour) for different employers. They have the freedom to withdraw their services as they wish. Some freelancers entered Lebanon on live-in contracts. However, when the contract finished, they decided to remain in Lebanon and to be in control of their own labor. Others came initially to work as freelancers using the name of a sponsor who had agreed, in return for a fee, not to be their employer - as a form of sub-contracting. To remain within the law, the freelancer must have a sponsor. Some Lebanese men have taken advantage of this as a prosperous business, charging up to US$1200 to act as sponsor for an individual migrant worker. There have been a number of cases where this sponsorship money has been taken, but no papers arranged and the passport not returned. To our knowledge, none of these men have been prosecuted. It is important to note that in most cases, the freelancer cannot prove that she had given money to get her papers regularized as these "acting sponsors" rarely give receipts. In such cases, the migrant is usually too scared to go to the police because of her "illegal" status and the risk of arrest and deportation. Moreover, they generally do not have access to legal representation.
     "Runaways" are the third category. These women are former live-ins who decided for various reasons (mainly abuse and withholding of payments) to leave the house of their employer. They take refuge in embassies, NGOs and sometimes with their compatriots sharing cheap accommodation. Lebanon does have a law on Codes and Obligations of Contracts (see Conclusions section on Contracts below). As soon as she leaves her sponsor, the domestic worker is automatically rendered as an illegal alien. The employer usually notifies General Security for otherwise, he would be responsible for her as long as she is in Lebanon paying her yearly residency and work permits charges. The runaway is left with two choices. She either goes back home or finds a new sponsor. In the first option, she must succeed in retrieving her passport from her employer (who sometimes "sells" it to her) or she must get a laissez-passer from her embassy to leave the country. In the second option, a release to work for someone else needs to be purchased.

Conclusion
     It may be said that live-in and runaway migrant workers are "unfree labour" in the sense that they do not have the right to choose an employer without express permission from the state authorities. Nor do they have the right to withdraw their labour from their sponsor/employer without being rendered illegal and thus liable to arrest, imprisonment and deportation. By contrast, while freelancers are bonded to a formal sponsor, in reality they may considered more as free labour and so are much less vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by employers and agencies.
     Being formally tied to a sponsor/employer is a standard condition of temporary foreign labour in most countries. It applies to both skilled and unskilled labour. Thus temporary foreign labour is perhaps by definition "unfree" in terms of the local labour markets of receiving countries. However, the type of slavery-like practices applied to live-in domestic workers are an added dimension in the denial of basic freedoms.

II. Review of Working Conditions
     An important part of those who live in the household experience the worst working conditions of foreign female domestic workers in Lebanon. This complicates the normal considerations of labour standards and relations because working conditions are inextricably linked with living conditions and general treatment ¹. This session will address seven issues in relation to working conditions.

II.1. Contractual and Non-contractual Employment Relations
     It is unclear whether the existence or non-existence of a contract between the domestic employee and employer makes any difference to the conditions of work. On the one hand there is a requirement that some type of contract be signed by both parties when the work and residency permits are being applied for. If the employee does not use a standard contract drawn up by their embassy, they are obliged to accept a contract written in Arabic and issued by a notary. Few employees concern themselves with the details of the contracts in terms of requesting or insisting that the terms and conditions be complied with. In Freda's case, she had signed a contract that had been faxed to her in the Philippines prior to her departure (on her insistence), but there were many violations of the agreement.
     The length of contracts seems to be variable - between one and three years, maximum. By law, at the end of the contract the employer is obliged to furnish the employee with an airline ticket to her home country.
     Many women work illegally, without a contract and without valid work and residency permits, although there is no clear estimation of numbers. Some who live-in are rendered illegal by their employers who do not renew their papers and pay the taxes required. What happens in such cases at the end of the contractual term is unknown, because the worker cannot leave the country unless her papers are in order. Unscrupulous employers may at that time falsely accuse the employee of theft in order to relinquish responsibility for the employee as well as the back taxes and the airline ticket home. However, more recently, the Lebanese government instituted a $1000 bond on registration of sponsorship, to be lodged by the individual employer with the Central Housing Bank. The bond is intended to cover such contingencies.
     A number of human rights lawyers for some years have been attempting to convince foreign workers to seek redress in the courts for violations of contracts, offering their services free of charge. However, very few have been willing. Too often they are simply unaware of their rights and unprepared to test them in Lebanon. They either leave the country to put their traumatic experiences behind them or they are reluctant to risk the possibilities of finding other employment to recoup their losses before eventually returning home.

II.2. Remuneration
     Foreign domestic workers receive various wage rates, depending on their country of origin. It is unwise to put a firm figure of the standard monthly rates, however, the norm is probably around $250-300 for Filipinos, $100-150 for Sri Lankans and Africans. This monthly salary is for live-in workers, where their accommodation, food and sometimes clothing, etc. is provided. Filipinos are considered more prestigious in terms of status for the household, "more intelligent", better educated and better able to speak English, the third language of Lebanon. However, while all 3 Filipinos interviewed said they were literate in English, so did the Ethiopian worker, as well as the Sri Lankans.
     Those who work freelance can earn a great deal more - up to $500 per month or more, but they must either take the risk of working illegally or bear the cost of the annual work and residency permits. Further, they must pay for their own accommodation and living expenses.

II.3. Hours of Work
     In this particular research group, working hours varied between 9 and 19 hours. In the survey of 70 Sri Lankan domestic workers, Jureidini & Moukarbel (2001) found an average of 16-17 hours of work per day. In addition, however, it was noted that many are considered to be "on-call" for 24 hours. For example, cooking and cleaning until late at night when visitors are over, or nursing the children and assisting elderly people.
     The standard contract of the Sri Lankan government for their nationals specifies no more than 12 hours per day, and with suitable rest periods. Only Pia in our case examples indicated a regular rest period each day between 2-4pm. These hours of work are long by any standards.

II.4. Leisure or Free Time
     Only two of our case studies indicated they had any days off, in this case the Sunday. This is consistent with the findings of the 70 Sri Lankans where 88 per cent reported having no days off. Some might have an hour or two on Sundays to attend church services, and even then their employers often accompany them. Rare is the live-in worker who can go outside, visit friends or just go walking. Some said when they had some respite they would rest, or sleep from exhaustion.
     Freelancers, of course, can more easily build in free time depending on the hours of work they have and the amount of money they are able to earn. Some work for more than one employer on a daily or hourly basis. Sundays are usually sacred for religious services and for Sri Lankans particularly, congregate in Dora, a suburb of Beirut to do their shopping and to socialize. Observing the interactions on a Sunday in Dora, mostly young males and females cluster in small groups. There are no open political activities or any evidence of security personnel checking identification papers or general harassment. Indeed, General Security is not particularly interested in making special efforts to look for and detain illegal workers. As the country is replete with "illegal" workers, the trouble and the financing of apprehending and detaining them is not seen as cost effective (personal interview with Major General Sayyed, head of General Security).

II.5. Work Tasks Performed
     The most entails all household chores with the exception of cooking. This is usually the responsibility of the madam. Domestic helpers assist in cooking, by cutting vegetables, set the table, serve the meals and clean up afterwards, including the washing up. Everything also includes washing the clothes, ironing, washing floors, vacuuming carpets - sometimes dusting and washing them - dusting on a daily basis, making the beds, tidying, picking up after the children, shopping at the local store or accompany their employers to the supermarkets. In many cases, looking after the small children was added to the other household tasks.
     The intensity of work will depend upon the fastidiousness of the madam. Some are nothing less than obsessive with cleanliness and will constantly inspect and supervise the domestic worker's work. Constant criticism in this regard is an insidious form of harassment and pressure. Others are not so demanding. In one of the interviews the difference was noted between Western employers compared with Lebanese employers.
     Although the Filipino and Sri Lankan contracts forbid it, many domestic employees are required to work in the houses of relatives of their employers. In none of these cases reported was the worker given extra money. When the family goes on an outing, or to visit relatives, the maid will often accompany them as part of her work (not her leisure).

II.6. Treatment by Employers
     One of the most common images of the treatment of domestic women workers in Lebanon is physical abuse. There are indeed very serious cases, which are those most reported in the press, but overall there is probably not as much physical abuse by employers in the household as is commonly thought. Many foreign workers testify to decent respectful treatment and have grown to like their employers. In fact the most serious abuse reported seems to have come from recruitment agency staff, rather than the employers. Still, it is not unusual for a domestic to suffer from emotional or psychological abuse.
     It is noteworthy that the harshest treatment by employers seems to occur during the early months after beginning work. The madam during this period usually adopts the attitude that she has to "train" her harshly so that there will be no misunderstanding later. It is a strict and punitive form of socialization into the job. Within this relationship are complex aspects of fear and uncertainty on both sides. To take a recent example, a Sri Lankan woman around 30 years of age arrived to take up her position in a lower middle-class household. The madam took two days leave from her full-time job to train her. Among other things, the madam put her into a bathtub and insisted on scrubbing her all over. The madam trimmed even the hairs under her arm.
     The Pastoral Committee of Asian-African Migrants (PCCAM) recently established a rudimentary database of the cases that they had dealt with in the twelve-month period to March 2000. Of the 406 cases, 234 (58%) were Filipino female domestic employees as the largest single nationality. Only 21 (5%) were from Sri Lanka. Other nationalities included people from Vietnam, Zaire, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Indonesia, Sudan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Ghana and Eritrea. In 116 cases, some form of abuse or mistreatment by their employer was reported. In many cases, more than one type of mistreatment was also reported. Also the withholding of passports and identify papers is taken as given and thus not included as a form of abuse when perhaps it ought to be.

II.7. Freedom of Movement
     One of the most insidious forms of domination and control over foreign domestic workers in Lebanon is the harsh restriction of their movement. If not actually locked in the apartments, employees rarely have keys and are usually forbidden to leave without express permission. It is a form of imprisonment that has become part of the normative expectations of the employment relationship. Even if employees are well treated in all other ways, the practice of restrictions is standard.
     Freedom of movement is also curtailed by the withholding of the employee's passport and other identity papers. This is against all international conventions. And yet, it is a normative practice, condoned even by the foreign diplomats we have spoken to, as well as human rights lawyers, priests and the like. It is generally accepted that the initial investment of the employer justifies this - until some trust has been established - to minimize the risk that the employee will not abscond.
     The total isolation experienced is a concerted one - no telephone access, sometimes no mail, or control over all correspondence with the home country and social isolation. For example, they are rarely allowed to speak to other maids across the balconies, or chat in the streets.
     In addition to the restriction of movement are the restrictions in eating, many live-in workers are not given enough food and only allowing them to eat the leftovers after the family meal. One can also witness this treatment in restaurants. In several cases, padlocks are attached to the refrigerator.

Conclusion
     This section has focused mainly on negative work practices from the point of view of the foreign domestic worker. There are in fact two stories that need to be told in the analysis of domestic migrant workers in Lebanon. One concerns degrading forms of slavery. The other concerns the positive effects where individuals, families and the sending countries as a whole benefit from the improved financial opportunities afforded by the higher incomes remitted from these workers. Other opportunities, such as skills acquisition and general learning and experience gained can also improve personal development and social standing in their communities.
     It is important to note how willing these women are to sacrifice years of their lives for their families. Often women have to suffer the indignities of a marriage failure, a common occurrence, and the separation from her children. It is the role that luck plays in the draw of secure and decent employment abroad.
     Although in most cases there are no apparent forms of serious abuse in Lebanon, restrictions of movement, withholding of passports and belittling have become "naturalized" among Lebanese employers. Apart from constant criticism, and work exploitation many women not only stay with their employers (like Pia's case), but also accepted the conditions and renew their contracts. It would seem that the benefits outweigh the costs that these women are prepared to pay.

III. Coping Mechanism of Employees
     The following section of the report looks at those foreign domestic workers whose illegal status means that while residing in Lebanon they must avoid the authorities for fear of being detained imprisoned and deported. Thus they must find adequate housing and an income to survive, unless they willingly turn themselves in and await deportation, which can take months while incarcerated in often appalling conditions in the detention center. The detention center is not formally classified as a prison. It was specifically designed to house people awaiting deportation. Number of African and Asian migrant workers in the prisons and detention centers can vary up to 200-300 women at any time (Young, 2000).
     Although Lebanon has been a member of the advisory committee to the UNHCR since 1964, it never signed the 1951 Geneva Convention that recognizes the rights of refugees and displaced people neither the conventions dealing with migrant workers. Lacking the normal rights of citizens to access public forms of help and having no family support, migrants are left to the vagaries of charitable organizations and their diplomatic missions for assistance. There are 4 aspects to non-state provisioning that both "legal" and "illegal" migrant women access.

III.1. NGOs
     While there has been a massive proliferation of both Lebanese and foreign NGOs in Lebanon since the civil war, very few have been established to cater for the needs of migrant domestic workers. It was not until 1997 that the Pastoral Committee of Asian-African Migrants (PCAAM) was formally established. Under the direction of Bishop Paul Bassim of the Ecclesiastic Council of Lebanon and the day to day co-ordination of Father Martin McDermott, PCAAM administers social, legal and religious assistance to migrant workers. Under the auspices of PCCAM lawyers are provided mostly free of charge, either through the Legal Aid program established by the Lebanese Bar Association, or by individual human rights lawyers. It also oversees the operations of four Catholic centers that cater for the needs of African and Asian migrant domestic workers (as well as other migrants). These are the Afro-Asian Migrant Center (1987), Laksehta (1988), and two individual initiatives, one by Father Vlugt and one by Father Mati. Like PCAAM, also Caritas-Lebanon works on migrant workers issues under the aegis of the EC. Caritas' Migrants Center (1994) coordinates with PCAAM and the 4 centers. All of these cater in various ways to assist women who have been apprehended without valid documents and placed in detention centers.
     The Afro-Asian Migrant Center (AAMC) is managed by a Philippine nun, Sister Amelia. Mostly Filipino workers gravitate to this center, which - apart from welfare services - acts as a central meeting place where religious services and recreational functions are coordinated. A "safe house" provides accommodation for women who have run away from their employers and the Center will often connect these women to more reputable employers through their own networks.
     The Laksehta Center, run by a Sri Lankan nun from the Bon Pasteur order, Sister Angela, provides another refuge, more or less exclusively for Sri Lankan women in suburban Beirut (Young, 2000). A variety of welfare and religious services are provided by and at the Center. Once a month, they visit all other prisons where Sri Lankans are incarcerated (e.g. Zahleh, Tripoli, and Baabda). The center also has established a postal service. The organization through the Sri Lankan embassy assists to repatriate the remains of deceased migrant workers, whether Catholic or Buddhist, back home. In the period September 1998 - August 1999 it was reported that "at least 10,000 persons made use of various forms of assistance: the refuge (130 women), legal assistance (34 women), retrieval of passports from employers (5), employment for 116 women, medical care, including hospitalization and after care (78 women), treatment for mental illness (14 Sri Lankans and 7 Ethiopians) and repatriation² (59 women). During this period, some 750 persons were visited in the prisons.
     The Sri Lankan Welfare Association was established in early 1999 as a fund raising organization to assist those in need of emergency assistance. Although it is mandatory that sponsors of migrant workers take out health insurance for their employees, many, or possibly most migrant workers, particularly those who do not have valid working papers and runaways are not insured and have little money. This association raises funds to enable migrants with no resources to attend hospitals which in Lebanon require an up front payment before admission can be processed.
     Most direct welfare provisions for migrant workers in Lebanon tend to come from religious groups, and as shown above, primarily associations linked to the Catholic Church. A number of religious groups have been formed, many associated with the AAMC or the PCAAM, but which also tend to gather according to nationality. In addition, national groups (for example, Filipino, Sri Lankan, Ghanaian, Tanzanian, Nigerian) have formed as "solidarity networks to dispense assistance and advice" (Young, 2000: 66).
     Since 1994, Caritas Lebanon has been providing assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers and Migrants Center. The Center's services to migrant workers are primarily for migrant workers from Africa and Asia, especially women. A lawyer is available for advice. Cases that cannot be solved through mediation and have strong evidentiary support are prosecuted through their courts. In addition, a social worker at the Center can enroll migrant workers in a low-coat major medical insurance plan. Social workers are available at the Center to assist migrant workers with problem solving and access to available social services.
     A Migrants Center social worker is also present in the Detention Center in Adlieh. The Center monitors the treatment of detainees, supervises medical care, organizes meals from outside, and assists with resolving cases and promoting early release where possible.

III.2. Embassies
     Because migrants are now only granted embassies and consuls are taking entry permits if they have diplomatic representation in Lebanon, increasing responsibilities. In the past year an Ethiopian Consulate has been established. Until two years ago, countries such as Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Vietnam and African countries except Sudan appointed honorary consuls to represent them in Lebanon. These were unpaid Lebanese nationals, who relied on commissions from the services they provided, but who also too often acted as recruitment agents. As such they were not active in protecting the interests of the migrants (Garde, 1998).
     One indicator of the level of the isolation and despair of migrant workers is the suicide rates. While no systematic research has been conducted on this area, some figures have been revealed. For example, in 1997 there were 47 "suicides" of Sri Lankan household workers, all having jumped from the balconies of their employer's apartments (An Nahar, 3/3/98). In the six months from March 2000, 8 Ethiopians had committed suicide (interview with the Ethiopian Consul in December 2000). One case that this author personally researched in December 2000, 8 Ethiopians had committed suicide (interview with the Ethiopian Consul in December 2000). Further, there is a great deal of suspicion regarding many cases by members of the public as to the extent to which these are all in fact suicides or the results of foul play. While there have been at least two cases of Sri Lankans charged with murder, no Lebanese have been charged or found guilty of such crimes against foreign domestic workers. There is no doubt, however, that the presence of diplomatic representation can make a difference to the treatment of migrants in Lebanon.
     Sri Lankan Embassy (1998): The Sri Lankan embassy under its current ambassador, Dr M. Muhseen, has taken measures to implement reforms. One employee regularly attends the offices of General Security to request names and addresses of employers of runaways so they can mediate negotiations for retrieval of passports, payment of wages and funds for repatriation. General Security, according to this employee is always very cooperative and helpful, and on an ad hoc basis will offer assistance in such retrievals, as they can be quite persuasive.
     In an attempt to improve the conditions of work for Sri Lankan domestic workers the Sri Lankan ambassador notifies the agent concerned when faced with a woman who has run away. When the agent arrives at the embassy to 'collect' the domestic worker, the ambassador does not release her to the agency, but insists to the agent that he (the ambassador) interviews the future employer to ascertain whether he or she is fit and proper person and to press upon them their obligations and responsibilities as employers.
     Philippines Embassy: The Philippines Embassy may be said to have developed the most systematic set of facilities for its nationals in Lebanon. The government of the Philippines established an Overseas Employment Administration with legislation to protect emigrant workers from abuse and exploitation. With an explicit policy to encourage labour migration ("Philippines Migration for Work"), there are regulations that require emigrants to participate in "pre-departure orientation seminars". These seminars, however, are only awareness-type programs, rather than in-depth training and familiarization with what may be encountered in the host country.
     There is also an accreditation procedure to license recruitment agencies wishing to procure Filipinos for work in Lebanon. Licensed agencies are required to use the Embassy's "Master Employment Contract for Domestic Helpers" which stipulates the terms and conditions of employment (in English and Arabic). As of September 2000, there were some 2000 of these contracts signed and approved. The rationale here is that it is easier for embassies and other social institutions, to implement welfare to those with embassy approved contracts because all details of employee, employer and agency are registered. However, there have been no cases where breach of contract has been invoked.
     The Filipino Worker Resource Center in Beirut, has been designed to provide facilities training seminars to assist their nationals in skills upgrading and other cultural activities. This has been established with a concern for dealing "development" issues as well as welfare. In this sense, it may be said that the Philippines takes a very "business-like" approach to its migration program.
     Ethiopian Consul: The government's role as a public employment agency in the recruitment of workers for employment abroad has greatly diminished since the introduction of the Private Employment Agency Law in 1998. However, even when the government acted as a public employment agency, most women were trafficked instead of legally recruited, In 1996, for example, only 356 women were left for the Arab countries with approval by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. In 1997, 728 left; in 1998, 984; in 2000, 1163 women left through the same process³. Yet, in 1999, 17,000 Ethiopian women were reportedly working as housemaids in Lebanon⁴ - indication enough that more women leave the country illegally than through legal channels ⁵.
     In response to the pressures put upon the government regarding the lack of protection of Ethiopian migrant women, and due to reports of severe abuses inflicted on these women, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set up a National Committee in June 1999. The Committee consists of representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Security, Labour, Social Affairs, Information and Culture and the Women's Bureau at the Prime Minister's office, Immigration and Refugee Affairs and the Police Commission.
     Ethiopian government has not fit at this stage to open an embassy in Lebanon, based upon the current political relations between the two countries. The current consul, Mr. Fiesha Afeworki, is currently faced with an understaffed office and an overwhelming number of individual cases of Ethiopian runaways requesting a laissez passer, or who need legal assistance of one form or another. He has access to one or two lawyers who work for free. With an estimated 15,000 Ethiopians in Lebanon (the proportion of domestic household workers is unknown) there are major human rights abuses perpetrated against Ethiopians. Most Ethiopians in Lebanon have entered illegally, without contract, recruited by agencies in Addis Ababa without the government's knowledge. There is only one accredited agency in Ethiopia that maintain international labour standards. The illegal domestic workers are subject to a range of inhuman mistreatment, including rape, burning and starving. However, Ethiopian suicides have reduced since the opening of the Consulate as they now have better access to air their grievances (Interview with Father Salim Rizkallah).
     Given the poor resources available, the consulate relies heavily upon NGOs and other charitable organizations and individuals for assistance.

Conclusion
     Although the social, medical and legal assistance provided by NGO and embassies are vital and indispensable, they are not always successful in solving the problems of their nationals in Lebanon. Until now, only very few employers employers/sponsors who have violated their contractual obligations have been prosecuted by the Lebanese government. This leaves the embassies and NGOs somewhat powerless. Along with diplomatic proclivities to avoid conflict, and because the embassies are concerned with the continuing facilitation of migrants as an expert commodity, justice for the migrants themselves is rarely achieved. Moreover, Young (2000:71) suggests that "most countries which send workers to Lebanon, perhaps with the exception of Syria and Egypt, are not considered powerful enough by the Lebanese to be able to impose respect for their nationals."
     An important source for assistance to the women discussed in this chapter is the freelancers. Freelancers need to be resourceful and do avail themselves, when required, of the services of the NGOs noted above. In return, they mat find work for runaways who have come to the attention of the NGOs who maintain links with them. In this sense there is a substantial network operating, but usually along ethnic lines. While there are African and Asian freelancers living and working together, the closer friendships and assistance tends to be within the different ethnic groups.

IV. Recent Government Reforms, Measures and International Conventions
IV.1. Government Reforms and Measures
     Five measures may be identified as having brought about positive changes in Lebanon during the previous two year under the government when Salim Hoss was Prime Minister. Since the government sought to improve the administration and enforcement of regulations, most of the dealt with how to handle undocumented foreigners, work permits, police and the like.
     In October 1998, the Lebanese government banned the process of "releasing" foreign workers from one sponsor to another. This had the effect of preventing what was tantamount to "selling" workers from one employer to another, for the procedures in procuring the release papers invariably included some remuneration to the sponsor. The manifest reasoning for the legislative change was somewhat different, for the government wanted to ensure that agencies and other individuals were not using fictitious, nominal sponsors to import large numbers of foreign workers to post-facto place them with an employer, a practice very close to trafficking. Sponsors were doing this because of an incremental tax rate which meant that a sponsor who has one employee pays 250,000LL; with a second, the charge is 500,000LL, and a third, 1,000,000LL and so on, thus making it a prohibitively expensive business.
     Again in 1998, the government introduced a scheme of tax stamps costing around $24 for the pre-registration work visa (which covers the worker for the first three months in the country). This considerably reduced the costs since in the past, agents and individual sponsors were required to pay around $250 to the Ministry of Labor.
     Another initiative of the Hoss government has been to establish a complaint procedure. Through this procedure the Ministry of Labor has indicated that it will take an active role in complaints cases. In the past year, 3 agencies have had their licenses suspended for improper conduct. One agency was suspended (see case 2) due to the direct intervention of the Sri Lankan Ambassador who personally made the complaint. These has been no actual cancellation of licenses. Although there are probably thousands of cases to be taken into consideration, they rarely reach the complaints stage because of the lack of trust in the system that has been seen to automatically assume the interests of the employer; and because the foreign women do not know how, or whether, to make a complaint.
     In addition to the above points, the government has, since 1998, computerized the names and addresses of all foreign workers entering the country and their sponsors. It is now possible to trace the sponsors through the Ministry (usually through General Security) whenever there is a problem. Prior to this it was virtually impossible, for example, to find the employer of a 'runaway' household worker who may have been abused or unpaid, but did not know her sponsor's full name or precisely where he or she lived.
     From August 2000 until February 2001, the government issued an "amnesty", allowing "all illegal residents in Lebanon to apply for residency or leave the country". In an interview with Major General Jamil Sayyed, Head of General Security, he explained that this is not an amnesty, since those whose papers require regularization must pay back taxes to cover the period since they last renewed their work visas and residency permits, whether they leave the country or not. It does, however allow for release papers to be arranged without special permission where a sponsor is no longer the employer, and another employer is willing to become the person's sponsor. The aim was to reduce the number of illegal foreign workers in the country. When they are caught, it becomes a troublesome expense to the government, which General Security would like to reduce.
     In principle, if a foreign employee leaves the employ of her sponsor, she is obliged to leave the country, or seek special permission to release her to another employer (which only the current "amnesty" will allow). However, a very recent announcement by General Security (Surete Generale) states that: "responsibility for bringing a foreign domestic servant into the country may be transferred to another individual one time only during the first three months of the foreign laborer's stay in the country" (Daily Star, 6/12/00). This measure was introduced to ensure that once the 'amnesty' has expired, there will be some flexibility to release a worker from one sponsor to another, but the limitation of the first three months coincides with the first employer/sponsor's responsibility to arrange a 12 month work visa and residency permit. If either the employer or employee do not wish to continue the contract, they have the first three months to sever it. It also coincides with the agencies' guarantees to replace an employee within the first three months if she is not deemed suitable for any reason.

IV.2. International Conventions
     There are a number of relevant international conventions that Lebanon has ratified and which can be invoked for legal and political purposes. The following details those conventions and the most appropriate articles as may be applied to female foreign domestic employees in Lebanon. It must be noted, however, that the legal status of migrants in international law is linked to their conditions as aliens. As such, they need diplomatic protection, which can only be activated by the state through bilateral relations (Pires, 2000). The law of aliens and diplomatic representation is an important backup for migrants where appropriate international human rights instruments are not accepted. In the Lebanese law, domestic workers are not registered under the Labour Law but the Civil law. Article 7 of the Labour Law articulates that all workers are covered except domestic workers.
     United Nations Conventions: Lebanon contributed to the formulation of the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1948. The Declaration is in fact enshrined in the Lebanese Constitution, which also states that all international conventions to which Lebanon is a signatory will take precedence over national laws and conventions. Especially Article 5 on torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Article 13, on the right to freedom of movement and the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country; Article 23, free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment; the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests and; Article 24, discusses the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, are of crucial importance.
     There are a number of other United Nations Conventions that have been used in Lebanese courts in defense of migrant workers who have been mistreated. The arguments were put in cases against migrant workers who were imprisoned or detained because of irregular or no work permits, or had absconded from their employers and was without proper identity papers because they had been confiscated or not renewed by employers or agencies. These are:

1. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Ratified by Lebanon on 3 November 1972);
2. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Ratified by Lebanon on 3 November 1972);
3. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (Ratified by Lebanon on 3 November 1972).

     International Labour Organization Conventions: Although the rights of Migrant Workers have been addressed in the major International Human Rights Conventions, the International Labour Organization established international instruments that specifically target the needs of migrant workers:

• The Migration for Employment Convention 1949 (no. 97) accompanied by the Migration for Employment Recommendation (Revised) 1949 (no. 86);
• The Migrant Workers Convention 1975 (no. 143).

     But these conventions have nor been ratified by many states, Lebanon included. Indeed, "No country in the Middle East has ratified any of the (major) ILO conventions" (Prices, 2000).
     While there are many ILO conventions, which deal with acceptable and unacceptable standards of work and remuneration, there are no Conventions, which specifically deal with domestic workers. Domestic workers are defined as workers who are not members of the family or household, but who are employed to "facilitate the running of domestic life and personal needs" (ILO, 2000: 31). Further, it is acknowledged that the large majority of domestic workers, throughout the world are migrant or immigrant women. The particular category of female domestic workers with whom we are concerned in Lebanon are migrant women, that is, temporary migrant workers. Most ILO protective measures cover permanent immigrants or those "who have been regularly admitted to the territory of a member State" (ILO, 2000: 74). There are no ILO Conventions that deal specifically with temporary migrant workers.
     While it is suggested that migrant workers should enjoy all the rights applied to national workers (with respect to remuneration, hours of work, overtime arrangements, paid holidays etc.), there needs to be a recognition that migrant workers such as those we address in this report are being employed largely because they are not receiving the normal labour entitlements of Lebanese nationals; and because they are largely willing to accept less rewarding conditions of work. The willingness is there because they are receiving up to 4 or 5 (or more) times the income they would receive in their home countries.
     Notwithstanding the exclusion of temporary migrants from ILO Conventions, there are relevant articles that may be used. For example, in Convention (181) on Private Employment Agencies, 1997, Article 4 (see also article 12) refers to the requirement that workers recruited by private employment agencies "are not denied the right to freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively." Migrant workers in Lebanon, as well as a number of other categories of workers such as part-time employees, do not have the right to form unions. There is also a widespread practice by recruitment agencies, both in Lebanon and the sending countries, to charge the migrants a fee, often requiring the employee to forgo initial wages for up to two, three or four months. This indebtedness, which amounts to a form of bonded labour, is not in the interests of the migrants. Article 7 (1) of the ILO convention states "Private employment agencies shall not charge directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, any fees or costs to workers." Article 8 requires member states to: "provide adequate protection for and prevent abuses of migrant workers recruited or placed in its territory by private recruitment agencies. These shall include laws or regulations, which provide for penalties, including prohibition of those private employment agencies which engage in fraudulent practices and abuses". (Article 8, 1) (See also, ILO, 1998 chapter 5, for a comprehensive discussion on private recruitment agencies and ILO guidelines).
     Lebanon has ratified 14 ILO conventions on International Labour Standards. Although many may not be applicable to the category of migrants that this report is concerned with, the following conventions are relevant for the protection of migrant workers:

• C105 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (Ratified by Lebanon in 1977);
• C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (Ratified by Lebanon in 1977).

Conclusions
     The rights of domestic workers are not laid down in any of the conventions since they are temporary contract workers and employed within private households, hidden from the gaze of those parties interested in their welfare. The United Nations Conventions that specifically deal with this target group have not been ratified by Lebanon: the Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals who are not Nationals of the Country in which they live, and; the International Convention of the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
     Lebanon has signed a number of other influential conventions. There are two reasons for hardly putting the conventions into practice:

1. The lack of clear procedure for domestic application of international conventions, especially in court;
2. Lack of awareness among law enforcement bodies.

     To be able to defend the rights of domestic workers in Lebanon, these two dilemmas need to be tackled first.

V. Conclusions and Recommendations
     Abuses of foreign domestic workers are not unique to Lebanon, but are astonishingly prevalent in identical forms in many countries around the world. A number of suggestions have been made as possible remedies to restrict or eliminate these abuses at the international and local levels in terms of legal, administrative, economic, educational and cultural reforms in receiving countries. Three categories of main violations could be short listed:

• Violence or the threat of violence from employers, recruitment agencies, police and general security forces;
• Denial of freedom in terms of withholding of passports, restriction of movement outside the residence of employment and limitations on outside communications;
• Exploitative working conditions including withholding of wages, long hours of work, inadequate or no leisure time and insecure living quarters.

     One of the major intention of this paper has been to search for solutions and means of action to be taken by different actors and in order to improve working conditions of migrant women yet also to assist official bodies in simplifying the procedures pertaining to migrant workers in Lebanon. It is hoped that this paper has provided a beginning for a constructive dialogue in search of solutions.
     It should be pointed pout that the hereunder listed recommendation might affect the demand of domestic workers in the Lebanese labour market.

V.1. Measures in the Courts
     Only few cases concerning illegal practices in the employment of foreign domestic workers are brought to the courts. One of the major problems that these women face is that if abused, physically or financially, they are either not prepared to press charges or cannot afford the legal representation. There are free legal aid provisions through for example the Lebanese Bar Association or Migrant Center, but an abused employee is usually more eager to leave the country as soon as she can retrieve her passport or have a laissez passer issued to travel. If she wishes to stay in Lebanon, she will be more anxious to find another employer and not go through the legal process, cutting her losses and hoping to earn enough money in a decent household so she can return home to her country with something to show for her period away.

Recommendation
     It is of main importance to defend more cases of abuse in court to defend the rights of migrant workers. Therefore, as Wijers and Lap-Chew suggest, more facilities have to be present such as competent translators during legal proceedings, access to free legal assistance and legal representation during criminal or other proceedings, access to legal possibilities of compensation and redress and provisions to enable women to press criminal charges and/or to take civil action against their offenders, such as temporary staying permit during criminal and/or civil proceedings and adequate protection as witnesses. (1997: 209-10).
     There are sufficient human rights lawyers and activists in Lebanon interested and who have a track record in this area for such cases to be conducted. It is recommended, for example, that Legal Aid in Lebanon, through the auspices of the Lebanese Bar Association would be the most appropriate organization to coordinate such activities. It is envisaged that such cases should tackle strategic issues such as the withholding of passports, withholding of wages, physical abuse, and substandard employment conditions (including hours of work, poor living conditions, etc.). Such cases will establish precedent, but more importantly serve as a disincentive if there are sufficiently harsh/proper penalties meted out. In addition, a high level of publicity will serve an educative function throughout the population, particularly if the judges themselves can be convinced to make public statements or warnings against the violations. If there are sufficient cases, the government will also be more likely to support an education campaign to curb the abuse.
     As noted previously, although labour law does not cover foreign domestic workers in Lebanon, there are adequate provisions in criminal law and international conventions ratified by Lebanon, which may be invoked to bring success in the courts. In short, even current legal provisions ought simply to be actively administered and contracts backed up by the law.
     One of the first complaints which labor lawyers in Lebanon make when discussion foreign domestic workers is that there are no provisions for them in labour law. This needs to be remedied. Legislation, with the support of the trade union movement, needs to be enacted for these workers to have more immediate legal remedies as employees, rather than relying on criminal law procedures. The Lebanese NGO Forum, which is seriously concerned to address issues on migrants, refugees and the displaced, might be a useful coordinating arm in this matter.