Kuwait’s ambassador to Belgium and the head of mission to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jassem Al-Badawi stressed that Kuwait gives priority to caring for and protecting the rights of the expatriate workforce, Al Anbaa reported.
Ambassador Al-Badawi said in a virtual seminar on (immigrants in the Gulf) organized by the Committee on Relations with the Arabian Peninsula in the European Parliament on Thursday, that Kuwait not only prioritized the health and safety of expatriate workers but also has passed laws and legislation to monitor employers.
“We have provided international organizations and non-governmental organizations with free, unrestricted, and unconditional access so that they can verify all efforts and protection measures in place to guarantee the rights of expatriate workers in Kuwait,” he added.
He pointed out that Kuwait and the European Union held their second informal dialogue on human rights on March 30th, where the issue of workers’ rights was discussed comprehensively and all questions raised by the European side were fully answered.
Ambassador Al-Badawi highlighted some of the major steps taken by Kuwait to protect expatriate workers, including the establishment of a formal mechanism to settle disputes between workers and employers.
He explained that Kuwait has also taken other steps in this regard, forming a crisis and emergency management team to ensure the safety and protection of workers during the (new Corona-Covid 19) pandemic and to strengthen communication between the competent authorities and the relevant embassies and consulates to ensure the safety, protection, and rights of expatriate workers.
“Kuwait is one of the most generous countries in the world, and it has been recognized as an international humanitarian center by the United Nations … and in this spirit, we strive to guarantee human rights and dignity in all parts of the world, including at home,” he said.
For his part, Committee Chairman Hannah Neumann announced that the parliamentary meeting between the European Parliament and the Kuwaiti National Assembly would be held by default on May 20.
In this regard, Ambassador Al-Badawi said, “I personally hope that this meeting will achieve tangible results.”
For their part, other Gulf ambassadors to Brussels, several members of the European Parliament, and representatives of international labor and migration organizations spoke during the webinar on the situation of expatriate workers in the Arab Gulf.