HRW slams Kuwait for ‘punishing’ PH embassy officials helping OFWs ‘in danger’

FILE: Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed on Friday, April 27, the move of Kuwaiti government to punish the Philippine Embassy’s staffers who tried to help distressed Filipino domestic workers. (PNA Photo)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday, April 27, slammed the move of the Kuwaiti government to punish Philippine Embassy staffers who tried to help distressed Filipino domestic workers.

In a statement, Middle East Women’s Rights Researcher for HRW Rothna Begum, described Kuwait’s recent arrests of two Philippine embassy staff members as “outrageous.”

“The Kuwaiti authorities shouldn’t be punishing those for helping domestic workers in danger but rather working with the Philippine embassy to help investigate and rescue distressed workers,” Begum said.

State-run Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) earlier reported that two Filipinos were arrested by Kuwaiti police for allegedly convincing Filipino housemaids to flee from their employers’ households.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Thursday, April 26, that Kuwait issued warrants of arrest against three Filipino diplomats, while four Filipinos hired by the Philippine Embassy remained in detention.

The Gulf state also declared Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa as “persona non grata” and was ordered to return home in a week. This decision came a day after DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano issued a formal apology to Kuwait “for certain incidents that the Kuwaiti view as violation of their sovereignty.”

In its previous statement, the DFA said that this action by Kuwait was “deeply disturbing” as it is “inconsistent” with the assurances given by Kuwaiti envoy Musaed Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh when he met with Cayetano in Manila on Tuesday.

The Philippines yesterday also protested the expulsion of its ambassador to Kuwait, the arrest warrants against its three diplomats, and the detention of four other Filipinos, as it handed a diplomatic note to Kuwait conveying its “strong surprise and great displeasure” over these issues.

“Given the current circumstances, the Department conveyed its wish to be clarified on the actions to be taken by the Government of Kuwait on the assurances given by the Ambassador to the Secretary,” the DFA said.

It also reiterated that the protection of the rights and the promotion of the welfare of Filipinos working abroad “would always be the guiding principle of the Philippines in its relationship with countries around the world, including Kuwait.”

The Middle East is a major destination for Filipino workers, with more than 250,000 currently working there. But with recent reports of deaths and rampant cases of abuses in the Gulf state against Filipinos, the Philippine government decided to impose a total ban on the deployment of OFWs in Kuwait.