Saturday, November 23, 2013
African leaders frowned openly at their Arab counterparts over the
mistreatment of migrant workers at the start of a major summit in Kuwait
to explore ways of creating a new working formula between the two
regions on Tuesday.
Ethiopia Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who is also the
African Union (AU) chairman, called for an immediate solution to the
poor treatment of migrant workers, saying the handling of immigration
issues required a collective response.
“It is within our means to find solutions to this problem in a
comprehensive and sustainable manner,” Mr Desalegn said in his opening
remarks at the summit.
Kenya’s Foreign Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed made similar
demands earlier, saying the issue of immigration required streamlining
during the summit.
Kuwait’s economy is mostly run by migrant workers from
Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco, India, Philippines and Kenya, and the rest
of East Africa, some of who operate from the shadows.
Kenya’s Foreign ministry officials are pushing for measures to
ensure effective protection of migrant workers. They want equal pay for
equal work and measures to enhance transparency in the terms of work to
avoid rampant abuses.