DESK REVIEW ON POPULATIONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS B.1.a. Overseas Filipinos in the Gulf This section reviews the situation for OFs and children of Philippine descent in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. According to the PSA’s statistical tables, more than half of OFWs work in “Western Asia,” including: Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Distribution of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) by Region of Origin and Place of Work Abroad (%): 2019 Western Asia 51.4 Bahrain, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan. Saudi Kuwait 6.2 Arabia has consistently been the destination Qatar 5.6 with the largest number of OFWs (one out of Saudi Arabia 22.4 five or 22.4% in 2019), and the UAE was the United Arab Emirates 13.2 destination with the second largest number Other countries in Western Asia (including Bahrain, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan) 4.0 the UAE, and including a small number in in 2019 (13.2%). 102 B.1.b. Labor Law and the Kafala Immigration System Domestic workers are not covered by labor laws in any country, but separate laws are now in place for domestic workers in several countries. Enforcement is an issue and structural and practical obstacles remain. Bilateral agreements have now been signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Governments of Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE on labor cooperation. These set out the responsibilities of each party to the agreement and establish a Joint Committee composed of officials representing both parties to monitor, review, and assess implementation. Each of the Gulf States implements the kafala system, an immigration sponsorship system that regulates the entry, exit, and employment of foreign workers by linking them to a kafeel or sponsor, usually the employer.103 The kafeel is often responsible for applying and for renewing the foreign resident’s status. The foreign resident must usually seek the permission of the kafeel in order to change their employment, and sometimes even to exit the country. The sponsor or employer can and must register an absconding charge if the sponsored worker leaves the employment. The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Human Resources and Social Philippine Statistics Authority, Statistical Tables, TABLE 3 Distribution of Overseas Filipino Workers by Region of Origin and Place of Work Abroad: 2019, 4 June 2020, available at: https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/survey/labor-and-employment/surveyoverseas-filipinos/table. 102 Priyanka Motaparthy, Understanding Kafala: An archaic law at cross purposes with modern development, 11 March 2015, available at: https://www.migrant-rights.org/2015/03/understanding-kafala-an-archaic-law-at-cross-purposes-with-moderndevelopment/. 103 UNHCR / April 2021 37