BEIRUT: The U.N. expert on slavery Monday urged the Lebanese government to introduce legislation to protect some 200,000 domestic workers in the country, warning that many are living in servitude.

During a news conference at the end of her first visit to Lebanon in the role, Gulnara Shahinian said that while the government has taken some positive measures, much more still needed to be done.

As special rapporteur for contemporary forms of slavery, Shahinian conducts country visits, at the invitation of governments, to locations where there are issues relating to servitude, which she said includes forced and bonded labor, child labor, early marriages, traditional forms of labor and domestic servitude.

Her visit to Lebanon focused on this latter form of modern slavery, which she said is defined as a situation where a woman willingly chooses to enter in to a work contract whereby she will perform domestic work, inside the home, but when she arrives her rights are violated.

She is forced to work excessive hours, with little or no rest, subjected to psychological and possibly physical abuse, confined to the house and perhaps also denied payment for long periods of time, even years, Shahinian said.

During her visit, Shahinian met with government officials and religious and civil groups and thanked General Security for “extremely open and informative discussions” on the issues.

She also visited the newly refurbished reception center for migrant workers at the airport and a detention center. “I was assured and have full confidence that the conditions there will be changed,” she said of the detention center.

Shahinian also met with NGOs dealing with the issues, and with domestic workers themselves, visiting some shelters where women, waiting to return to their home countries after having left domestic servitude, are staying.

“I met with women who had been forced to work long hours without any remuneration or valid contract: physically and sexually abused; and morally harassed by constantly being insulted, humiliated and belittled,” she said.

The law to protect migrant workers, not yet adopted and which has been in the drafting stage for three years, represents an important step forward, Shahinian said, but must now be “made a priority by the government.”

She also advocated the creation of a separate law, specifically addressing the needs of domestic workers.

“I am of the opinion that the sensitive issue of domestic workers should be addressed in a separate law,” she said. “The draft law can be a good starting point, but through time it will need additional development,” she added.

Shahinian said she was confident that with the combined efforts of the state, civil society groups and the steering committee, established during her visit and consisting of various actors, efforts to bring this additional development forward will be successful.

It was vital, the U.N. expert said, that the law must “explicitly guarantee that migrant workers are allowed to keep their passports, have freedom of movement, a day off outside the employers’ house, adequate private lodging and fair wages,” while also balancing the rights and obligations of both employer and employee.

The U.N. expert also raised the issue of racial discrimination against domestic workers, and said concerted efforts must be made by the media and civil society to raise awareness of the issue, which, she said, stems from the fact the work done by domestic workers, solely women’s work, is in itself seen as “inferior” work.

As domestic workers are also often not seen as employees but as part of the household, if there is a history of domestic violence within the family, Shahinian said, they might soon become enveloped in that system.

Irrespective of the fact “Lebanon is home to so many cultures and so many religions,” she said that domestic workers are often seen as outsiders.

The U.N. expert also raised the issue of the children of migrant domestic workers, which she said must be guaranteed access to free education, and their own private space within the home.

She also stressed the fact that migrant domestic workers provide an indispensable contribution to society, which allows many Lebanese women to leave their homes and gain economic independence.

Another part of her role, a relatively new one which she began in 2008, is receiving “allegation letters” from victims of slavery around the world.

Shahinian encouraged any domestic workers in Lebanon, who feel they are being forced in to domestic servitude, to write to her and document their situation. The letters are sent to respective governments and considered in country-specific reports on the issue of modern slavery.

A template for the “allegation letter” is available on her website, at http://bit.ly/ndR1a0.