25/08/2024
WHAT PROOFS DOESN'T WORK FOR THE WORLD ORGs....
Kenyan Migrant Workers Trapped in Saudi Arabia as Children Lack Birth Certificates
Hundreds of migrant workers are currently trapped in Saudi Arabia because their children do not have the documentation needed to allow them to return home.
The children who were born in Saudi Arabia to Kenyan mothers and are aged up to around 10 years old require Saudi Arabian birth certificates in order to leave the country but cannot obtain them due to a combination of legal obstacles and issues with their mothers’ legal, civil and economic status.
Having a child out of wedlock is against the law in Saudi Arabia and birth certificates are not provided for children born outside marriage, although birth registration is a human right recognized in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which Saudi Arabia is a signatory, as well as to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
If a mother gives birth at home she is required to take a DNA test to prove the child is hers, which further complicates the application for a birth certificate.
Without certification migrant workers and their children are trapped inside the country with no way in which to navigate the legal complexities of their situation and return home.
Experts say the best-case scenario for these families would be for children to be given their birth certificates despite the existing laws and regulations and for an amnesty to be granted allowing women and children in this situation to go home.
Some suggest that if this is not possible and detainment and deportation offer the only route out as it would at least allow the children to begin a new life in Kenya with access to healthcare and education but the deportation process would also require children to have Saudi Arabian birth certificates, thus landing families back at square one.
Stuck in limbo, the majority of women work without the proper documentation in order to support their children, while some families have no choice but to sleep on the streets.
Without any means of protection, the children are vulnerable to s*x and organ trafficking, illegal adoption, s*xual assault and other forms of exploitation and abuse.
