Editing Diplomatic immunity (section)

===Employer abuse and slavery===

Diplomatic immunity from local employment and labor law has precipitated incidents in which diplomatic staff have been accused of abusing local workers, who are often hired for positions requiring local knowledge (such as an administrative assistant, press/PR officer) or for general labor. In such situations, the employees are in a legal limbo where the laws of neither the host country nor the diplomat's country are enforceable. Diplomats have ignored local laws concerning [[minimum wage]]s, maximum working hours, vacation and holidays, and in some cases have imprisoned employees in their homes, deprived them of their earned wages, [[passport]]s, food, and communication with the outside world, abused them physically and emotionally, and invaded their privacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/newsprint.cgi?file=/news2007/1115-01.htm |title=ACLU: Abused Domestic Workers of Diplomats Seek Justice From International Commission |publisher=Commondreams.org |date=15 November 2007 |access-date=19 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910141714/http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/newsprint.cgi?file=%2Fnews2007%2F1115-01.htm |archive-date=10 September 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aclu.org/womensrights/humanrights/28030prs20070117.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070122033004/http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/humanrights/28030prs20070117.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 January 2007 |title=American Civil Liberties Union: ACLU Charges Kuwait Government and Diplomats With Abusing Domestic Workers |publisher=Aclu.org |date=17 January 2007 |access-date=19 December 2011 }}</ref> Reported incidents include the following:

* In 1999, a Bangladeshi woman, Shamela Begum, claimed she had been enslaved by a senior Bahraini envoy to the United Nations and his wife. Begum charged that the couple took her passport, struck her, and paid her just $800 for ten months of service—during which she was only twice allowed out of the couple's New York apartment. The envoy and his wife claimed diplomatic immunity, and Begum later reached a civil settlement with her employers. By some estimates, "hundreds of women have been exploited by their diplomat employers over the past 20 years."<ref name="Reader's Digest">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rd.com/advice/diplomatic-immunity-going-too-far/|title=The Untouchables: Is Diplomatic Immunity Going Too Far?|magazine=Reader's Digest}}</ref>
* In 2003 in Finland, a Filipina maid escaped from an embassy of an unidentified Asian country, and reported being held in conditions approaching slavery: she was forced to work from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., 7 days a week, and the ambassador's children were permitted to hit her. On grounds of diplomatic immunity, no charges could be filed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/201312140065720_uu.shtml|title=Skandaali Suomessa: Suurlähettiläs piti naista orjatöissä|website=iltalehti.fi|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327213309/http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/201312140065720_uu.shtml|archive-date=27 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* In 2009, [[South Africa]] was criticised for claiming immunity from labor laws relating to a [[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]] [[domestic worker]] at the residence of the South African ambassador in [[Dublin|Ireland]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2009/1130/1224259709379.html |title=Use of diplomatic immunity |publisher=Irishtimes.com |date=11 November 2009 |access-date=19 December 2011 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020192518/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2009/1130/1224259709379.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In 2010, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] filed an [[amicus brief]] in ''Swarna v. Al-Awadi'' to argue that [[human trafficking]] is a commercial activity engaged in for personal [[Profit (economics)|profit]], which falls outside the scope of a diplomat's official functions, and therefore diplomatic immunity does not apply.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/swarna-v-al-awadi-amicus-brief |title=American Civil Liberties Union: Swarna v. Al-Awadi – Amicus Brief |publisher=Aclu.org |date=16 February 2010 |access-date=19 December 2011 |archive-date=10 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210093629/http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/swarna-v-al-awadi-amicus-brief |url-status=dead }}</ref> An appeals court ruled that Al-Awadi did not have diplomatic immunity in that situation.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Appeals Court Affirms Kuwait Immunity, Rejects Ex-Diplomat Immunity, in Abuse of Domestic Worker Case |url=http://diplomaticlaw.com/blog/2010/10/u-s-appeals-court-affirms-kuwait-immunity-rejects-ex-diplomat-immunity-in-abuse-of-domestic-worker-case/ |access-date=2 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720025615/http://diplomaticlaw.com/blog/2010/10/u-s-appeals-court-affirms-kuwait-immunity-rejects-ex-diplomat-immunity-in-abuse-of-domestic-worker-case/ |archive-date=20 July 2014 }}</ref>
* In 2013, Indian consular official [[Devyani Khobragade]] was detained, hand-cuffed, strip searched, DNA swabbed, and held in a federal holding cell in New York, relating to allegations of non-payment of US minimum wage and for fraudulently lying about the wages to be paid on a visa application for her domestic worker. India registered a strong protest and initiated a review of privileges afforded to American consular officials in India as a result.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/20/politics/india-us-diplomat/ | work=CNN | title=India's foreign minister: Drop charges against diplomat - CNN.com | date=20 December 2013}}</ref>
* In 2015, two Nepalese women were rescued from the fifth floor of the Gurgaon residence of a [[Saudi Arabia]]n diplomat in India. They were allegedly confined there and abused physically and sexually by the diplomat and his family and friends.<ref>{{cite news|last1=NDTV|first1=NDTV|title=Focus on Saudi Diplomat After Women Allege Gang-Rape, Torture|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/2-women-allegedly-raped-rescued-from-saudi-diplomats-gurgaon-home-1215651|access-date=9 September 2015|agency=NDTV|publisher=NDTV}}</ref> The women were rescued in a police raid planned after the police received a letter from the Nepal embassy regarding their plight. Several persons, the Saudi diplomat among them, were booked for wrongful confinement and gang rape. Saudi Ambassador Saud Mohammed Alsati commented, "This is completely false. We would not like to comment any further since the case is under investigation by the Indian police."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/saudi-diplomat-booked-for-gangrape-police-free-woman-daughter-from-his-gurgaon-home/|title=Saudi diplomat booked for gangrape, police free woman, daughter from his Gurgaon residence|date=11 September 2015|newspaper=[[Indian Express]]}}</ref> Ten days after the diplomat was accused, it was confirmed that he had left India.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/gurgaon-rape-case-saudi-arabian-diplomat-leaves-india/|title=Gurgaon rape case: Accused of rape, Saudi diplomat gets away to Saudi Arabia|date=17 September 2015|newspaper=[[Indian Express]]}}</ref>