The federal government of Kuwait has agreed to assist Canadians who wish to go away the Gulf state but cannot because their employers is not going to issue them exit permits, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Thursday.
Global News learned earlier this week that some Canadians wanted to go away the Gulf state after Kuwait got here under attack from Iranian missiles and drones.
But Canadians employed there — like all foreigners who work for Kuwaiti firms — must get an exit permit from their employer.
And a few employers were either ignoring or denying requests Canadians made to their employers.
“The situation has become a hostage-like one,” said one among those Canadians trapped in Kuwait earlier this week. Global News agreed to not discover the person who was fearful about reprisals by their employer. “Our e-mails are being ignored and issues are usually not being addressed.”
Kuwait has come under fire greater than half-a-dozen times for the reason that U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
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Greater than 100 missiles and greater than 300 drones have been aimed toward Kuwait and a few have struck the airport, the port and a few office towers. 4 have died and nearly 70 have been injured, based on news reports from AFP, CBS, the Wall Street Journal and others.
Global Affairs Canada couldn’t say how may Canadians were unable to get the required exit permits but a department officials said in an e-mailed statement “it was aware that there are Canadians in Kuwait who want to go away and are currently unable to acquire permission for exit permits from their employers.”
In response to an issue from Global News on Thursday, Anand said she had telephoned her Kuwaiti counterpart.
“During times of crisis, diplomacy is a robust tool,” Anand said Thursday in response to the query.
“I called [Foreign] Minister [Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammad] Al Sabah on this very issue and asked to expedite the power of Canadians to go away. He agreed wholeheartedly. And Global Affairs Canada is urgently providing the list of Canadians wishing to go away in order that that list may be quickly approved and the Canadians at issue are capable of leave.“
Kuwait’s law requiring foreign expatriates to acquire exit permits from employers is a controversial one.
“Kuwait’s exit visa requirement violates international human rights law,” Human Rights Watch researcher Michael Page wrote last July as Kuwait was updating its exit permit law.
“Everyone has the fitting to go away any country, including his own, and to return to his country,” Page wrote. “”Restrictions can only be applied on a case-by-case basis for a legitimate and proportionate purpose, equivalent to during a criminal investigation. “
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