University of San Francisco Law Clinic Files 15 Landmark UN Complaints on Behalf of Kenyan Workers Disabled Under Saudi Arabia's Kafala System

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Human Rights Clinic at the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Law, in partnership with Global Justice Kenya, today filed an unprecedented 15 complaints with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The complaints seek accountability for grave human rights violations of Kenyan migrant domestic workers who became disabled due to abuse and neglect while working in Saudi Arabia under the kafala system. Aligned with World Day for Safety and Health at Work (April 28), the filings represent a novel legal strategy that uses an international disability rights treaty to challenge labor exploitation.

"When a system fails to protect migrant workers whom people have taken into their homes as employees, accountability is essential," said Maryfin Kemunto Maisiba, one of the 15 complainants, who survived a stroke at age 28 due to harsh work conditions and physical abuse. "Acquiring a disability through abuse or neglect is an injustice and burden that no one should be forced to carry."

In Saudi Arabia, the kafala system allows employers to "sponsor" migrants to work in the country. This system binds the migrants' legal statuses to their employers, rendering those migrants without rights, freedom of movement, or agency while in Saudi Arabia. In 2005, Saudi Arabia expressed an intention to reform the kafala system. Since then, numerous legislative efforts have aimed to improve migrant labor protections, but all have expressly excluded domestic workers from legal remedies.

As such, Saudi employers are allowed to treat the migrant workers they've sponsored with impunity, resulting in migrants who arrive in Saudi Arabia healthy, but who return to their home countries permanently disabled. Saudi sponsors frequently denied disabled migrant domestic workers necessary accommodations and timely medical treatment, which Saudi Arabia is obligated to ensure under international law.

Fourteen of the complainants are survivors now living in Kenya. A fifteenth complaint was filed by the mother of a 27-year-old woman who died of meningitis after being denied timely medical treatment while working in Saudi Arabia.

Ruben Vergara-Murayama, a second year USF law student who traveled to Kenya in March 2026 and was part of a team that conducted interviews with 40 survivors, reflects on this advocacy effort: "Law school teaches you to analyze problems. The Clinic has taught me to think creatively about building solutions and legal strategies that best serve the interests of the clients. When we traveled to Nairobi, we heard directly from the survivors on how the kafala system enables the conditions and treatment that led to these women acquiring serious disabilities—blindness, paralysis, chronic pain."

By using stories gathered through the firsthand interviews in Kenya, the complaints describe how these women incurred their disabilities; how their employers forced them to continue working while actively denying them the necessary medical attention; and how these injuries have affected them, both financially and in their day-to-day lives.

Professor Lindsay M. Harris, director of the USF School of Law International Human Rights Clinic summarizes this effort: "These women returned to Kenya with spinal injuries, chemical burns, untreated cancers, and conditions that never had to become permanent disabilities. Filing 15 individual complaints with the CRPD Committee is unprecedented, as is the use of this treaty body to raise issues at the intersection of disability and migrant justice. These complaints ask the Committee to understand that the kafala system doesn't just exploit workers, it disables them."

About the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Clinic at the University of San Francisco School of Law

The Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Clinic at the University of San Francisco School of Law partners with grassroots organizations and human rights defenders to challenge structural injustice and advance accountability for serious human rights violations. The Clinic designs and implements advocacy strategies in local and international forums. Its work spans fact investigation, legal research and writing, trauma-centered interviewing, campaign development, and strategic litigation. Through this work, USF law students develop the skills of human rights lawyers while contributing to real outcomes for affected communities. For more information, visit: https://www.usfca.edu/law/engaged-learning/law-clinics/international-human-rights-clinic

About Global Justice Kenya

Global Justice Kenya is a Kenyan, independent, women-led, non-governmental organization committed to upholding human rights by advancing the Right to a Remedy of victims of gross human rights violations and international crimes. For more information, visit: https://www.globaljusticekenya.org/

About the University of San Francisco School of Law

Founded in 1912, the University of San Francisco School of Law educates skilled lawyers who graduate with the professional knowledge and theoretical foundation necessary to succeed in the legal profession. The USF School of Law offers a rigorous education with a global perspective in a diverse, supportive community. USF Law offers full- and part-time Juris Doctor programs that empower students to develop their analytical abilities, master legal writing and research skills, acquire a firm foundation of the law, explore an array of specialties, and refine their professional legal skills in practical settings. The law school also offers Master of Laws (LLM) programs in Taxation, Intellectual Property and Technology Law, and a general, customizable LLM (for foreign lawyers), and a Master of Legal Studies in Taxation (MLST) for non-lawyers. The USF School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. For more information, visit usfca.edu/law.

SOURCE University of San Francisco