About Soral Syndicate

Lebanon currently has over 514 licensed agencies for the recruitment and employment of domestic workers, who arrive from more than ten countries across Africa and Asia. The Syndicate of Owners of Recruitment Agencies in Lebanon, known by its acronym “SORAL,” was established in 2005 and currently includes around 414 registered members.

As part of the Joint Programme for the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Domestic Workers (PROWD), funded by the European Union and the Swiss Development Fund, the International Labour Organization (ILO) collaborated with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2012 and 2013 to support SORAL in drafting a Code of Conduct for recruitment agencies in Lebanon. This initiative emerged in response to the lack of an effective legal framework for protecting the rights of domestic workers. The Code of Conduct aims to:

• Promote transparency in the recruitment process

• Ensure the provision of clear and comprehensive information about working conditions in Lebanon

• Prevent all forms of discrimination

• Emphasize communication in a language understood by the worker

• Report abusive employers to the competent authorities

The Code also mandates the establishment of a multi-stakeholder follow-up committee to receive complaints, investigate violations, issue periodic reports, and blacklist agencies with repeated violations.

The syndicate represents the sector through continuous engagement with Lebanese official bodies, civil society organizations, security agencies, and relevant public institutions. It also participates in local and international conferences related to the recruitment industry. The syndicate operates under its own internal bylaws, with a general assembly elected through regular elections, from which the syndicate’s board members are chosen. These members define the roles and activities that the syndicate will undertake in the future.