E/CN.4/1997/71/Add.2 page 4 their countries. Others, rightly or wrongly accused of stealing from their employers, are captured while in flight and taken to the holding centre in Dasma, then expelled without any legal protection. 14. Living conditions in the Dasma holding centre and the Talha prison, where male and female workers involved in litigation with their employers are held while awaiting expulsion, are extremely poor. At the Dasma Centre, during the Special Rapporteur's visit, 125 men were held in one room and some 60 women in another. Hygiene leaves much to be desired, and there is considerable promiscuity. This situation constitutes a violation of the rights of foreign workers. A. The exploitation of unskilled and domestic workers 15. As stated above, two thirds of the Kuwaiti population is of foreign origin and includes nationals of between 100 and 145 countries. A distinction must be made between (a) the public and private sectors, the second of which includes the petroleum, or economic, sector; (b) domestic workers; and (c) manpower (skilled and unskilled). 1. Social and professional categories 16. According to specialists in Kuwaiti labour law, there are four social and professional categories: (a) the government sector (civil service), in which recruitment procedures and working conditions pose no problem (salaries of KD (Kuwaiti dinars) 450 or 650 per month and housing provided by the Government); (b) the public sector, which includes corporations, companies and State cooperatives and is covered by Labour Act No. 38 of 1964; (c) the petroleum sector, which is covered by Kuwaiti labour law. Thus, according to the specialist in labour law at the Kuwait Faculty of Law, these sectors are governed by legislation which includes general provisions based on international conventions; however, some provisions should be amended to take account of international conventions to which Kuwait attaches great importance, particularly since the country's liberation from invasion; and (d) domestic workers, whose situation is covered by the Civil Code and general legislation. 2. Indispensable foreign workers 17. Kuwait is a small country whose prosperity attracts nationals of various countries, within and outside the region, which are experiencing economic problems. The oil boom and rapid development of the country have resulted in a demand for manpower. The need for skilled and unskilled labour is met largely by immigrants, most of whom are from Arab countries (Egyptians and Palestinians) 4/ and have Egyptian, Jordanian or Lebanese passports. Recently, skilled workers from India and Pakistan have been recruited. Most unskilled workers, who are employed primarily in homes (as maids, nannies, guards, houseboys, cooks, chauffeurs, etc.), by cleaning firms and in the petroleum industry, come from Bangladesh, India, the Philippines or Sri Lanka. The latter group, comprising 850,000 persons, experiences the greatest number of problems (ill-treatment, non-payment of wages or sexual abuse).