AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON UAE INTERIOR MINISTER SHEIKH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004261 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2014 TAGS: PGOV KJUS PHUM ASEC TC SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON UAE INTERIOR MINISTER SHEIKH SAIF BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN ON NOVEMBER 24 Classified by Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Summary. Ambassador and the U.S. Embassy law enforcement team (RSO, LEGAT, DHS/ICE) called on new Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed al Nahyan on November 24. Ambassador emphasized that cooperation through USG law enforcement training and exchange programs would remain a high priority for the Embassy, and expressed interest in receiving updates on the Ministry,s work in the police, prison, immigration, and civil defense areas. End Summary. EXCELLENT US-UAE LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION -------------- ¶2. (U) The Ambassador opened the meeting by thanking Sheikh Saif for his personal attention to U.S. Embassy security matters during his previous tenure as Director General of the Abu Dhabi Police. She also praised the Abu Dhabi Police Department,s cooperation in joint criminal investigations with U.S. law enforcement on smuggling, money laundering, and counter-terror and CT finance cases. The Minister commented on two recent successful examples of US-UAE law enforcement cooperation, the first involving a kidnapping by Russian criminals, and the second involving a child pornography case. The Minister expressed great satisfaction that in both cases, the two governments working together were able to take concrete action rather than &just talk.8 ¶3. (U) Sheikh Saif cited the close working relationship between UAE and U.S. law enforcement and praised the robust law enforcement training and exchange program between the two countries. The Ambassador noted that RSO would accompany three senior Emirati police officials the following week to a DSS/ATA Police Academy Curriculum Development training program. DHS/ICE attach noted the ongoing three-week DHS facility security unit training with the Abu Dhabi Police Department, a program which will address risk assessment, countermeasure development, and tactics designed to defeat potential attacks on oil production and other critical infrastructure sites. The Minister praised this initiative, and noted how much he valued his own U.K. (Scotland Yard) short-term training experience. CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE; MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATY -------------- ¶4. (U) Ambassador then turned to a discussion of DHS, Container Security Initiative (CSI). She briefed the minister on Commissioner Robert Bonner,s planned travel to the UAE next month to sign a Declaration of Principles with the Dubai Port Authority and to post U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Port Rashid. The Ambassador noted that CSI would increase the flow of information between the U.S. and the UAE and strengthen our law enforcement relationship by targeting suspect shipping containers prior to their arrival at a UAE or U.S. port. The Minister agreed with the importance of the CSI, and highlighted the strong need for enhanced information and intelligence sharing in this area. ¶5. (U) The Ambassador informed Sheikh Saif that the UAEG Ministry of Justice and the US DoJ Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty teams would hold their first meeting January 10-12 in Washington, DC, with the second meeting to follow in Abu Dhabi. LEGAT noted that the MLAT would assist each government in investigating and prosecuting criminal matters related to terrorism, narcotics trafficking, economic crime, and organized crime. BORDER SECURITY UNIT STATUS UNCLEAR -------------- ¶6. (C) The Ambassador noted that the Federal Customs authority had recently asked DHS/ICE to participate in preliminary discussions regarding the potential for developing border security units. There had also been talk earlier in the year of transfering 5,000 troops from the UAE military,s land forces for this purpose. The Minister opined that border security would properly fall under the military,s reach. (Note: Embassy will be following up with the concerned UAEG ministries to determine the exact status of the border security unit/border patrol initiative. It is not yet clear which UAEG entity has the lead, although several officials have expressed interest in looking first-hand at how the U.S. manages its land borders. ) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS AND THE CAMEL JOCKEYS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The discussion then moved to trafficking in persons and the plight of foreign underage camel jockeys in the UAE. Sheikh Saif briefed the Ambassador on a recent Ministry of Interior/police investigation that had resulted in the removal of 18 boys from a camel farm the day before. He said that his half-brother, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, had been very clear that the camel jockey issue &needed to be cleaned up.8 If this was not done quickly, said Saif, the whole sport might be shut down. He added that the UAEG is attempting to utilize DNA testing in an effort to reunite children with their families. As this would not succeed in all cases, the UAE was also working with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India to launch UAE-funded shelters intended to house children who did not know or were unable to be reunited with their families. The suffering of &even one child is too many,8 emphasized the Minister. The UAE would seek to resolve these issues by working within the UAE as well as with source country governments. He also noted that part of the problem was that many of these children utilized false passports to enter the UAE from their home country, and that source countries also needed to crack down on this aspect. SISON