(C) TIP: DISCUSSION WITH NUNCIO

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001258

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP, DRL/PHD, DRL/CRA, NEA/REA
ROME PASS EMBASSY VATICAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2014
TAGS: PHUM KWMN PGOV KCRM SMIG KU
SUBJECT: (C) TIP: DISCUSSION WITH NUNCIO

REF: A. STATE 59844 (NOTAL)

B. KUWAIT 784 (NOTAL)

Classified By: CDA FRANK URBANCIC; REASON 1.4 (D).


1. (U) A/DCM met April 13 with Archbishop Giuseppe De
Andrea, Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Yemen, Bahrain, and Qatar
and Apostolic Delegate for the Arabian Peninsula, who is
resident in Kuwait and has served here over four years.


2. (C) The purpose of the meeting was to brief the Nuncio on
the Embassy's efforts to combat Trafficking In Persons (TIP),
as per ref A instructions. Archbishop De Andrea agreed with
the Embassy's assessment that the major TIP issue in Kuwait
is the exploitation of domestic servants, especially females.
He noted that many thousands of these are Catholics, mainly
from the Philippines and India. He appreciated the Embassy's
efforts to bring source-country labor attaches together to
trade notes on protecting their nationals who suffer abuse,
and to convey solidarity (ref B).


3. (C) While affirming the need to combat the problem, the
Nuncio was short on specific ideas. He said that while there
is some inter-faith dialogue among Christian denominations in
Kuwait, there is none with the Islamic establishment here.
Bahrain and Qatar are both more open: there have been two
inter-faith dialogues in the past few years, and another is
planned for Doha May 26-29, co-sponsored by the Holy See and
the Qatari Ambassador in Paris, who is also accredited to the
Vatican.


4. (SBU) De Andrea noted that his previous position was as
Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and
Refugees, in Rome. He presumed the USG was already in
contact with this Council, which he thought could be a
worthwhile interlocutor, as could the International Catholic
Migration Commission in Geneva.


5. (C) COMMENT: We will extend this outreach to other
Christian denominations, and continue to raise TIP concerns
in the course of our continual dialogue with different
segments of Kuwaiti society.
URBANCIC