REACTION TO TIP REPORT: UAEG EXPECTED TIER 3

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 002437

SIPDIS

STATE FOR G, G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA, AND NEA/ARPI
STATE ALSO PASS TO USTR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2010
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM ELAB KWMN TC
SUBJECT: REACTION TO TIP REPORT: UAEG EXPECTED TIER 3

REF: A. STATE 100432


B. STATE 99883

C. STATE 98157

D. ABU DHABI 2365

Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met with MFA Under Secretary
Abdullah Rashid Al Noaimi June 1 to deliver the 2005
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, ranking the UAE at Tier
3, and the companion mini-action plan. Ambassador also
discussed the TIP report and action plan with director for
international affairs at Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed's Court, Yousef Al Otaiba. Both Al Noaimi
and Al Otaiba were expecting the Tier 3 rating. Al Noaimi
said he was optimistic that the steps suggested in the 60-day
action plan were "doable." He said he welcomed USG pressure
because it would give the federal government greater leverage
with Dubai Deputy Ruler Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, who has
been resistant to changing the practice of using underage
camel jockeys in races in Dubai. End Summary.


2. (C) On June 1, Ambassador called on MFA Under Secretary
Abdullah Rashid Al Noaimi to deliver the 2005 TIP report on
the UAE and the mini-action plan. She explained that the
report would be embargoed until the June 3 Washington
release, noting that the Embassy nonetheless wished to relay
the Tier ranking information before the start of the
Thursday-Friday weekend. Ambassador emphasized that the UAEG
could be reassessed as having made "significant efforts" to
bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards if/if
it showed by July 30, 2005, that it has taken immediate steps
against trafficking. Al Noaimi noted that the Tier 3 ranking
was, in some ways, welcome pressure, and the federal
government could use it as leverage to persuade Dubai Ruler
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, who has resisted changes in the way
camel races are conducted in Dubai.

Action Plan Appears "Doable"
--------------


3. (C) While Al Noaimi was disappointed, he agreed that the
six proposed steps in the 60-day action plan were "doable,"
even within the plan's limited timeframe. Abu Dhabi Crown
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed's advisor, Yousef Al Otaiba,
also welcomed the action plan suggestions as "doable."

-- Appoint a national coordinator: Neither Al Noaimi nor Al
Otaiba envisioned any problems with this point. Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh
Hamdan bin Zayed, is the current chairman of the Camel Racing
Federation, and the Ministry of Interior already has a
Special Committee on Camel Races that is overseeing
implementation of the new measures regulating camel racing.


-- Identify and provide protection, within the UAE, for at
least 700 foreign child camel jockeys, and begin providing
them with rehabilitation, repatriation and reintegration
services: Al Noaimi said it should be possible to achieve
this objective given that actions are already under way to
rescue, rehabilitate, and repatriate children. (Note:
UNICEF's action plan should be complete by mid-June and work
will then begin on mapping children across the country to
identify their countries of origin, family relations, and
employment history. Already more than 200 children are in
various stages of the repatriation process, and Ministry of
Interior and UNICEF officials expect that number to surge now
that the 60-day grace period for camel farm owners to
register their camel jockeys expired May 31.)

-- Investigate and begin prosecuting cases of trafficking: Al
Noaimi said he had pushed personally for more action on
prosecutions for quite some time and was pleased to see it in
our action plan. Ambassador replied that UAE law enforcement
agencies know who is responsible for trafficking persons to
the UAE, and already conduct investigations; therefore,
prosecutions should not be problematic.

-- Develop and implement a formal mechanism for the
systematic and identification and protection of trafficking
victims; expand availability of hotlines: Al Noaimi agreed
that this step was important, but he questioned why the
action plan cited trafficking of domestic workers and
laborers as a problem. Ambassador explained that instances
of foreign domestic workers and laborers being trafficked to
the UAE had been reported.

-- Establish shelters for trafficking victims: Ambassador
noted that the shelters for camel jockeys set a good
precedent, so shelters for other types of trafficking victims
should certainly be feasible. Al Noaimi and Al Otaiba agreed.

-- Public awareness campaigns: Ambassador noted that the UAE
was already providing coverage of the trafficking in persons
problem in the UAE, and the UAEG had already made a number of
public announcements in the press about its new regulations
related to underage camel jockeys. Expanding the public
awareness campaign is doable, she said. Al Noaimi and Al
Otaiba concurred.


4. (C) Ambassador underscored the importance of making
progress in each of the six areas within the next 60 days.
Al Noaimi said his only regret was that the UAEG's
accomplishments on the underage camel jockey issue occurred
after the March 31, 2005 annual reporting deadline, and that
the TIP report did not appear to recognize the positive
already taken. Ambassador highlighted for Al Noaimi several
UAEG positive actions in the report, including opening a
shelter for the camel jockeys, collaborating with UNICEF and
source-country governments to develop a plan for documenting
and safely repatriating all underage camel jockeys, and a
variety of new procedures to prevent new underage foreign
camel jockeys from entering the country.

Visit to UAE of UN Special Rapporteur on TIP
--------------


5. (C) In a TIP-related development, Sigma Houda, a UN
Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, met with MFA
Under Secretary for Political Affairs Tariq Al Haidan May 25.
Houda visited the new shelter near Abu Dhabi that the
Ministry of Interior opened a week ago specifically for the
young boys who have been rescued from camel farms and who are
being cared for by Abu Dhabi Police Social Support Center
social workers while they await repatriation to their home
countries. (Note: The new shelter replaces a shelter the
UAEG had opened last December on the Zayed Military City army
base that had accommodated about 70 under age camel jockeys
at any one time.) Houda was "very satisfied" with what she
saw in the new facility and with the steps the UAEG has been
taking to address their psychological, physical, and
educational needs, Al Haidan told Pol Chief May 31. Houda
also met with Ministry of Interior media adviser Issam
Azouri, who told Pol Chief that Houda was encouraged that the
UAE's rulers were showing the political will to put an end to
the camel jockey issue. Houda was in the UAE as part of
ongoing UNICEF consultative meetings with the Ministry of
Interior. UNICEF and the Ministry of Interior signed a
project agreement May 8 for the care and repatriation of an
estimated 3,000 boys. UNICEF is finalizing an action plan
that includes details of how UNICEF plans to "map" the
thousands of boys who have been working on camel farms across
the country so that UNICEF can then plan for their
identification and protection within the UAE, as well as
their eventual rehabilitation, repatriation, and
reintegration into the boys' countries of origin.

Comment:
--------------


6. (C) Both Al Noaimi and Yousef Al Otaiba said the
government "expected" the UAE would be given a Tier 3 ranking
in the 2005 TIP report. Their initial reactions to the
action plan indicate that they consider the six goals to be
both realistic and attainable. Al Noaimi and Al Otaiba will
be briefing the TIP ranking to MinState for Foreign Affairs
Sheikh Hamdan and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed over
the weekend (both are involved June 1-2 in the wedding of
Sheikh Hamdan's eldest son and were unavailable for the TIP
report demarche). Interior Minister Sheikh Saif is out of
the country; we will be briefing his staff June 2.
SISON