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