KUWAIT: TIP ACTION PLAN REVIEWED WITH THREE SENIOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002618 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2015 TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN PGOV PREL ELAB SMIG KU SUBJECT: KUWAIT: TIP ACTION PLAN REVIEWED WITH THREE SENIOR OFFICIALS; U/S DOBRIANSKY OP-ED CARRIED IN TWO DAILIES REF: A. STATE 108156 ¶B. KUWAIT 2551 ¶C. STATE 102469 ¶D. KUWAIT 2375 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Post has delivered TIP action plan to three senior Kuwaiti officials, including a Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister and the President of the National Security Bureau, who both stressed that the GOK views trafficking and other human rights as serious issues. In addition, two Kuwaiti dailies carried U/S Dobriansky's op-ed on the TIP report, and Kuwaiti editorialists continue to focus on human rights isses. Post is seeking a meeting to review the plan with Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Faisal Al-Hajji, who is currently traveling. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador delivered ref. A TIP action plan to Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister Mohammed Abulhasan during their June 11 meeting. Stressing that action needed to be taken quickly, the Ambassador noted that the U.S. would be looking for the completion of specific achievements, not just for the formation of committees. He said that the current situation in which domestic laborers such as maids are not covered under Kuwaiti labor law is unacceptable, and extending better protections to domestic employees would be an important step in righting Kuwait's poor record in protecting expatriate labor. He added that establishing provisions for how to react if a laborer is abused and developing a system to safeguard and repatriate underage camel jockeys would also be critical. (Ambassador gave Abulhassen a copy of the TIP suggestions, as well as the recent report and the definitions of the tiers.) ¶3. (C) Agreeing that poor treatment of laborers was against both religious and secular law, Abulhasan said that the GOK Council of Ministers had taken up the matter. He said the cabinet had called for greater action by the Social Affairs and Labor Ministry, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for workers currently not protected by Kuwaiti labor law. He said the International Labor Organization (ILO) had also raised similar concerns with Al-Hajji, who had already moved to protect camel jockeys by issuing a letter threatening to revoke licenses for race �0A;operators who permitted the use of minor camel jockeys. Abulhasan promised to raise the plan with appropriate authorities. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador also discussed TIP issues and the need for a coordinated national plan for combating human trafficking during a June 12 meeting with Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, President of the National Security Bureau. Noting that he had raised the issue as a "security" issue in a recent speech to the Kuwaiti Armed Forces Staff College, (http://kuwait.usembassy.gov/may 25 2005.html), Ambassador stressed the importance of achieving tangible results and again identified as an area for immediate action, measures to give legal protection to Kuwait's many domestic workers. Shaykh Sabah Al-Khaled said the GOK was "keen to tackle" the trafficking issue and reiterated that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor had begun working with the Interior and Foreign Ministries on TIP matters. He added that Kuwait, as a society, was paying more attention to human rights issues and the GOK hoped NGOs would play a more active role in combating TIP. He further commented that although domestic workers were not covered under existing labor law, the Kuwaiti constitution, other laws, and Islam offered protection that the GOK would provide. He asserted Kuwait's commitment to combating TIP, but intimated that GOK efforts were often hampered by the embassies of the sending countries which did not encourage unhappy or unemployed workers to return home. ¶5. (U) DCM delivered the action plan to MFA Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Khalid Babtain on June 12. Babtain said the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor had been assigned cabinet responsibility for trafficking issues. ¶6. (U) Two Kuwait papers published Arabic language versions of U/S Dobriansky's op-ed on trafficking. On June 9, Arabic daily Al-Qabas (circulation 65,000),Kuwait's paper of record for intellectuals and academics featured the Undersecretary's remarks, and on June 12, Al-Seyasseh (circulation 45,000),a respected paper with a focus on pan-Arab and regional issues, followed suit. Trafficking issues are still frequent topics among Kuwait's leading editorial writers. Newly appointed Minister of Planning, Dr. Massouma Al-Mubarak, published an op-ed in Arabic daily Al-Anba on June 12 in which she noted the U.S. has made human rights a central focus of its foreign policy. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON