G/TIP INTERIM REPORT FOR BAHRAIN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001714

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM SMIG PREL BA HUMRIT
SUBJECT: G/TIP INTERIM REPORT FOR BAHRAIN

REF: A. STATE 194903


B. STATE 174045


1. Short-term action items delivered to the GOB in September
2005 (ref B) guide post's response to ref A. The following
paragraphs cover the three items in ref A, among other items.
Action item No. 1: Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Mubarak Al
Khalifa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for
Coordination and Follow-up is the de facto anti-TIP national
coordinator as the chair of an inter-ministerial taskforce
comprised of officials from the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs, Labor, Social Development, Interior, and Justice.
In an October 2005 meeting, the committee tasked the Minister
of Social Development with exploring the possibility of
signing an MOU with International Organization for Migration
(IOM) that would allow the IOM to register legally with the
GOB. As yet there is no concrete follow-up on IOM's status.


2. Action item No. 2: The Ministry of Justice hosted
Italian judge and trafficking expert Maria Grazia
Giammarinaro for one week to train judges, public prosecutors
and Ministry of Justice officials about international laws
regarding trafficking in September 2005. Judge Giammarinaro
trained 25 officials in international treaties and
conventions and in comparative trafficking legislation from
other nations. Judge Giammarinaro will return to Bahrain in
early 2006 for one week for follow-up training with a broader
group of judges, prosecutors and government officials. In
November 2005 USAID contractor and trafficking expert Dr.
Mohamed Mattar visited Bahrain to assess needs to guide
future trainings. In April and May 2006, Ministry of
Interior Head of Investigation for the General Directorate of
Nationality, Passports and Residence Ghazi Saleh Al Doseri
will attend an International Visitor (IV) Program focused on
combating trafficking. Regarding the free visa problem, the
Ministry of Labor identified 130 companies in October and
November 2005 that were using free visa workers. The
Ministry levied fines on these companies and required that
the companies provide airline tickets to the workers' home
countries. To provide increased monitoring of companies the
Ministry recently hired 20 additional inspectors to begin a
four-month training course. This represents a significant
increase in the number of inspectors, to a total of 60.
Additionally in November 2005, the Ministry hired two
inspectors to follow up on complaints received about the 85
manpower recruitment agencies operating in Bahrain. This is
the first time there have been officials dedicated full-time
to the accountability of recruitment agencies. To increase
transparency and accountability, the Ministry of Labor is
currently working with the banking sector to establish worker
bank accounts so that all worker salaries will be
electronically transferred to their accounts. The Ministry
will begin requiring companies to use the system in the first
quarter of 2006.


3. Action item No. 3: The Ministry of Justice began
drafting anti-trafficking legislation in September 2005.
Judge Giammarinaro worked with the draft committee in the
initial stages and continues to review each draft. In
addition, MEPI-funded American Bar Association (ABA) in-house
legal consultants provide continual feedback and guidance to
the Ministry. Dr. Mohamed Mattar is providing sample draft
language for several pieces of the legislation. The draft is
expected to be completed by year end. The draft legislation
will then be forwarded to the cabinet for approval before
being considered by the parliament for a vote. The
parliament is currently considering labor reform legislation
designed to reduce Bahrain's reliance upon foreign workers
and is expected to vote on it in December. Indications are
that domestic laborers, who are vulnerable to trafficking,
will be covered only in part by this labor reform
legislation; remaining issues for domestics will be covered
by specific future legislation also to be drafted by the
Ministry of Justice. The Ministry has been implementing
major reform including the introduction of automation and the
overhaul of the case management system to increase efficiency
and expedite all cases including labor cases. The
inter-ministerial committee has tasked Justice with
documenting trafficking-related cases. In November 2005, a
conference of Ministers of Justice from Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) countries chose the Bahraini Ministry of
Justice to take the lead in introducing unified
anti-trafficking legislation for all GCC countries.


4. Action item No. 4: The Ministry of Labor trafficking
hotline is still only staffed during Ministry hours of
operation. Hotline staff members say that funding
limitations do not allow for the hiring of additional help at
this time. The hotline phone number is published daily in
the English language Gulf Daily News, in the Local Scene
section. A separate Labor inspection hotline is also
published daily in the same paper.


5. Action item No. 5: The Ministry of Social Development
submitted the by-laws and administrative and staffing plan
documentation for the operation of the shelter to the Civil
Service Administration in October 2005. Approval of the plan
is expected by the end of November 2005. Once approved, the
Ministry will begin hiring and training staff for the
shelter. The Ministry has already identified candidates from
the Ministries of Social Development and Health and NGOs to
become the administrators of the new shelter. Funding at a
level of 500,000 Bahraini dinars (over $1.3 million) has been
allocated for the first year of operation. Land has also
been set aside for construction of a new shelter facility.
While the new structure is being constructed, the government
will rent space in existing buildings for shelter operation.
The Ministry of Social Development has identified several
suitable facilities and will lease one when the plan is
approved. Members of the Ministry have been meeting with
referring agencies, such as the police and hospitals, to
coordinate efforts once the shelter is open. According to
the Minister of Social Development, the center is expected to
be fully operational by mid-2006.


6. Action item No. 6: In addition to an existing Foreign
Workers Manual providing important legal information and
emergency contacts for embassies and local authorities, the
Ministry of Labor is currently updating a labor information
leaflet, available in source country languages and
distributed since 2003, to include illustrations for
illiterate workers. The Ministry expects it to be completed
and republished by the end of December 2005. The Ministry
elicited content for the leaflet from the embassies of worker
source countries. When the new leaflet is completed, the
Ministry is planning media events to introduce it. The
leaflet will be distributed, along with the other source
country language leaflets, at the airport, the Naeem Health
Center, where expatriate workers get physical exams after
arrival in Bahrain, the national identification registration
office, embassies, and at the Ministry of Labor, among other
locations.

MONROE