TIP: INTERIM ASSESSMENT FOR NEA SPECIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004322

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL, NEA/RA AND NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ELAB KCRM KWMN SMIG AE
SUBJECT: TIP: INTERIM ASSESSMENT FOR NEA SPECIAL
WATCHLIST-UAE

REF: A. STATE 175900

B. ABU DHABI 4286

C. ABU DHABI 4261

D. ABU DHABI 3689

E. ABU DHABI 3616

F. ABU DHABI 2809


1. (U) Summary: Since the release of the June 2006 TIP
Report, the UAEG has made steady progress in addressing the
problem of trafficking in the UAE, especially with regard to
women in the sex trade and laborers working in servitude.
The answers in paragraphs 2-7 below are keyed to the six
questions specifically posed in ref A. End summary.


2. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in increasing
criminal investigations and prosecutions of trafficking
crimes and punishment of these crimes with adequate jail
sentences?

A: No statistics have been provided since May 2006 regarding
investigations and prosecutions of trafficking crimes. Prior
to November 2006, there was no law specifically against
"trafficking," and most trafficking crimes were prosecuted
under different parts of the penal code including those
against slavery, kidnapping, and various statutes related to
sex-crimes. In September 2006, Ministry of Justice
officials explained that the ministry is willing to provide
any and all trafficking related statistics which it has to
the USG, but claimed that any failure to do so is only
because they do not have complete records that correlate to
USG reporting requirements.


3. (SBU) Q: What progress has the UAEG made in instituting
formal procedures for the identification of trafficking
victims among at-risk populations, particularly foreign women
arrested for prostitution or immigration law violations?

A: The Ministry of Interior reports that Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Immigration officials have instituted a two-prong approach to
prevent women being trafficked for prostitution from entering
the UAE. The first prong seeks to limit the number of
potential victims through known vectors (i.e., travel and
tourism companies from source countries that have been used
to traffic women previously) by either subjecting those
companies' passengers to secondary screening, or canceling
those companies' future visa transactions altogether. The
second prong uses victim profiling at ports of entry to
identify at-risk groups (i.e., women under the age of 25,
traveling alone, and from a known source country, may not
only subject to additional scrutiny, but have reportedly been
denied entry en masse.) This second prong of profiling often
feeds the first prong by identifying suspicious travel
companies.

In 2005, Dubai Police Criminal Investigations Department
(CID) established a Human Trafficking section that cooperates
closely with the Human Rights Care Department (HRCD).
According to police officials, whenever CID has a possible
trafficking case, the case is referred to HRCD, which
interviews the detainees, specifically screening for
trafficking victims. HRCD then returns cases that indicate
human trafficking to CID for further investigation and
prosecution of identified traffickers.

In July 2006, Minister of Labor Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al-Kaabi
told the press that the Ministry of Labor is developing a
program to oversee all labor recruitment. Describing labor
recruiting agencies as "corrupt and mafia-like
organizations," Al-Kaabi stated that plans were under way to
shut down the manpower agencies that recruit construction
laborers for the UAE. He also announced that he would travel
to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Philippines to
pursue labor exchange agreements that would eliminate the
middlemen from construction-labor recruitment, thereby
eliminating the excessive fees in obtaining work visas.


4. (SBU) Q: What progress has the UAEG made in providing
protection for identified victims, separate from detention
facilities?

A: Abu Dhabi Immigration officials stated in November 2006
that the Ministry of Interior is providing shelter assistance
for trafficking victims, and that a hotline has been set up
to facilitate victim access to government assistance. The
officials explained that instead of creating a new shelter as
was recommended in the TIP action plan, the UAEG had
broadened access to existing social support programs to
include trafficking victims (ref C).


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5. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in drafting
comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that criminalizes
labor forms of trafficking and guarantees protection for
victims of trafficking?

A: On November 10, UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan
issued a federal law to combat human trafficking in the UAE.
The law defines trafficking in generally the same manner as
the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons, upon which the UAE legislation is reportedly
based (ref B). This law significantly clarifies the UAE's
criminalization of human trafficking, and appears to address
all forms of human trafficking, with emphasis on sex and
labor trafficking. Although the law does not specifically
refer to "debt bondage," the law's definitions appear to be
significantly broad to include this form of labor trafficking.


6. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in ratifying the 2000
U.N. Protocol to Punish, Prevent and Suppress Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children?

A: In past discussions with UAEG officials, ratification of
the U.N. protocol and the passing of anti-TIP legislation
have often been spoken of in tandem. With the enactment of
an anti-TIP law in November that closely follows U.N.
protocol definitions, Post expects the protocol to be
ratified in the near future, and officials involved have
stated as much.


7. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in formulating
regulations to ensure that victims of trafficking are not
fined or otherwise punished even if they entered the UAE
illegally?

A: There is no evidence that new written regulations have
been specifically created to protect trafficking victims from
fines or punishment. However, officials in both Abu Dhabi
and Dubai point to the relatively new practices of sheltering
victims in non-detention facilities, providing them with
medical and social services, and assisting them in returning
to their home countries, as illustrations of treatment that
victims could expect even without formal regulations.
SISON