Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06CAIRO4241
2006-07-10 04:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Cairo
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHEG #4241 1910409 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 100409Z JUL 06 FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9784 RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 004241
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DOJ FOR BRUCE SWARTZ
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV KCRM PJUS EG
SUBJECT: HIGH-LEVEL GOE FOCUS ON TIP
Classified by Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 004241
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DOJ FOR BRUCE SWARTZ
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV KCRM PJUS EG
SUBJECT: HIGH-LEVEL GOE FOCUS ON TIP
Classified by Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) During his recent visit to Cairo (meetings reported
septel),Attorney General Alberto F. Gonzales received
assurances from President Hosni Mubarak and Public Prosecutor
Counselor Maher Abdel Wahed that the GOE is actively engaged
in combating Trafficking In Persons (TIP). In a July 1
meeting, Mubarak remarked to AG Gonzales that he had recently
read a full report on TIP from his wife. AG Gonzales praised
Mrs. Mubarak for her continuing activism on TIP issues.
2. (C) In a June 29 meeting with AG Gonzales, outgoing Public
Prosecutor Counselor Abdel Wahed noted with concern that the
GOE had received a DOS report critical of GOE efforts to
combat TIP. After passing the AG a lengthy report (in
Arabic) detailing Egyptian initiatives to fight TIP and
recommendations for future USG-GOE cooperation on the issue,
he asserted that the GOE is working actively to deal with the
problem. He said that their efforts to address the smuggling
of European women to Israel via the Sinai are complicated by
what he saw as the lack of full GOE law enforcement authority
over the Sinai. He claimed that the border between Israel
and Egypt is "administered by the Multinational Force and
Observers (MFO)," and the appropriate Egyptian authorities
have "difficulty" entering the border area.
3. (C) Comment: Abdel Wahed, who was promoted to head the
Supreme Constitutional Court since this conversation,
misunderstands the MFO role. The Sinai is administered by
the Egyptian military, and access is not restricted by the
MFO. Abdel Wahed's engagement on the issue is positive,
though he will have no direct official responsibility for
this issue from his new post. We will brief his successor on
the issue, and urge him to carry forward the Public
Prosecution's support for greater GOE law enforcement
attention to TIP. End comment.
RICCIARDONE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DOJ FOR BRUCE SWARTZ
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV KCRM PJUS EG
SUBJECT: HIGH-LEVEL GOE FOCUS ON TIP
Classified by Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) During his recent visit to Cairo (meetings reported
septel),Attorney General Alberto F. Gonzales received
assurances from President Hosni Mubarak and Public Prosecutor
Counselor Maher Abdel Wahed that the GOE is actively engaged
in combating Trafficking In Persons (TIP). In a July 1
meeting, Mubarak remarked to AG Gonzales that he had recently
read a full report on TIP from his wife. AG Gonzales praised
Mrs. Mubarak for her continuing activism on TIP issues.
2. (C) In a June 29 meeting with AG Gonzales, outgoing Public
Prosecutor Counselor Abdel Wahed noted with concern that the
GOE had received a DOS report critical of GOE efforts to
combat TIP. After passing the AG a lengthy report (in
Arabic) detailing Egyptian initiatives to fight TIP and
recommendations for future USG-GOE cooperation on the issue,
he asserted that the GOE is working actively to deal with the
problem. He said that their efforts to address the smuggling
of European women to Israel via the Sinai are complicated by
what he saw as the lack of full GOE law enforcement authority
over the Sinai. He claimed that the border between Israel
and Egypt is "administered by the Multinational Force and
Observers (MFO)," and the appropriate Egyptian authorities
have "difficulty" entering the border area.
3. (C) Comment: Abdel Wahed, who was promoted to head the
Supreme Constitutional Court since this conversation,
misunderstands the MFO role. The Sinai is administered by
the Egyptian military, and access is not restricted by the
MFO. Abdel Wahed's engagement on the issue is positive,
though he will have no direct official responsibility for
this issue from his new post. We will brief his successor on
the issue, and urge him to carry forward the Public
Prosecution's support for greater GOE law enforcement
attention to TIP. End comment.
RICCIARDONE