Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KUWAIT2235
2006-06-12 12:57:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

(C) LABOR MINISTRY GIVES APPROVAL FOR UN-SPONSORED

Tags:  PHUM ELAB XD XF 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5413
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHKU #2235/01 1631257
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 121257Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5097
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 1644
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 0918
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 0253
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0343
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0902
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0072
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 0101
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA PRIORITY 0526
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0353
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0250
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1205
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 3066
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 002235 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2016
TAGS: PHUM ELAB XD XF
SUBJECT: (C) LABOR MINISTRY GIVES APPROVAL FOR UN-SPONSORED
LABOR CONFERENCE IN KUWAIT

REF: A. KUWAIT 1096

B. KUWAIT 1095

C. KUWAIT 305

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matthew H. Tueller for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 002235

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2016
TAGS: PHUM ELAB XD XF
SUBJECT: (C) LABOR MINISTRY GIVES APPROVAL FOR UN-SPONSORED
LABOR CONFERENCE IN KUWAIT

REF: A. KUWAIT 1096

B. KUWAIT 1095

C. KUWAIT 305

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Matthew H. Tueller for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d).


1. (C) Mohammad Al-Nassery, IOM Chief of Mission in Kuwait,
informed the labor-sending countries' labor officers in a
June 10 meeting that the GOK has provided written approval of
an international labor conference to be sponsored by the UN
and held in Kuwait at the end of 2006. (Note: Post
initiated this working group in January, and has been
instrumental in encouraging the group to continue meeting
approximately every six weeks since then. End Note.)
Al-Nassery predicted that negotiations might delay the
conference until March or April of 2007. The primary goal of
the conference is to agree on a declaration of principles and
humanitarian standards to which the participating countries
can be held.


2. (C) The conference will bring together the GCC member
states and the ten countries that send the most laborers to
the Gulf to discuss the mutual rights and responsibilities of
the sending and receiving countries. The UN is still working
on determining which ten countries send the most laborers to
the GCC countries, but will likely invite: India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, Egypt, and
Iran. Other possible invitees include Afghanistan and Nepal.
Early discussions of the conference suggested Jordan might
be invited to share the positive steps it has taken to fight
labor exploitation, but the international organizations have
decided this would be too threatening to the Gulf countries.
Al-Nassery said the international organizations are counting
on Kuwait to help insure the participation of the other GCC
countries. The conference -- or "forum," which a
Kuwait-based UNDP staffer said will be the official way of
referring to the event -- will include participation by a
number of international organizations, including UNDP, UNHCR,
the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA),
the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),ILO,
and IOM. The UN hopes to have ministerial-level

participation.


3. (C) The conference has been approved, but the agenda and
specifics are still under discussion. The UNDP and IOM
representatives have requested that no/no public comments
about the conference be made, since this is a very sensitive
topic and the GOK could still cancel the conference. The
UNDP provided an initial concept paper to Post, whose
contents are below:

Begin text:


Third Draft
Concept Paper
The Interregional Forum on Expatriate Labour: Mutual Rights
Scheduled to be held: late November or early December 2006 in
Kuwait

Objectives of the Forum:


1. Endorse a set of basic principles in a "Kuwait
Declaration" to guide the countries sending and receiving
expatriate labour to respect the rights of one another and
to identify the mutual rights and shared responsibilities of
the stakeholders (governments, labourers, employers,
recruiting agencies, civil society and the media).


2. Raise awareness of the mutual rights and shared
responsibilities of stakeholders.


3. Enhance the understanding of sending and receiving
countries of each other on issues related to expatriate
labour.


KUWAIT 00002235 002 OF 003



4. Draw on the lessons learnt from previous practices and
from the conferences and fora held by United Nations
Organizations and other international organizations and
promote better understanding of international standards.


5. Encourage mutual cooperation between countries sending and
receiving expatriate labour through activating bilateral,
multilateral and regional agreements and to encourage the use
of agreements and memoranda of understanding that respond to
current issues faced by expatriate labour. Moreover, to
facilitate information and experience sharing.


6. The role of the United Nations Country Team in Kuwait is
to support the State and people of Kuwait in adopting a
pioneering role in the field of expatriate labour on an
international and regional level (among sending and receiving
countries) in line with the values of Kuwaiti society, its
democracy as well as its active and path-breaking history in
the development field.

Participation:

The objectives of this Forum can only be realized with the
representation of all the main stakeholders in the
delegations of the participating countries.

Hosting Country: Kuwait

Participating Countries:
Sending Countries: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, Oman and Qatar.
Receiving Countries: Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Philippines, Egypt and India.

Composition of the delegations from receiving countries:

Government Representation:
Minister of Labour
Minister of Interior or a high level official from the
Ministry of Interior

Non-Governmental Representation:
Labour Organization
Recruiting Agencies

4 Countries, 4 people from each country -- Total of 20
people


Composition of the delegations from sending countries:

Government Representation:
Ministry of Labour

Non-Governmental Representation:
Relevant civil society organizations

6 Countries, 3 people from each country - Total of 18 people

In addition to the aforementioned participants, the Forum
will have representatives from international and regional
organization and several UN agencies (United Nations
Development Fund for Women, International Labour
Organisation, United Nations Development Programme, United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and
International Organisation for Migration.

The country hosting might invite representatives from
countries with best practices in this issue from the Arab
region and elsewhere.

Budget and Contributions from Participating entities:

In process of:
-- Establishing the budget

KUWAIT 00002235 003 OF 003


-- Identifying the contributions of participants, including:
-- Government of Kuwait represented by The Ministry of Labour
and Social Affairs
-- UN Agencies

Agenda:

Duration of the Forum: 2 days - The Forum will be organized
into plenary and working group sessions.

In process of:
-- Formulating the programme of the Forum
-- Identifying the substance and number of papers to be
presented and/or discussed

Every GCC Country is requested to submit a working paper
reviewing the mechanisms used by the Ministries of Labour
with expatriate labour and the current provision of legal
protection to those groups.
Other countries are requested to submit a working paper
reviewing their progress in expatriate labour protection
programs.
UN agencies are to review projects that have been taken on to
protect expatriate labour.


End text.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
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Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
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