AMBASSADOR ENCOURAGES GOK TO STRENGTHEN EFFORTS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003440 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP AND G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KU TIP SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR ENCOURAGES GOK TO STRENGTHEN EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REF: KUWAIT 3322 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) The Ambassador met August 22 with Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of the Interior Shaykh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to review ongoing GOK efforts to strengthen legal protections for foreign domestic workers. He had a similar meeting with new Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Shaykh Sabah AL-Khalid Al-Sabah on August 15, sharing with him the G/TIP Action Plan and stressing the importance of continued progress in order to improve Kuwait's TIP ranking (reftel). Shaykh Jaber welcomed the U.S. recommendations, but was otherwise non-responsive. The Ambassador will follow up on the discussion with a letter to the Minister, who as Interior Minister has responsibility for domestic workers, and encourage GOK implementation of the Action Plan. ¶2. (U) In support of efforts to combat TIP, the Ambassador will host on September 12 a reception highlighting the release of Project FALCON, a USG-funded and Embassy-prepared brochure aimed at informing foreign domestic workers and their employers of their legal rights and responsibilities. Invited guests include GOK officials, diplomats from source countries who cooperated with Post in preparing the brochure, and members from the NGO and human rights community. ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LeBaron