IOM'S EFFORT TO ESTABLISH MIGRANT RESOURCE CENTER

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000976 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR NEA/ARP, INL/HSTC, AND G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM ELAB KU TIP SUBJECT: IOM'S EFFORT TO ESTABLISH MIGRANT RESOURCE CENTER IN KUWAIT REBUFFED BY GCC ¶1. (SBU) The UAE Permanent Mission in Geneva sent a letter on February 8 to the Geneva headquarters of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stating that the GCC countries would not host a migrant resource center. Mohammad Al-Nassery, IOM Chief of Mission in Kuwait, presented a copy of the letter to PolOff and reported that Kuwait had been the country of choice for the center. He stated that the GOK, and specifically the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, had been quite cooperative in negotiations to establish the center in Kuwait. According to Al-Nassery, IOM was blindsided by the summary rejection, which came without warning or explanation. ¶2. (SBU) The idea for the proposal came from a recommendation from the first Labor Migration Ministerial Consultations for Countries of Origin in Asia in April 2003 that the center be established in one of the GCC countries. The center would have provided a number of services: research documentation, and information provision to expatriate workers; training for workers and origin country diplomats; joint consultations and seminars for GCC and origin country officials; information campaigns targeting employers and government officials; and legal, medical, and counseling support to workers. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: GOK officials may have been cooperative in early discussions of the proposal but it appears a collective GCC decision was negative. Should the department wish to follow up, we recommend that inquiries be made via GCC headquarters. ********************************************* * 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