GOB MOVES FORWARD ON SHELTER, ANTI-TIP LEGISLATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000729 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2016 TAGS: PHUM SMIG KHUM KWMN PGOV PREL BA REGION HUMRIT, ROW SUBJECT: GOB MOVES FORWARD ON SHELTER, ANTI-TIP LEGISLATION REF: KUWAIT 1345 Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In an April 26 conversation with PolOff, Chief of Social Welfare Section and Ministry of Social Development representative to Bahrain's interministerial anti-TIP Task Force Afaf Ahmed Al Aseeri reported that the Minister of Social Development Dr. Fatima Al Balooshi had decided on one of two proposed locations for a government shelter for victims of trafficking and abuse. A Ministry of Interior team inspected the facilities and location from a perspective of safety and security and approved the facilities. The Ministry has discussed with the owner needed modifications to the property, for example, the expansion of parking capacity, and the owner has been accommodating. ¶2. (C) The Ministry of Justice representative on the Task Force, Undersecretary Shaikh Khaled Bin Ali Al Khalifa has taken on the task of drafting anti-trafficking legislation for the GOB. Through consultations with world-renowned trafficking experts such as Italian judge Maria Grazia Giammarinaro and Johns Hopkins University Protection Project Director Dr. Mohamed Matar with American Bar Association researchers and attorneys providing review and evaluation, Shaikh Khaled has produced a quality draft which punishes traffickers while protecting victims. Through the process Shaikh Khaled has also consulted with officials in the Ministries of Labor, Interior, Social Development, and Foreign Affairs to incorporate their input so that future obstacles are minimized. ¶3. (C) Minister of Justice Dr. Mohamed Ali Al Sitri's announcement at a November 2005 meeting of GCC ministers of justice about Bahrain's start on anti-trafficking legislation drew much interest from member countries and a suggestion that it become the basis of GCC-wide anti-trafficking legislation. As the Bahrain draft neared its completion, it was circulated at a March meeting of GCC officials in Riyadh (see reftel). Participants were very pleased with the draft; they requested edits that take into account each country's ministry and process nomenclature and that Bahrain, as the shepherd of the process, incorporate these edits and present the final version at the next meeting of justice ministers in November. MONROE