AMABASSADOR LAGON'S VISIT TO UAE KEEPS SHARP FOCUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABU DHABI 001687

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, L/DL, NEA/RA, AND NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM KCRM ELAB UN AE
SUBJECT: AMABASSADOR LAGON'S VISIT TO UAE KEEPS SHARP FOCUS
ON TIP EFFORTS


Classified by Ambassador Michele Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).

REFS: A) DUBAI 570 (PHILIPPINE CONSULATE)
B) ABU DHABI 1568 (UNICEF)
C) ABU DHABI 1542 (ACTION PLAN WITH MFA)
D) ABU DHABI 1539 (ACTIVIST VOICES)
E) ABU DHABI 1511 (MOL VIEWS)
F) DUBAI 411 (NATIONAL TIP COMMITTEE)

Summary
--------------


1. (C) During a September 24 through 25 visit to Abu Dhabi
and Dubai, Ambassador Mark Lagon, Director of the Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP),addressed
USG concerns regarding UAEG's progress in combating
trafficking in persons (TIP) with both Federal and Emirate
level officials. Minster of State Anwar Gargash explained
that the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking
(which he chairs) had been formed to act as a catalyst for
ensuring implementation of the 2006 TIP law. Through the
Committee, the UAEG is seeking to better document the scope
of the trafficking problem and implement training programs
(for officials of the Ministries of Justice and Interior, as
well as Police and Immigration). He pointed out tangible
steps recently taken by the Emirates: ongoing training,
closing of clubs facilitating prostitution, opening the Dubai
Foundation for Women and Children shelter, and two recent
criminal prosecutions of trafficking cases. He acknowledged
that the UAE faces much work ahead in the anti-TIP arena, but
stressed that the UAEG has both the resolve and intention to
continue with practical steps to combat the problem.


2. (C) Demonstrating UAEG awareness of issues arising from
its large migrant workforce, Minister of Labor Ali al-Kaabi
informed Lagon that the UAEG will be hosting a
ministerial-level conference of labor sending and receiving
nations in cooperation with the International Labor
Organization in January 2008. Al-Kaabi also detailed new
laws and regulations that, when implemented, would further
strengthen worker rights.


3. (C) Acknowledging that trafficking is not always easy to
identify and that prosecution levels would remain low until
overall awareness is increased, Minister of Justice Mohammed
Nakhira al-Dhaheri requested additional training from the USG
to help further develop the UAEG's judicial infrastructure
(particularly judges and prosecutors) in addressing TIP
related cases. Noting that police play a key role in TIP
victim identification, both Col Nasser al-Minhali (head of
Immigration with the Abu Dhabi police) and Lt Col Dr.
Mohammed Abdulla al Mur (Director of Dubai Police Department
of Human Rights) stressed the need for training police and
immigration officials to recognize victims who are often
reluctant to self-identify their plight to authorities.


4. (C) Board members of the newly-founded Dubai Foundation
for Women and Children provided a presentation on a new
shelter facility that can eventually house up to 260
trafficking and other victims. After Lagon's departure, the
shelter officially admitted its first group of victims. End
summary.

Chairman of National TIP Committee Anwar Gargash
-------------- ---


5. (C) Minister of State for Federal National Council
Affairs and Chairman of the National Committee to Combat
Human Trafficking Anwar Gargash received Ambassador Lagon,
Ambassador Sison, Consul General Sutphin, NEA/ARP Director
Steinfeld, G/TIP Reports Officer Patel and note-takers in his
Dubai offices September 25. Gargash cited the importance of
TIP for the UAE while also noting its global nature,
concluding the UAE should feel no stigma in being affected by
a worldwide phenomenon. The UAE has an attractive economy
and therefore faces a TIP problem, he suggested; its approach
is therefore not defensive but proactive.


6. (C) Gargash said his committee had met four times,
following a rule of thumb to hold meetings on a monthly
basis. The committee itself was formed as part of the
implementation of the 2006 TIP law and was designed to be a
"catalyst" to ensure further implementation of the law. He
wanted to help police "go deeper" to uncover TIP in the
background of criminal investigations, raise awareness of the
magnitude of the problem, and go "beyond awareness" to create
momentum in tackling TIP. He sought better documentation of

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the scope of the problem, with solid data (which "compares
apples with apples") instead of disparate statistics from
various ministries and emirates.


7. (C) Gargash planned more training workshops with the
Ministries of Interior and Justice, Dubai Police, and the
Committee itself. He commended Dubai's efforts at opening a
shelter and looked forward to connecting the various
stove-piped efforts that fall under the anti-TIP umbrella.
He anticipated the opening of more shelters (which "go beyond
TIP" in terms of who they care for). He suggested distancing
the government somewhat from the shelters, allowing
independent organizations to work with victims without the
officious imprint of the state. The federal government would
remain supportive and offer funding grants, he said.


8. (C) It will take time to show statistical measures of
progress in combating TIP (such as number of investigations
and cases before the courts) although ongoing extensive
training, the opening of the Dubai shelter, and the closing
of clubs where prostitution was facilitated (as he cited the
notorious Cyclone and Amnesia clubs in Dubai by name) are
tangible steps. Lagon cited the importance of prosecutions
to highlight the serious nature of the crimes and dissuade
traffickers; Gargash welcomed the 15-year sentence handed
down in a recent case and agreed that the UAE needed to
overcome the current learning curve and more aggressively
"dig" into the parameters of trafficking cases.


9. (C) The UAE's "demographic problem" could not be solved,
said Gargash, but must be managed. The UAEG has grappled
with labor issues intensely for the past two years in
particular, he noted.


10. (C) Gargash views his committee as a "lobby" to enhance
the UAE's focus on TIP. He looked forward to ongoing
cooperation with the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in
Vienna, phase two of the camel jockey repatriation effort,
more shelters, and a more concrete statistical picture of the
TIP phenomenon. Asked how the USG might assist, Gargash
cited training in the technical aspects of TIP identification
and prosecution. The UAE could benefit from specialized
training resources (raising the skills of prosecutors,
judges, the media, and medical personnel),he emphasized.
The general sentiment in the UAE (including judicial circles)
is against TIP, he said, and training will deepen anti-TIP
efforts. Gargash also welcomed the proposal of inviting the
UAE permanent representative to the UN to participate in a
trip to Los Angeles in early March to observe anti-TIP
efforts.


11. (C) Acknowledging much work ahead in the anti-TIP arena,
Gargash nonetheless stressed that the UAEG has both the
resolve and intention to continue practical steps toward a
more complete solution. However, he cautioned, the UAEG
would be careful of "issues of sovereignty" if it felt undue
pressure from abroad. The UAE's path from "A to B" might not
always follow the linear trajectory assumed appropriate by
others, Gargash concluded, asking for the benefit of the
doubt in USG assessments of UAE progress.

Minister of Labor
--------------


12. (C) On September 24, Minister of Labor Ali al-Kaabi
called attention to ongoing UAEG anti-trafficking efforts.
He cited the opening of a rehabilitation center (shelter) in
Dubai, the closure of clubs known for facilitating
prostitution, the camel jockey repatriation effort, and
carefully-negotiated MoU's with labor source countries as
evidence of an active UAEG response to trafficking. He also
announced that Abu Dhabi will be hosting a ministerial-level
conference of labor sending and receiving nations in
cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO)
in January.


13. (C) Al-Kaabi explained UAEG efforts to hold sponsors to
their obligations and follow up on workers' complaints,
citing payment disputes as a primary irritant. He said the
UAEG tries to explain their rights to new arrivals, and UAEG
inspectors are being recruited and trained (with the goal of
700 inspectors by the end of 2008) to ensure those rights.
He said UAEG recruitment plans for inspectors were designed
to uphold the "highest ILO standards" in terms of
inspector-worker ratios. Lagon stressed that these
inspectors should turn cases of forced labor over to criminal
law enforcement authorities. Lagon also emphasized the need
to equip labor inspectors with victim identification training

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and a shelter with protection services for victims of forced
labor.


14. (C) Al-Kaabi emphasized the standardization of worker
accommodations to ensure safe and equitable living
conditions, the availability of a hot-line for workers to
lodge complaints, establishing of agencies to supply
"temporary" workers (to avoid the perceived need for a
floating labor pool attractive to illegal migrants),lectures
to raise the awareness of companies and workers, and a
mid-day break for workers during the hottest summer months.
Though a 2005 regulation empowers the MOL to transfer workers
alleging abuse at the hands of their original sponsors to new
sponsors, Al-Kaabi did not note any long-term plans to amend
or eliminate the sponsorship system. Lagon stressed the
importance of enforcing laws protecting workers' rights and
encouraged the Minister to ensure that conditions of forced
labor are investigated and treated criminally.

Minister of Justice
--------------


15. (C) During a September 24 meeting, Minister of Justice
Mohammed Nakhira al-Dhaheri told Ambassador Lagon that the
TIP law (Decree #51 of 2006) was being implemented, but
courts and prosecutors required more sensitivity to the
complicated issues associated with trafficking. He
acknowledged that trafficking is not always easy to identify,
yet training is necessary to sensitize detectives and
prosecutors, court officials and the police. The Minister
called for more training (which the UAEG previously
requested) to help develop the UAE's judicial infrastructure
to address TIP cases more effectively. He said the number of
TIP cases would remain low until awareness was increased
through training.


16. (C) Victims of trafficking do not tend to identify
themselves, agreed Lagon. The Minister reiterated that the
UAE is increasingly aware of TIP as a problem sometimes
hidden behind other issues. He stressed again that the
Ministry of Justice is in a training phase and would likely
see a slow increase in prosecutions over time. Justice was
working with the National Committee to Combat Human
Trafficking, he noted, with the training of judges and
prosecutors central to UAEG anti-TIP efforts. He added the
Ministry was even considering formation of a special
prosecution unit. He said the UAEG was prepared to receive
training with GCC partners (presumably with the UAE in the
lead) and that expense was not so much an issue as getting
the right expertise to ensure quality training.

Abu Dhabi Immigration
--------------


17. (C) The police play an important role in victim
identification, said Col Nasser al-Minhali, Head of
Immigration with the Abu Dhabi police. Without elaborating,
he said specialists (immigration officials and police
inspectors) are trained to distinguish between voluntary
workers and victims of trafficking, but admitted that this
conversation is often initiated by asking them what type of
visa they have. (Comment: He grasped to some degree the
concept of training personnel to identify victims, but did
not explain procedures sufficient to convince his visitors
that the effort was fully effective. End comment.)
Al-Minhali welcomed future training opportunities in
cooperation with the U.S.


18. (C) According to al-Minhali, standard contracts for
domestic servants, in tandem with hotlines to the police, are
designed to alleviate abuse of domestics. Copies of the
contract are kept with immigration, the worker, and the
sponsor. He said workers carry their labor card, yet
acknowledged that the sponsor often holds the worker's
passport -- noting that the law forbids the retaining of a
passport by compulsory means. When asked about the number of
cases in dispute, Al-Minhali deferred to the Ministry of
Justice.

Dubai Police Department of Human Rights
--------------


19. (C) On September 25, Dr. Mohammed Abdulla al-Mur, Lt.
Colonel, Director of Dubai Police Department of Human Rights,
concurred with Lagon that many victims of trafficking do not
voluntarily identify themselves to the authorities and that
historically victims have been detained in jails pending
investigation into their individual cases. However, he also

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emphasized that the soon-to-open Dubai Foundation for Women
and Children shelter (DFWC) would replace local Dubai jails
as holding facilities for some potential trafficking victims.
Given that the DFWC is still in its infancy, al-Mur
acknowledged there were many procedural (such as freedom of
entry/exit from the facility) and promotional (such as
publicizing the shelter among target populations) issues
still to be resolved.


20. (C) Stressing increased awareness of trafficking
throughout the police and UAEG, al-Mur said his department
was founded in 1995 "not in response to other countries, but
because we wanted to do it." He currently supervises 137
officers tasked with enforcing human rights, with
corresponding human rights sections in all Dubai police
precincts. Recognizing female victims' reluctance to speak
with male investigators, al-Mur noted most of these sections
are headed by female officers. (Comment: This human rights
office is impressive and could usefully be replicated
elsewhere in the UAE, as other Emirates do not have the
police capacity or focus on TIP that this unit does. It
could also be a model elsewhere in the Gulf. End comment.)

Shelter taking shape in Dubai
--------------


21. (C) In a brief presentation led by Ahmed al-Mansouri
(Chairman of the Board) and Afra Busiti (Executive Director)
of the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, Ambassador
Lagon saw photos of a new shelter (a large compound formerly
used as a drug rehabilitation center) hopefully ready for
occupancy within weeks. The shelter would accommodate 260
victims of abuse, including trafficking victims. Initial
occupants would come from the City of Hope, run by AmCit
Sharla Musabih (also a board member of the new Foundation)
and expand as preparations were made to receive more cases.
(Note: On September 30, after Ambassador Lagon's visit, all
of the women housed at the City of Hope shelter who do not
have children with them were moved into the new DFWC shelter.
The remaining women with children will reportedly be moved
into the new shelter as soon as a fence is constructed around
an existing swimming pool. End note.) A hotline would
facilitate referrals to the shelter, guided by the ongoing
input of Ms. Musabih, said Busiti.


22. (C) Musabih said during the presentation that Dubai
anti-TIP authorities were "getting it" in terms of
approaching their work with a "good heart" towards victims.
Asked what message she would like to relay to the UAEG, she
said "put housemaids under the labor law and tighten visa
standards."


23. (U) Ambassador Lagon approved this message.
SISON