UAE INTERIOR MINISTER TROUBLED BY TIP REPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000230

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL, AND NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM ELAB KCRM KWMN SMIG AE
SUBJECT: UAE INTERIOR MINISTER TROUBLED BY TIP REPORT
ESTIMATES


Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Ambassador called on Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin
Zayed Al-Nahayan on February 8 and requested his assistance
in preparing for the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Ambassador informed him of the reporting deadlines and
requested his ministry's assistance in providing statistics
regarding the number of complaints, investigations,
prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers, along with any
actions the UAEG has taken to address the problem of human
trafficking in the UAE. Saif assured Ambassador that his
ministry is actively pursuing every trafficking complaint it
receives and that he will cooperate with the USG in every way
possible.


2. (C) Saif expressed consternation over the 2005 UAE TIP
report, questioning how G/TIP arrived at a figure of 10,000
women involved in sex trafficking. PolOff explained the
process, noting that source countries report how many women
are being trafficked from their country as well as the
victim's destination country, adding that these figures are
also used in estimating the scope of the problem. Saif said
that it seemed to him highly improbable that such a large
number of women could be trafficked to the UAE each year
while the Ministry of Interior received only a "handful" of
complaints -- five or six -- last year. He asked that G/TIP
look carefully at how it develops its estimates, and provide
any information it has about human trafficking to the UAE,
promising that his ministry will aggressively pursue every
lead.


3. (C) Comment: Saif appeared to be genuinely concerned about
the problem of human trafficking to the UAE, but his comments
reinforce those previously made by other police officials
indicating that a primary problem among UAE law enforcement
is not just victim identification but problem recognition.
It seems that police officials in both the Abu Dhabi and
Dubai police departments, as well as the Federal Ministry,
gauge the extent of trafficking by the number of
self-identified victims. It is not clear if the absence of a
more proactive approach to victim identification is due
primarily to reticence on the part of officials (whether
senior or working-level) to acknowledge the problem,
especially in the culturally sensitive area of
sex-trafficking, or to a genuine belief that the problem is
not significant enough to merit additional action. End
Comment.
SISON