ANWAR GARGASH OUTLINES ROLE OF NEW UAE HUMAN TRAFFICKING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 000411 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR L-KDAUGIRDAS, P-HMUSTAPHA, NEA/ARP NSC FOR EABRAMS, NRAMCHAND E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI AE SUBJECT: ANWAR GARGASH OUTLINES ROLE OF NEW UAE HUMAN TRAFFICKING COMMITTEE, UNDERSCORES COMMITMENT TO PROGRESS REF: STATE 79549 DUBAI 00000411 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Paul R Sutphin, Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Dr. Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs (FNCA) discussed the role of UAE's new Human Trafficking Committee (HTC),which he chairs, with the Ambassador and Consul General on June 21 in Dubai. While Gargash said the UAEG was disappointed by the country's 2007 Tier II (watchlist) ranking in the 2007 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report (reftel),the UAE government is looking forward. The UAEG recognizes and accepts "the basic principles and universal standards" with respect to human trafficking. The HTC will work to ensure what Gargash termed "widespread but disparate efforts" to counter TIP in the UAE are coordinated and tracked so that accurate information about them can be compiled. The HTC will be an advocate for combating human trafficking and enforcing the UAE's anti-TIP legislation, and will look to help coordinate local and federal efforts. The HTC would also work to produce an initial report taking stock of anti-TIP efforts. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Dr. Anwar Gargash, Dr. Saeed M. Al Ghufli (Assistant Secretary General for FNCA) and Ms. Lana Zaki Nusseibah SIPDIS (Director of Media and Communications for FNCA),met with the Ambassador, the Consul General, and poleconoff (notetaker) to discuss the UAE's efforts to combat human trafficking and the role of the new HTC June 21 at Gargash's Dubai office. -------------- -------------- DISAPPOINTMENT OVER TIP RANKING, NEED TO LOOK FORWARD -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Gargash is close to UAE VP, PM and Dubai Ruler Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. He was recently appointed to chair the UAE's HTC, which was established in April 2007. The HTC held its second meeting (and first under Gargash's chairmanship) June 17 to consider the US TIP report. He underscored that while the UAEG was "disappointed for about 24 hours" by the UAE's 2007 TIP report ranking, and that some in the UAEG consider the report "interference in the country's internal affairs," the government was nonetheless looking to address the issue head on. He acknowledged that TIP problems remain in the UAE, but that the government is committed to remedying them. The UAEG recognizes and accepts "the basic principles and universal standards" concerning human trafficking. He cited the enactment of a human trafficking law, the work done with UNICEF and source nations to resolve the camel jockey issue and support the victims, and the creation of the HTC as "first steps" in the UAE's efforts to combat human trafficking. Note: The UAEG will hold a conference with the camel jockey source countries, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Pakistan, and Sudan, on June 26 and 27 as part of Phase II of the UNICEF program. Congen Dubai will send an observer to the conference. End note. -------------- -------------- ROLE OF THE HTC: ADVOCATE, NOT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Gargash admitted he is new to the issue, but was working to learn about it. (Note: given the ease with which Gargash discussed the issue, he appears to be getting up to speed quickly. End note.) Gargash said the HTC's role is that of an advocate for enforcement of the UAE's anti-TIP law, and a coordinator for anti-TIP activities throughout the country. The HTC, however, will not try to set and enforce policy, as an "Executive Committee" might. Rather than taking over from the police, courts, and social services, the HTC will try to coordinate and encourage enforcement of the law. He said there had been "widespread but disparate efforts" to combat human trafficking at both the federal and local levels in recent years. He hoped the HTC would be able to ensure more prosecutors were trained in TIP issues, and that there are more enforcement cases brought forward, stating "part of our job is to make sure there are more cases." ¶5. (C) While there are efforts underway in the area of victim assistance and social services, these may not be readily apparent to the outside -- and will be more effective if properly coordinated. Gargash said he would look to increase assistance to trafficking victims and to ensure increased support to areas where such assistance might not now be DUBAI 00000411 002.2 OF 002 available. -------------- HTC to Report on Human Trafficking in the UAE -------------- ¶6. (C) Gargash said that the HTC will also strive to ensure there is accurate information about TIP and anti-TIP efforts in the UAE. One of the HTC's first tasks will be to produce a "comprehensive" report on human trafficking, and anti-trafficking efforts. The Ambassador underscored that complete information about the UAE's anti-TIP efforts was vital to understanding the situation and ensuring the USG's annual TIP report was as accurate as possible. Gargash reiterated that the HTC will strive to ensure the report reflects "real figures", i.e. an accurate picture of the human trafficking problem in the UAE. This will be done by cataloguing information gathered from police, prosecutors, and social services throughout the UAE. Since this is a new initiative, and the information is "not perfect," Gargash admitted he does not expect the first UAEG report to be 100 percent accurate. He does believe further reports will improve in scope and accuracy. Gargash reminded the Ambassador that the HTC members "are not a group of academics, but we are policy promoters." Ambassador encouraged Gargash to think about issuing the UAEG report publically rather than keeping it UAEG-only. -------------- -------------- A UNIVERSAL PROBLEM COMPOUNDED BY CHALLENGING DEMOGRAPHICS -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Gargash emphasized that human trafficking is a universal problem and the UAE's aim is to deal with it effectively and in a straightforward manner. However, the UAE's demographics pose a serious challenge. With more than 80 percent of UAE's population made up of expatriates, and the enormous mix of nationalities in Dubai, there are considerable awareness and cultural challenges to addressing the problem. He noted that Emirati nationals often regard human trafficking as a national security problem, but said that national security concerns should not prevent the country from dealing with the problem. He also characterized the 10th Circuit case against MbR as a "nuisance case." -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) We understand that the June 17 HTC meeting reviewed the Department's TIP report and discussed measures needed to improve the UAE's ranking. The Committee also reportedly reviewed the role of the Red Crescent in providing social support to TIP victims as well as heard from a Sharjah police researcher on a study on police training for TIP crime investigation. We are optimistic that Gargash will be a positive interlocutor on the range of TIP issues; we will engage with the HTC to review steps in the Action Plan in the near future. Gargash clearly understood that increased TIP prosecutions and victim assistance efforts were key steps. END COMMENT. SUTPHIN