KUWAIT'S TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001623 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP, INL/HSTC, AND G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2027 TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB KU TIP SUBJECT: KUWAIT'S TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT REF: A. STATE 147732 ¶B. KUWAIT 1571 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Alan Misenheimer for reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Following the very positive development of establishing a shelter for domestic workers, Kuwait has not taken addditional actions to improve its efforts to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) since Ambassador Lagon's September 26 visit and the subsequent October 18 Tier placement revision. This stems largely from the short period of time in question. Post extensively documented developments between the June release of the report and the end of September. October was a particularly difficult month for Kuwait because of tensions between Parliament and the Government, which have stymied all kinds of legislation and ultimately led to a major cabinet reshuffle on October 28. Four of five ministries key to TIP have new ministers: Justice, Interior, Social Affairs and Labor, and Awqaf/Islamic Affairs. The Foreign Minister retained his post. The ministries have therefore found it difficult to proceed with major new steps. Now that the ministries are beginning to settle back into work routines, Post has requested meetings to continue work on key areas where progress is needed. The Charge briefed the new Minister of Interior on TIP and the importance of sustaining the progress Kuwait made from June through September of this year. End Summary. Increased Investigation and Prosecution Against Traffickers -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) There has been no concrete progress in getting the GOK to increase its prosecution efforts against suspected traffickers or to provide better information about the investigations and prosecutions it has undertaken. Post continues to stress the importance of this point in meetings with GOK contacts and expects an appointment soon with key officials to push for more activity on this issue. Ministry of Justice officials report, however, that the Committee to Study International Human Rights Reports is aware of the need for more information and is discussing it. Post will also suggest training for prosecutors, in light of recent information provided by G/TIP about the availability of DOJ prosecutors who can provide training. Victim Identification and Training -------------- ¶3. (C) PolOff met with Hassan Al-Abdulsalam, Director of Kuwait's Police Academy, on October 28 to stress the need for training of police officers in victim identification and the investigation of TIP crimes (ref B). The director welcomed the idea and noted that police officers have to undergo regular training courses, so it would be easy to bring them in for the training. Post promised to find training implementers and then pursue the matter further. On November 7, PolOff met with IOM (International Organization for Migration) Regional Representative for the Middle East Shahidul Haque, who said IOM has Arabic-language training materials and Arabic-language trainers ready to start training courses. Post is working to bring IOM and the GOK together. The Charge met with new Interior Minister Shaykh Jaber Al-Khaled Al Sabah on November 8 and reiterated the importance of this training. The Interior Minister replied that this was his first day in the office so he had not been fully briefed, but said he looked forward to working with the USG on training. Shelter -------------- ¶4. (C) A Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) contact reports that it continues to work toward establishment of a permanent domestic workers shelter to replace the temporary shelter established in September. The major development so far is that it has secured a location for the permanent shelter. Legislative Efforts to Combat TIP -------------- ¶5. (C) The Parliament has made no concrete progress toward passing the draft anti-trafficking law finalized by the Ministry of Justice in June. Parliament was out of session from the beginning of July through October 30 and since then has been consumed by the new cabinet and a set of major economic reform issues. Kuwait's democratic Parliament is currently engaged in a highly visible tug-of-war with the Government over ministerial appointments, and in the current, highly charged political environment is unlikely to move quickly on the draft law. The Ministry of Justice reports, however, that it has been working behind the scenes on the law, and has addressed some internal GOK criticisms of the law. The ministry hopes this will enable more concrete progress soon. ¶6. (SBU) MOSAL continues efforts to introduce a revised labor law. The law would still not cover domestic workers, which is one of its key failings with regard to TIP. MOSAL has consulted with the International Labor Organization (ILO) on alternatives to the sponsorship system and is doing its own studies of alternatives. Eliminating the sponsorship system will not be easy, however, since it will affect the status of a sizable portion of the roughly two-thirds of Kuwait's residents who are not Kuwaiti citizens. However, the sponsorship system leads to many of the TIP problems in Kuwait, so the effort to revamp the system may be the most effective long-term solution to TIP problems. Post will continue pressing interlocutors in Parliament and MOSAL to take action in this regard. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * MISENHEIMER