TIP DEMARCHE READ OUT- CONCERN OVER TIER 3

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000597 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2017 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KWMN KNNP MARR MU SUBJECT: TIP DEMARCHE READ OUT- CONCERN OVER TIER 3 SANCTIONS REF: A. STATE 79560 ¶B. 06 MUSCAT 907 ¶C. MUSCAT 539 Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) On Monday morning, June 11, Emboffs delivered ref A, the Trafficking in Person's (TIP) demarche on Oman's Tier 3 designation, to the Director of the Under Secretary's Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),Humaid al-Ma'ani. Al-Ma'ani expressed his disappointment with the lowered ranking - Oman had been placed on Tier 2 Watch List in the 2006 report - and, as MFA officials have been in previous years (ref B),was critical of the U.S. approach toward Oman on TIP. Al-Ma'ani stated that while MFA Under Secretary Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi had been interested in a meeting with U.S. Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky while in Washington for the Gulf Security Dialogue (GSD) (ref B),he now planned to advise Sayyid Badr against it, asking rhetorically, "what's the point?" Emboffs responded that the meeting would provide the Under Secretary with an excellent opportunity to express directly to G Oman's views on and plans for eliminating TIP, gain perspective on U.S. policy, and perhaps explore ways to address the issue. ¶2. (C) Regarding economic sanctions associated with Tier 3, al-Ma'ani expressed some disbelief and confusion that the U.S. might seek to limit military assistance, including Foreign Military Financing (FMF),under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, while at the same time encouraging an increase in bilateral security cooperation through the GSD. Al-Ma'ani stated with irritation that Oman may be inclined not to seek assistance if there were "strings attached." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Comment and Recommendation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) Given security concerns in the Gulf, Post would strongly recommend a waiver of the TVPA's Tier 3 economic sanctions. Post,s Office of Military Cooperation (OMC) currently is managing 52 active Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases valued at $1.04 billion. In fiscal year 2006, FMF assistance exceeded $13.86 million, and IMET funding totaled $1.08 million. USG security assistance and cooperation to bolster the military and defensive capabilities of a stable and stalwart ally advances U.S. national interests, particularly as we seek to expand bilateral cooperation to counter regional threats. ¶4. (C) The sequencing of the TIP report's release and the start of GSD consultations in Washington may cause some problems with the latter. We therefore recommend that the Department arrange a meeting between under secretaries Badr and Dobriansky to clarify the USG position on TIP in the larger context of regional and national security. GRAPPO