HEAD OF UAE TIP COMMITTEE SHARES PROGRESS REPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000173 SIPDIS SIPDIS PASS TO G/TIP - Carla Menares Bury OR IO/T - COLEEN NEVILLE DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, L/DL, NEA/RA, AND NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: 02/05/2018 TAGS: PHUM ELAB PREL PGOV PREF SMIG KMPI KCRM KWMN AE SUBJECT: HEAD OF UAE TIP COMMITTEE SHARES PROGRESS REPORT REFS: A) 07 ABU DHABI 1891, B) 07 DUBAI 411, C) 06 ABU DHABI 4261, D) ABU DHABI 135, E) SECSTATE 9008 Classified by CDA Martin Quinn, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary - - - - ¶1. (U) Charge d'Affaires, ADCM, and POLOFF met February 5 with UAE Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs and head of the UAE National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, Dr. Anwar Gargash, to discuss the upcoming 2008 TIP report, TIP-specific training, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi shelters for TIP victims, and the UAE-sponsored Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT backed by UAE funding). The UAE is keen to show progress and to move itself to a higher tier rating. Following up on the U.S. offer to provide TIP training, Gargash asked for experts to train police, prosecutors and judges on TIP sensitivities and expressed hopes that eventually more shelters would be opened in outlying areas like Ras Al Khaima and Al Ain. The Charge delivered the ref E points. End summary. 2008 TIP Report - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) Dr. Gargash emphasized the magnitude of UAE's effort to tackle TIP, acknowledging the great amount of work left to do, by saying they are continually reviewing "are we doing enough?" He said that gaps in the anti-TIP system are "not for lack of wanting" to do a better job, but that it takes long-term effort to get all parties to "buy in" to the goal. In addition to its desire to combat the problem, and with the UAE's slip to last year's "Tier 2 Watch List" designation, the UAE is keen to show progress and to move itself to a higher rating. In April 2007 the UAEG formed the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking with Dr. Anwar Gargash charged to spearhead UAE efforts to tackle the issue. The Committee appears diligent about meetings and seeks to hold one almost every month. At the February 5 meeting, Dr. Gargash was handed a list of questions about TIP efforts in the past year that will help us with our TIP report and promised a thorough reply (hopefully before the first draft deadline at the end of February). He said he sees no stigma attached to the fact that TIP exists in the UAE -- as it is a persistent phenomenon in many countries -- and that shame is only warranted "if nothing is done to improve the situation." TIP Specific Training - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) First on Gargash's agenda was a follow-up question to Ambassador Mark Lagon's September 2007 visit in which assistance was offered toward UAE's TIP efforts. The offer to assist with training has been on the minds of the Emiratis since that visit, Gargash saying the need for training is endless and "open ended." The UAEG has repeatedly asked for a better sense of how U.S. experts could help train police, prosecutors and judges on TIP sensitivities. He said he sees a critical need for sensitivity training for officials to "look beyond" the surface of cases, requiring a "change of mind-set" to "go beyond the classic mode of thinking." Gargash's comments suggest the depth of his grasp of the problem, while demonstrating the fact that such projects need time to be fully developed. ¶4. (C) An example of UAE training requirements is a recent case in which Post was asked by MOJ to provide TIP experts to teach American techniques and to present actual case studies for a February 24-28 training for judges and prosecutors which will be held in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah consecutively. Coordination of that training has been cumbersome and issues of funding for USG travel complicate the equation. The UAE continues to seek a list of training options the U.S. might provide, particularly in the area of sensitizing police, prosecutors, and judges to the intricacies of TIP so that they can be on the lookout for its symptoms. ¶5. (C) The UAE is seeking case-specific experts with hands-on, up-to-date, practical experience to train and sensitize its police, investigators, prosecutors and judges to the dynamics involved in the very complicated cases of victims who may have been trafficked into the country. Gargash said traditionally prosecutors insist on taking cases which are 100% rock solid to have a good track record of winning convictions. He wants to encourage a new way of thinking in which prosecutors understand the need to "explore" and "don't shy away" just because a conviction is not assured. He looks for judges to dig deeper and said this development in mind-set will take time. ¶6. (C) Comment: Post suggests a starter-list of 25 to 30 American border agents, TIP prosecutors, activists, and judges who would be willing to come, with advance notice, as adjunct trainers to the UAE (and neighboring countries). With such a "menu" of options, G/TIP might attach a "price tag" so that host governments could "pick and pay" for trainers in specific areas. This solution would show willingness to provide much needed training and should not pose funding problems for the Department. End comment. ABU DHABI 00000173 002 OF 002 Idea Behind Shelters - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (C) Gargash recalled the opening of a shelter in Dubai (for women and children and not limited to TIP victims) and one slated to be opened soon in Abu Dhabi (specific to TIP victims). He said eventually more shelters would be opened in outlying areas like Ras Al Khaima and Al Ain to serve the needs of the "less privileged emirates." He explained that a Swedish expert had been contracted to help establish the Abu Dhabi shelter and that the Red Crescent Society would be very involved in its day-to-day operations. He hoped for a broad study of the stories of women in the shelters to learn about the patterns and cycles of the TIP phenomenon as it occurs in the UAE. Gargash said the Abu Dhabi shelter will have an all-woman board and that the UAEG sees its role as a provider of "seed money" but wants to transfer fundraising for these shelters to charitable foundations and private sources. Gargash asked for U.S. support in helping the UAE shape transnational relationships with regard to TIP by providing "templates of agreements, best practices and contacts" that would contribute to establishing organizations in sending countries designed to receive and rehabilitate TIP victims thus reducing recidivism rates. Gargash to attend UN.GIFT - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (C) Gargash spoke of the upcoming (Feb 13-15) Forum in Vienna and explained that the $15 Million donated by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed is not just a glamorous public gesture but is intended to show the seriousness of this issue for the UAEG and contribute to practical international efforts against TIP. Set to deliver a speech at the Forum, Gargash said he would be one of eight Ministers from various countries to address the conference. The Charge delivered ref E points, stressing that the U.S. hopes for a focus on technical progress rather than political declarations. Gargash responded by saying he does not believe political statements are the intent of the forum, although he was not familiar with the format to be used in Vienna. Quinn