OMAN TAKES ITS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TIP REPORT TO THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000426

SIPDIS

WHITE HOUSE FOR OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2018
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB MU
SUBJECT: OMAN TAKES ITS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TIP REPORT TO THE
GCC, ARAB LEAGUE, MEDIA

REF: MUSCAT 425

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo, reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) During a June 9 meeting on the 2008 Trafficking in
Persons (TIP) Report (reftel),Secretary General of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi,
informed the Ambassador that Oman planned to raise its ire
with our report at the June 9 meeting of Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) foreign ministers in Jeddah. Oman would urge a
unified GCC response against the TIP report, he said, that
calls for the U.S. to "stop humiliating and embarrassing its
friends" ) a message that Oman also will present to the Arab
League. Sayyid Badr made clear that the Omani government
does not have a problem engaging with us on the issue of
trafficking, but that the manner in which we have chosen to
address it is totally unacceptable to Oman.


2. (SBU) Early local press reports on June 10 of the GCC
ministerial corroborated Sayyid Badr's message. Private
English-language daily "Oman Tribune" carried an article from
the Oman News Agency stating that Yusef bin Alawi, Oman's
Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, and other GCC
ministers had "condemned the false information" in the TIP
report and "called upon the U.S. State Department to revise
its unfriendly policies against GCC countries." "Al-Watan,"
the Arabic-language sister paper of the Oman Tribune, ran the
same story, which also appeared on Al-Jazeera. Outside the
media, news of the GCC ministers' statement on the TIP report
is already beginning to circulate among our local
interlocutors.


3. (C) On June 10, the Ambassador spoke again with Sayyid
Badr, whose strong feelings of resentment were still clearly
evident, after he had briefed "core members" of the Council
of Ministers on our TIP report for Oman. (Note: Many
ministers currently are outside of the country, including
several who are with the Sultan in Europe. End note.) He
informed the Ambassador that although the ministers had
decided not to suspend consideration of the draft anti-TIP
law, they firmly refused to speed up their action on the
legislation to meet our 60-day timeline. In light of the
local press reports from the GCC ministerial in Jeddah, the
Ambassador counseled caution in airing this matter in the
media. "It's too late," he replied. "You did this to us
first." Sayyid Badr planned to meet with local journalists
today to respond to the report's allegations. While he
indicated he would not discuss the government's stated
intention to re-appraise "all aspects" of our bilateral
relationship unless we retracted the Tier 3 designation, he
emphasized that Oman could not remain quiet and "had to
defend itself." He also delivered a written rebuttal of
claims in the TIP report (see paragraph 6 below.)


4. (C) Comment: Oman appears to be following a prescribed
strategy to confront us on TIP by staking a hard position
against the report and then using the media and its good
relations with other states to rally support for its position
within the GCC and broader Arab community. The image of
Oman, a well-known close ally of ours, standing up to and
leading a charge against the U.S., even on an issue not
customarily given to media or public attention, could prove
popular among local and regional audiences already harboring
negative views of U.S. policies. In the event of press
inquiry in Washington, we advise emphasizing: our
long-standing, close and highly valued relationship with
Oman; our high regard and respect for this Sultan and Oman's
impressive record of progress, prosperity and stability under
his leadership; our continuing dialogue with the Omani
leadership on TIP and many other bilateral and regional
issues; and our intention to work together to maintain the
relationship as well as to address our shared interest in
combating trafficking.


5. (C) Comment (continued): Sayyid Badr's response to Oman's
Tier 3 ranking may stem in part from uncertainty over our
motivations on this issue - a point that Sayyid Badr has
raised with the Ambassador previously. He suspects a "hidden
agenda" behind the TIP report on Oman, despite our best
efforts to disabuse him of this notion. Citing the absence
of a significant TIP problem in Oman and the alleged failure
of the U.S. to appreciate the steps it has taken to address
TIP, he has said, "We can only conclude that there is
something else (behind the tier ranking)." This perception
likely will complicate our efforts to solve the current
impasse. Post will provide recommendations septel for USG
action to address this problem. End comment.

MUSCAT 00000426 002 OF 003




6. (SBU) Text of Sayyid Badr's "Further Points Concerning
2008 Trafficking in Persons Country Narrative - Oman"

It is widely accepted (for example Global Peace Index,
Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008) that levels of crime in
Oman, including trafficking, are very low indeed. It is
contrary to natural justice to apply a set of yardsticks and
norms to Oman that are relevant to circumstances elsewhere
and not to circumstances in Oman.

The United States offers as an explanation that it is under a
legal obligation to report on trafficking as it does. The
United States law in this matter is inappropriate to Oman's
circumstances, and the United States must accept political
and moral responsibility for the consequences of that.
Furthermore, Oman totally rejects the applicability of United
States law to Oman.

This reporting regime is said to be required where there are
significant numbers of trafficking victims. There are not
and never have been significant numbers of trafficking
victims in Oman. Neither the United States nor any other
party has produced evidence to suggest otherwise. This
reporting regime is therefore not applicable.

For further information, the following points are offered:


1. "Oman is a destination and transit country for men and
women...some of them subsequently face conditions of
involuntary servitude." The Omani government takes all
practical measures to maintain security and prevent this
practice. The numbers in Oman that may face conditions of
involuntary servitude are very small indeed.


2. "Agencies...in South Asia and the United Arab Emirates may
also coerce...workers...into accepting exploitative work...in
Oman." Actions taken by other states under other
jurisdictions are not Oman's responsibility.


3. "Recommendations...enact legal reforms to prohibit all
forms of trafficking." Oman's response to the 2007 report
made it clear that a new law, specifically addressing the
trafficking issue, is being drafted with the intention of
having it enacted in the course of 2008. This work is now
well in hand and the U.S. Embassy in Muscat is well briefed.
In the absence of a satisfactory response from the United
States to the wider issue this work may be put on hold.


4. "Recommendations...significantly increase investigations."
Every single allegation of trafficking received by the
authorities is fully investigated by the Omani authorities.
It is logically impossible to increase an investigation level
beyond 100%. Oman challenges the United States to offer one
single instance of reported trafficking that has not been
investigated.


5. "Oman failed to report any progress in prosecuting or
punishing trafficking." Oman does not accept that it is
under any obligation whatsoever to report these matters to
the United States.


6. "The government...has taken no active measures to
criminally investigate trafficking." This statement is
untrue and Oman does not accept that it is under any
obligation to report steps taken to the United States.


7. "The Ministry of Manpower received 297 grievances from
laborers...the Ministry negotiated all but 12 of these cases
out of court." This outcome reflects Oman's non-adversarial
culture, and is overwhelmingly in the interests of the
workers concerned. The fact that only 12 cases went to court
reflects the reality that in practice in Oman serious abuses
of labor including trafficking are very rare indeed. It
should also be noted here that Oman's Labor Law provides far
more timely redress for workers in dispute with their
employers than is generally the case elsewhere.


8. "The government did not take any known measures
to...educate its citizens." This is untrue. The government
has sponsored a key workshop (entitled: Public awareness in
combating human trafficking and collective national
responsibility) which was widely publicized to address these
matters, including drafting of a brand new law, in which all
the relevant government agencies and representatives of the
private sector and NGOs participated, and on which the US
Embassy Muscat has been briefed.

MUSCAT 00000426 003 OF 003




9. "Countries determined to have a significant number of
trafficking victims are assigned to one of three tiers."
Oman does not have a significant number of trafficking
victims and neither the United States nor any other party has
produced any evidence whatsoever to suggest otherwise.

End text of document.
GRAPPO