GOVERNMENT HOLDS ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORKSHOP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000043

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP, AND DRL
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR JAMES RUDE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB KMPI MU
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT HOLDS ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORKSHOP

REF: A. 07 MUSCAT 822


B. 07 MUSCAT 778


1. (SBU) Summary: Government officials and representatives of
civil society met in December 2007 under the auspices of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to review and amend Oman's
draft anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) law. The Council of
Ministers is expected to approve the law and name the
chairman of the national anti-trafficking committee before
the end of January 2008. Contacts report that the Council
will likely choose Minister of Manpower Juma bin Ali al-Juma
to the position. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On December 16, 2007, the MFA hosted a two-day,
inter-ministerial workshop on TIP, titled "Combating TIP -
the National Responsibility," to review Oman's draft anti-TIP
legislation (ref A). According to contacts at the MFA, the
workshop was designed to generate broad-based support within
the government for the law before it is presented to the
Council of Ministers for approval. Participants later told
poloff that most ministries with TIP-related portfolios were
represented at the workshop, including the Royal Oman Police
(ROP),Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Legal Affairs, and
the Public Prosecutor's Office. Several women's association
members and journalists represented civil society. On
invitation from the MFA, Dr. Mohammad Mattar, Director of the
Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University School of
Advanced International Studies, and Dr. Nihal Fahmy, Regional
Consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
participated as international experts.


3. (SBU) Poloff spoke with Dr. Mattar following the workshop,
who reported that he was "very impressed" with the
participants' level of engagement as well as the draft law,
which includes stiff penalties for trafficking offenders and
a number of protections for victims (ref B). Under the
leadership of the Attorney General and the Deputy President
of the Supreme Court, participants discussed each article of
the law in depth, recommending a number of possible changes.
Dr. Mattar said that he offered additional recommendations to
strengthen the law's victim protection provisions, including:
a) specifying that potential victims are exempt from court
fees when involved in a TIP case; and b) affording victims
the right to stay in Oman while authorities investigate and
prosecute their case, particularly if required by the
circumstances of their personal status in Oman or their
country of origin. According to Dr. Mattar, if Oman adopts
recommended changes to the draft, it will have the best law
in the region. (Note: The Arabic-language daily Shabiba
published an early version of the draft law on January 7.
Post will pass a copy to G/TIP via separate email. End note.)

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Next Steps
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4. (SBU) Humaid al-Ma'ani, Office Director for the Secretary
General of the MFA, told poloff on December 30 that with the
conclusion of the workshop, he expected the government to
move quickly toward passage of the law. The drafting
committee met during the last week of December to consider
amendments and accepted many of the workshop participants'
and Dr. Mattar's recommendations. He stated that the
committee already had sent an amended version of the law to
the Council of Ministers, and that the Council could take
action before the end of January 2008. The last step in the
legislative process is for the Sultan to issue the law as a
Royal Decree, which should not take more than two months,
al-Ma'ani informed poloff.


5. (SBU) According to al-Ma'ani and contacts in the Public
Prosecutor's office, the Council also will choose a Minister
to chair the National Committee for Combating Human
Trafficking. The Committee -- which is to be comprised of
Undersecretaries at the Ministries of Justice, Manpower,
Social Development, Health, and Legal Affairs, as well as the
Attorney General and Assistant Inspector General of the ROP
-- will have broad powers to establish a comprehensive
anti-TIP program and publish periodic reports on the
government's efforts to combat TIP. Al-Ma'ani told poloff
that the MFA intends to recommend either Juma bin Ali
al-Juma, Minister of Manpower, or Malik Sulaiman al-Ma'mari,
Inspector General of the ROP, for the position of Chairman.
Juma and his Ministry are doing the most at present to
prevent labor exploitation, al-Ma'ani said, and Juma may be
the Council's likely choice.


6. (SBU) Comment: The Council of Ministers held its first

MUSCAT 00000043 002 OF 002


meeting of the year on January 14. When poloff asked
al-Ma'ani on January 15 if the Council had reviewed the
anti-TIP law, al-Ma'ani demurred, saying that he is not privy
to the Council's agenda. Post will continue to monitor the
law's status, and urge the government to take action as
quickly as possible. End Comment.
GRAPPO