MAINTAINING FORWARD MOVEMENT ON TRAFFICKING IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000796 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP AND G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2018 TAGS: PREL PHUM PINR KTIP KWMN MU SUBJECT: MAINTAINING FORWARD MOVEMENT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS Classified By: DCM L. Victor Hurtado for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) On November 16, the DCM and Pol-Econ Chief paid an introductory call to Ambassador Lyutha bint Sultan bin Ahmad al-Mughairy, the new director of the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General, Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi. (Note: As Sayyid Badr is post's senior Omani interlocutor on trafficking-in-persons (TIP),al-Mughairy will continue her predecessor's role as one of our most important contacts on TIP issues. End Note.) The DCM made clear that even though Oman had moved from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List, TIP issues in the Sultanate required continued focus by the Omani government. He further highlighted primary U.S. concerns regarding TIP and the need for Oman to move forward on specific actions against trafficking, including adoption of pending anti-TIP legislation. Al-Mughairy replied that she recognized the seriousness of the subject and looked forward to working with post on addressing TIP issues. ¶2. (C) Asked whether she considered herself a role model for Omani women given her impressive career (see paragraph below),al-Mughairy stated that in contrast to the time of her youth, she was now one of many women who had achieved professional success in the Sultanate. She noted that of the 70 Omanis recently hired as new diplomats by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 50 were women. ¶2. (SBU) Biographic Note: Lyutha al-Mughairy is the most senior female official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is the sister of Oman's ambassador the U.S., Hunaina al-Mughairy. She studied at the American University of Cairo (AUC) and has taken postgraduate courses at Sussex University in the UK and Columbia University, New York. Upon graduation from AUC, she helped establish local English-language broadcasting of both radio and television in Abu Dhabi. She returned to the Sultanate in 1975 to set up and run English Radio and Television Services in Oman. In 1979 she joined the United Nations as an Information Officer focusing on issues related to the disabled. She continued her UN career in several different positions, eventually being appointed Chief of the Information Centres Service in 2002. She retired from the UN and moved to Muscat from New York with her husband roughly two years ago. She has a daughter currently studying in the UK after graduating from the UN International School. End Biographic Note. GRAPPO