AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES TIP WITH NEW MINISTER OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000608 SIPDIS NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2018 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR GTIP KTFN KHUM KU SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES TIP WITH NEW MINISTER OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND LABOR REF: STATE60642 Classified By: Political Counselor Pete O'Donohue for reasons 1.4 b and d 1.(C) SUMMARY: During her June 21 introductory meeting with newly appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammad Al-Afasi, the Ambassador urged immediate action to meet Kuwait's stated commitments under previous TIP action plans to protect expat labor, specifically anti-TIP legislation; continued prosecutions; a permanent shelter for domestics; and in-house TIP training for Kuwaiti law enforcement and social services personnel. Al-Afasi expressed displeasure at the TIP report, but affirmed the GOK's commitment to pass TIP legislation and repeatedly emphasized his dedication to close U.S.-Kuwait ties. END SUMMARY. -------------- SHOCKED AT TIP REPORT & ITS LACK OF REFERENCES -------------- 2.(C) On June 21, the Ambassador met newly appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammad Al-Afasi to discuss the 2009 TIP report and Kuwait's continued Tier 3 ranking (Ref A). The Ambassador noted that while the government had taken steps to address a number of issues, the absence of legislation criminalizing trafficking was a major impediment to the success of those efforts. The Ambassador suggested that the government, in responding to the TIP report, lay the responsibility for such legislation squarely on the shoulders of members of the Kuwaiti National Assembly. In reply, Al-Afasi said he was shocked at the TIP report. He expressed frustration that it had no references to any GOK or NGO sources which might enable him to verify its claims. He said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor had recently submitted a TIP draft law and that he was going to see the National Assembly's legal affairs committee later in the day to urge them to support it. The Ambassador noted that the treatment of domestic servants and menial laborers remained problematic throughout the Gulf. Al-Afasi suggested that many laborers had been recruited overseas without clear notions of what their duties entailed. He suggested that the draft legislation would deal with this as well as domestics' work hours and work days, saying "In the draft law, we regulate working hours for maids." When asked about reforming or eliminating Kuwait's "kafeel" sponsorship system for foreign workers (which requires each foreign worker to have a Kuwaiti sponsor who can cancel said sponsorship at any time),Al-Afasi said that the decision to keep the system intact came from above and implied that he was loath to oppose that decision, saying, "We are military personnel and we keep discipline." -------------- SUPPORTS CLOSE U.S.-KUWAIT RELATIONS -------------- 3.(C) Despite his professed shock at the TIP report, the U.S.-educated Al-Afasi was courteous and expressed appreciation for the close U.S.-Kuwait relationship, saying, "Kuwait is your close friend" and, "We appreciate the major role the U.S. played in our liberation." He added that, "It is hard to find a Kuwaiti who doesn't like the U.S." and said this is one reason why Kuwaitis found such open criticism painful. -------------- BIO NOTE -------------- 4.(C) This is Dr. Mohammad Mohsen Al-Afasi's first ministerial appointment: he was previously head of the Kuwait Army's legal department and reached the rank of Lt. General in the Kuwaiti military. He is a Sunni pro-government conservative and a member of the Al-Mutair tribe. He earned an MA in Law from Miami University in Ohio, an MA in Political Science from New York University, and a PhD in International Law in London. In 1998, he had a two week JAG training course in the U.S. and visited various military installations. He has a farm in Kuwait staffed by eight foreign laborers. His brother-in-law (his wife's brother) is MP Musallam Al-Barrak, a staunch opponent of the government. He has five sons and three daughters, none of whom was born in the U.S. Three of his children are physicians and attended Kuwait University's college of medicine. Two of his children are lawyers, one of whom (Fahad) obtained his PhD from Egypt and now works in the office of legal advice and legislation at Kuwait's Council of KUWAIT 00000608 002 OF 002 Ministers. Another child has a PhD in e-commerce. He can conduct meetings in English but does not have native-level fluency (he often pauses when he speaks and has a mild stammer). He is a friendly interlocutor and shakes hands with women. He met the Ambassador without any staff, perhaps because he did not want his staff seeing him being so conciliatory in the wake of the critical TIP report. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* JONES