GOK ON TIP ACTION PLAN: ANTI-TIP LAW LIKELY TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000761 SIPDIS NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KWMN SMIG ELAB KCRM KU SUBJECT: GOK ON TIP ACTION PLAN: ANTI-TIP LAW LIKELY TO PASS IN FALL, 700-BED SHELTER UNLIKELY BEFORE 2011 REF: A. STATE 71814 ¶B. KUWAIT 608 ¶1. (SBU) Key points: -- The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) expressed confidence that an anti-TIP draft law will be approved by the National Assembly in the Fall. -- The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) now expects lengthy delays before construction can begin on a 700-bed shelter for domestic worker TIP victims. -- The Ministry of Interior (MOI) continues to investigate whether women apprehended for prostitution are sex-trafficking victims, but still does not have formal anti-TIP training for its investigators. -- The MOI's Immigration Investigations Department volunteered to continue providing post with TIP-related statistics and offered to provide EmbOff a tour of the illegal immigrant detention center. ¶2. (SBU) Responding to Ref A tasker, EmbOff, in a series of action-level meetings with GOK officials, discussed achievements and deficiencies in implementing the TIP Action Plan. (Note: Most senior-level officials are not available as they are out of the country for the hot summer months; post will follow-up with them as they return. End Note.) Regarding the Action Plan's prescription for the GOK to, "Enact already drafted anti-trafficking legislation that prohibits severe forms of trafficking," MOJ Assistant Undersecretary Abdulaziz Al-Majid said that he is confident that the anti-TIP bill will be approved by the National Assembly because it was easily passed by the Legislative Committee. Al-Majid expects the bill to appear on the National Assembly's agenda soon after it reconvenes in October. ¶3. (SBU) Regarding the Action Plan's prescription to, "Establish a permanent shelter for trafficking victims," MOSAL Assistant Undersecretary Jamal Al-Dosari said it is unlikely the 700-bed shelter will be completed before 2011 due to the dilapidated condition of the old school grounds selected as the shelter's site. EmbOff urged Al-Dosari to begin construction as soon as possible as a tangible sign of TIP good faith. However, construction cannot begin until the Council of Ministers clears the paperwork which cedes the school grounds from the Ministry of Education to MOSAL. ¶4. (SBU) Regarding the Action Plan's prescription to, "Develop and implement a formal procedure to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, such as illegal immigrants and women arrested for prostitution," Brigadier General Dlaihi Al-Hajeri (Police Director for Kuwait's Farwaniya district, MOI) explained the GOK process for identifying sex-trafficking victims during brothel busts: -- The GOK assesses that one out of every thirty women arrested for prostitution is a victim of sex-trafficking. -- Before Kuwaiti police break up a brothel, they surveil the premise for evidence of captivity, such as bars on the windows and barricades against the doors. -- After apprehending the suspects, the police turn them over to the Ministry of Interior's General Investigations Department, which, based on their investigation, determines whether any of the women are sex-trafficking victims. -- Non-nationals convicted of prostitution are not sent to jail, but are instead immediately deported, regardless of whether they were found to have been coerced (Note: The GOK provides little legal assistance to sex-trafficking victims seeking to prosecute their pimps and most of these victims opt for leaving Kuwait immediately rather than wait on the GOK's lengthy and complicated legal procedures. End note.) -- Kuwaiti courts typically sentence convicted pimps to three to five years in prison (followed by immediate deportation if he/she is not Kuwaiti),regardless of whether or not the individual was found to be a sex-trafficker. ¶5. (SBU) Regarding the Action Plan's prescription to, "Make available statistics on trafficking prosecutions, convictions, and sentences," Brigadier General Abdullah Al-Rashed (Director of the Immigration Investigations Department at the MOI) said he would be happy to continue providing post with TIP-related statistics and offered to KUWAIT 00000761 002 OF 002 give EmbOff a tour of the temporary detention center where apprehended illegal immigrants are held prior to deportation. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: It is encouraging that GOK officials predict that anti-TIP legislation will pass in the Fall -- the earliest opportunity given that the National Assembly is currently out of session until October. Another positive sign is continued public criticism from senior Kuwaitis such as MOSAL Minister Dr. Mohammad Al-Ifasi, who in the local press August 2 again threatened to abolish Kuwait's flawed labor sponsorship system as a means to address abuses (see also ref B). Impediments to moving forward more quickly on the establishment of a shelter are disappointing; post will continue to urge the GOK to accelerate its efforts in this regard. End Comment. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* WILLIAMS