BAHRAIN HOSTS ANTI-TIP CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000147 SIPDIS SENSITIVE BAGHDAD FOR AMBASSADOR ERELI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP PREL PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB, BA SUBJECT: BAHRAIN HOSTS ANTI-TIP CONFERENCE REF: MANAMA 107 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The government of Bahrain hosted a two-day international conference on combating trafficking in persons. The conference was the first of its kind in the Gulf. The conference concluded with a resolution to continue the fight against trafficking in persons. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The Bahraini government hosted a conference entitled "Human Trafficking at a Crossroads" from March 2 to 3 with the stated purpose of raising awareness of human trafficking and bringing together experts in the field to share best practices. The Foreign Ministry organized the event under the patronage of the King's wife, Sheikha Sabika, and in collaboration with the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement (SMWIPM),Vital Voices, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). While SMWIPM had organized previous anti-trafficking conferences in Sharm el-Sheikh and Athens, the Bahrain event was the first of its kind in the Gulf. ¶3. (U) G/TIP Acting Director Nan Kennelly and Senior Coordinator Mark Taylor represented the USG at the conference. Prominent international participants included: --UNGA president (and former Nicaraguan FM) Miguel d'Escoto Brockman, --UNODC executive director Antonio Mario Costa, --Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, --Dominican Republic First Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, --Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohammed Rachid, --UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, and --India's Minister of State for Women and Child Development. International corporations such as Gap Inc., Microsoft, Manpower, and Orascom sent senior representatives to the conference. CNN's John Defterios, Al Arabiya's Giselle Khoury, The Guardian's Helena Smith, and Arabic TV host Ricardo Karam also attended and covered the event. ¶4. (U) Most speakers focused on women as trafficking victims, although Sheikha Sabika and Suzanne Mubarak also spoke of victims of labor trafficking as major issues. Sheikha Sabika opened the conference, and both she and Suzanne Mubarak stayed through every session. At the end of a panel discussion of three recent TIP-related cases in Bahrain, Sheikha Sabika publicly directed one of the participants, Dr. Mansour Al Jamri, editor-in-chief of the opposition daily Al 
Wasat, to make her office aware of such cases for follow up. ¶5. (SBU) MFA Assistant Undersecretary Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Khalifa - who is the GOB's interagency coordinator for TIP issues - told G/TIP that Bahrain had undertaken this conference to demonstrate its commitment to combat trafficking in persons. Other Bahraini government officials concerned with TIP also attended, including representatives of the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Trafficking Unit, Judge Mohammed Al Rumaihi - who presided over Bahrain's first TIP conviction - Ministry of Social Development's Ebrahim Al Obaid, and Ministry of Culture and Information Affairs representative to the interministerial TIP committee Nancy Jamal. ¶6. (U) Coverage of the event served to raise the profile of TIP in Bahrain and highlight U.S. policy on the issue. Every local print daily carried stories on the conference and interviews with participants. G/TIP representatives Kennelly and Taylor conducted a series of interviews with local press to discuss USG approaches to combating human trafficking. CNN's Middle East Marketplace aired its coverage on March 6. ¶7. (U) The conference ended with a 13-point declaration. Begin text of declaration: MANAMA DECLARATION ON "HUMAN TRAFFICKING AT THE CROSSROADS" Kingdom of Bahrain, 1st-3rd March 2009 The participants of the Manama International Conference MANAMA 00000147 002 OF 002 express their deep appreciation to Her Highness Shaikha Sabeeka Al-Khalifa, Wife of the King of Bahrain and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their commitment and contribution to the success of our conference concluding in this Declaration. We commend the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement for initiating the campaign "End Human Trafficking Now!" in 2006. The Athens Ethical Principles adopted then are even more relevant today, particularly as we are facing crises of unprecedented magnitude. We need to work harder for the protection, safety and dignity of vulnerable groups, especially women and children, whose very survival is threatened. We recognize in this moment of crisis that we need to exercise leadership by: ¶1. Working with the private sector to achieve zero tolerance for human trafficking by adopting the Athens Ethical Principles. ¶2. Encouraging governments to implement national strategies to end human trafficking according to the UN protocol. (NOTE: Footnote reads, "The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime." End Note.) ¶3. Urging the adoption and implementation of national legal frameworks to include human trafficking as a criminal offence and ensure the protection of victims. ¶4. Requesting regional entities to develop frameworks to enhance inter country collaboration to end human trafficking between countries. ¶5. Urging the UN General Assembly to adopt a Global Plan of Action against Human Trafficking. ¶6. Publicly acknowledging ethical business practices as a major contribution to restoring confidence in the private sector. ¶7. Requesting business partners to include elimination of human trafficking in their corporate social responsibility programs. ¶8. Requesting industry associations and international standards organizations to work towards including elimination of human trafficking within their standards. ¶9. Supporting the creation of helplines and networks of services required for victims of trafficking. ¶10. Encouraging the media and the cultural and artistic communities to continue their leadership in awareness-raising and disseminating best practices. ¶11. Strengthening information sharing on progress made. ¶12. Ensuring continued support of the international partners involved in the campaign "End Human Trafficking Now!" ¶13. Reconvening in two years to assess steps taken to implement the declaration. End text of declaration. ¶8. (U) G/TIP Acting Director Nan Kennelly has cleared this message. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** HENZEL