OMAN PREPARING RESPONSE TO TRAFFICKING QUESTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000129 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP AND G/TIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019-02-17 TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIP MU SUBJECT: OMAN PREPARING RESPONSE TO TRAFFICKING QUESTIONS REF: a) 08 MUSCAT 830 CLASSIFIED BY: Gary A. Grappo, Ambassador, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy - Muscat; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) In order to prepare its submission for the Department's 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, post submitted a list of TIP-related questions to the Government of Oman via diplomatic note on February 3. The Ambassador hand-delivered a copy of the questions to Sayyid Badr bin Humoud al-Busaidi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),during a February 7 meeting and emphasized the importance of further government action to address TIP following adoption of Oman's comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation (reftel). Sayyid Badr took note of the Ambassador's points and reassured him of Oman's commitment to work with the U.S. to combat TIP. ¶2. (C) On February 11, Sayyid Badr called the Ambassador to inform him that the government was preparing a response to the Embassy's list of TIP-related questions. He added, however, that the reply would not be completed by the date requested by the Embassy (i.e., February 12) as more time was needed to compile the relevant information. ¶3. (C) Comment: The MFA's decision to prepare answers to our written questions on TIP is unprecedented and represents a positive step forward in our longstanding efforts to engage Oman on TIP. Post accordingly plans to submit its contribution to the Department's 2009 TIP Report once it receives the government's response. End Comment. GRAPPO To view the entire SMART message, go to URL http://repository.state.sgov.gov/_layouts/OSS SearchResults.aspx?k=messageid:a4882611-2cf5- 4833-8673-b0603bada062