OMAN INCREASES PUBLIC AWARENESS OF TIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000757

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/07/14
TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIP MU
SUBJECT: OMAN INCREASES PUBLIC AWARENESS OF TIP

CLASSIFIED BY: Victor Hurtado, Charge, Department of State, Embassy
Muscat; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Summary and Comment: Two recent articles in prominent
Arabic language news outlets sought to increase public
understanding of issues related to Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
These comments by government and religious authorities in the
tightly regulated Omani press are evidence of a new effort by the
government to raise public awareness as the USG has asked. Both
articles appealed to Islamic beliefs as the basis for action
against TIP and related abuses, an approach that will resonate
here. Post will continue to follow this issue closely. End
Summary.




2. (U) In a July 5 article in the state owned Arabic language
newspaper, "Oman", entitled "Internet and Trafficking in Persons",
Dr. Hussain bin Sa'id bin Saif al-Ghafri, Legal Advisor to the
Information Technology Authority (ITA) condemned TIP and called for
further laws to combat cyber-related TIP crimes. He outlines a
definition of TIP, the international and religious prohibitions
against TIP, and the role of the Internet in TIP crimes. His
closing call was for the evaluation of existing laws to ensure
proper regulations for cyber TIP.




3. (U) Al-Ghafri described TIP as a "disgusting practice" which
has been around for ages. He recalled the practice of slavery for
prisoners of war in ancient civilizations, which he said had given
way to current day practice, in which "TIP is caused by victims'
dire economic conditions, which are then exploited by transnational
organized crimes." He noted that Islam outlaws all causes leading
to enslavement and encouraged freeing those enslaved, as well as
the plethora of international conventions condemning the practice.





4. (U) He said, "TIP is the third most profitable illegal trade in
the world, after drug trafficking and illegal arms trade. Every
year, a large number of people, mainly women and children, are
trafficked trans-nationally. In addition, there are people who are
trafficked within the country for the purposes of prostitution, and
forced labor. By its very nature, this trade violates human
dignity and exploits those in need. It is a new slavery that
exploits victims who were forced, or deceived, or coerced to work
or to offer sexual services. TIP poses several threats: it
deprives victims of their human rights and freedoms, and more
importantly it poses an international health risk and increases
transnational crimes."




5. (U) Al-Ghafri goes on to define TIP as any illegal act that
turns a human being into a commodity or a victim exploited by
brokers and professional criminals across borders to be forced to
work, or offer sex, whether this act was based on the consent of
the victim by forcing the victim or any other enslavement-like
method. He goes on to define the commodity (the victim),the
broker (the trafficker) and the market (source, destination and
transit countries). He then outlines the potential for the
Internet to be used in trafficking related crimes.




6. (U) Also, in a July 13 article in the private, youth oriented
Arabic language daily al-Shabiba, Oman's Grand Mufti, H.E. Shaikh
Ahmad bin Hamad al-Khalil, addressed potential abuse of domestic
workers. He said "families must be very cautious when dealing with
domestic servant issues. Men are not permitted to approach women
domestic servants in any way without their permission. For
example, men should always ask permission in case there is a need
for entering the housemaid's room. Families are encouraged to
employ women domestic servants who share the same family values as
our society to limit cultural misunderstanding."
HURTADO