Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STATE111956
2009-10-29 22:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

BAHRAIN: TIP TIER 2 WATCH LIST ACTION PLAN

Tags:  KCRM KTIP KWMN PHUM PREL SMIG BH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0010
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #1956 3022259
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 292237Z OCT 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY MANAMA PRIORITY 0000
UNCLAS STATE 111956 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KTIP KWMN PHUM PREL SMIG BH
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: TIP TIER 2 WATCH LIST ACTION PLAN
(2009-2010)

REF: A. 2008 STATE 132759

B. 2007 STATE 150188

UNCLAS STATE 111956

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KTIP KWMN PHUM PREL SMIG BH
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: TIP TIER 2 WATCH LIST ACTION PLAN
(2009-2010)

REF: A. 2008 STATE 132759

B. 2007 STATE 150188


1. (U) This is an action request (see paras 2-4).


2. (SBU) Begin action request: Drawing from points in para
8, Post is requested to approach appropriate host government
officials to highlight the United States' strong commitment
to continue to work with the Government of Bahrain to help
strengthen its efforts to combat and prevent trafficking in
persons (TIP) and to assist victims. Post is requested to
convey the recommendations in para 9 as a non-paper and draw
from the talking points in para 8 to explain to the host
government the need for prompt action on the recommendations
for a positive review in the interim assessment that the
Department will release to Congress by February 2010 and for
movement out of the Tier 2 Watch List in next year's Report.

3.(SBU) Action request continued: Post is further requested
to emphasize to the Government of Bahrain that these
recommendations are often referred to as "high-priority"
items for Tier 2 Watch List removal. However, sustained and
significant anti-trafficking efforts by the government
throughout the year will remain the basis for determining
next year's tier placement. The interim assessment for
Special Watch List countries (to include Tier 2 Watch List
countries) will provide a progress report regarding the
government's actions to address the short list
recommendations designed to address the concerns that
resulted in Bahrain's placement on the Tier 2 Watch List in
the 2009 TIP Report (high-priority items),but there will be
no changes in tier ratings at that time. We will reconsider
the government's tier placement when we conduct our annual
full assessment for the March 2009-2010 reporting period next
spring.

4.(SBU) Action request continued: The Department recognizes
that Post may choose to use this opportunity to provide
additional recommendations, beyond the recommendations for
moving out of the Tier 2 Watch List. In such a case, we
request that Post make clear to the Government of Bahrain
which are the "high-priority" items to move off of the Tier 2
Watch List. (For Post,s, background information: G/TIP
will be asking for posts to report on the country's progress

in meeting these recommendations by no later than November
16, 2009, in order to compile narratives for the interim
assessment.)


5. (SBU) In preparation for the interim assessment and 2010
TIP Report, the Department is asking posts to work with host
governments throughout the year to collect as many statistics
as possible on law enforcement actions and judicial
proceedings related to TIP crimes, specifically the
Department requests data on investigations, prosecutions,
convictions, and sentences (e.g., fines, probation, length of
prison sentences imposed, asset seizure information when
available). Whether a government collects and provides this
data consistent with the government's capacity to obtain such
data is considered in determining whether the government
qualifies for Tier 1. Law enforcement statistics, when
available, are a good way of highlighting how well a
government enforced its law and demonstrates strengths and
weaknesses in various approaches. Please note that host
governments and embassies must interpret data terms provided
by host governments such as indictments, charges, cases
disposed, cases submitted for prosecution, etc., to ensure
that they fit into one of the following categories:
investigations, prosecutions, convictions or sentences. The
Department cannot accept "trafficking-related" law
enforcement statistics (e.g, statistics on prostitution or
smuggling offenses) because their direct correlation to
trafficking crimes is not clear. The Department will accept
only law enforcement data that fall into the following
categories: (1) investigations, prosecutions, convictions,
and sentences for offenses that are explicitly defined as
trafficking; and (2) investigations, prosecutions,
convictions, and sentences for offenses that are not defined
explicitly as trafficking but in which the competent law
enforcement or judicial authority has specific evidence
indicating that the defendant was involved in trafficking.


6. (SBU) The Department is also asking Posts to engage with
host governments on efforts to address amendments made by the
2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
(TVPRA). As indicated in reftel C, the TVPRA of 2008
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier

3. Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report). The new law allows for a waiver
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a
determination by the President that the country has developed
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the
minimum standards.


7. (SBU) Please keep in mind the TIP Report measures host
government efforts. In order for anti-trafficking activities
financed or conducted principally by parties outside the
government to be considered for tier placement purposes, Post
needs to demonstrate a concrete role or tangible value-added
by a host government in such activities carried out by NGOs,
international organizations, or posts.


8. (U) Background Points:

Begin talking points:

-- The Obama Administration views the fight against human
trafficking, both at home and abroad, as a critical piece of
our foreign policy agenda. We are committed to making
progress on this issue in the months ahead by working closely
with partners in every country.

-- The U.S. Government's Trafficking Victims Protection Act
requires the State Department to submit an annual report to
Congress on the status of foreign governments, efforts to
combat trafficking in persons. Pursuant to the Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA),the
Department created a special category for Tier 2 countries
that do not show increasing efforts from the previous year,
have a very significant number of victims, or whose Tier 2
rating is based on commitments to take additional steps over
the next year.

-- Also as mandated by the TVPRA, by February 2010 the
Department will submit to Congress an interim assessment. At
the end of 2009 in preparation for that submission, the
Department will conduct an assessment of Tier 2 Watch List
countries' progress in responding to the specific issues of
concern that resulted in the Tier 2 Watch List rating.

-- We offer the following recommended actions to tackle
specific shortcomings highlighted in the 2009 TIP Report. We
believe these to be within the reasonable ability of your
government to fulfill in the near-term and encourage you to
take prompt action for a positive narrative in the interim
assessment. New tier evaluations will not occur at the
interim assessment. We will reconsider a government,s tier
placement when we conduct our annual full assessment for the
2009-2010 reporting period next spring. Prompt, appropriate,
and significant actions will lead to a more favorable tier
placement; conversely, failure to address the issues
mentioned above may lead to a Tier 3 placement.

-- We would welcome the Government of Bahrain,s comments on
these recommendations and any other ideas you might have to
advance our common struggle against trafficking in persons.

End talking points.


9. (SBU) Begin Action Plan:



I. Action Plan for the Short-Term: The following are
recommended measures for a positive interim assessment in
January 2010 and in the broader assessment of government
efforts during the reporting period:


A. Take steps to increase prosecution efforts of trafficking
offenses, particularly those involving forced labor. Make
available statistics on trafficking prosecutions,
convictions, and sentences achieved. This can include cases
charged under non-trafficking statutes (e.g., kidnapping,
assault, rape, etc.),but each case must be confirmed to be
trafficking in nature.

-- Persons convicted should receive stringent sentences;
minimum sentences should include prison time for convicted
traffickers. Imposed sentences should involve significant
jail time, with a majority of cases resulting in sentences on
the order of one year,s imprisonment or more, but taking
into account the severity of the individual,s involvement in
trafficking, imposed sentences for other grave crimes, and
the judiciary,s right to hand down punishments consistent
with the country,s laws.


B. Develop and implement a formal procedure to identify
trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, such as domestic
workers who have fled from abusive employers and prostituted
women, and refer them to available protective services,
ensuring they are not punished for acts committed as a direct
result of being trafficked.

-- A formal procedure would, at a minimum, articulate a
policy promoting proactive screening for victims, and
training personnel in victim identification methods or
assigning already trained personnel to high-risk areas. This
procedure would also include the use of social workers and/or
other professionals trained specifically in trafficking
victim identification to interview those in vulnerable groups
for evidence of trafficking.

-- Ensure that identified victims of trafficking are not
prosecuted, detained, or otherwise penalized for acts
committed as a result of being trafficked, such as violation
of immigration provisions or prostitution.


II. Action Plan for the Long-Term: Other measures the
government should consider to boost its overall
anti-trafficking efforts

--------------
Prosecution
--------------

-- Incorporate trafficking in persons in law enforcement
training programs at police academies and law schools,
possibly with the assistance of international organizations.
The training should include investigative techniques, victim
interviewing techniques, witness security and protection
methods, referrals and after-care procedures, and
coordination methods with civil society;

-- Institute in-service training and sensitize law
enforcement personnel ) including prosecutors, judges, labor
inspectors, and the police ) to human trafficking crimes and
equip them with methodologies in victim identification, case
management, and analysis; and

-- Increase cooperation and coordination with law enforcement
counterparts from source and destination countries.

--------------
Protection
--------------

-- Adopt a mechanism by which the government can provide
funding or other forms of aid, such as in-kind assistance,
necessary for the establishment and smooth provision of
legal, medical, and psychological services to trafficking
victims;

-- Establish a national referral system among police,
immigration officials, and NGOs to ensure that victims
receive adequate protective assistance and are not arrested,
detained, or jailed;

-- Track and provide information on the number of victims
directly assisted by government personnel or referred by the
government to other entities;

--Take steps towards providing shelter facilities for male
trafficking victims; and

Prevention:

-- Conduct public awareness campaigns to warn at-risk groups
of the danger of trafficking and employers and travel
agencies of the consequences for facilitating or engaging in
human trafficking;

-- Conduct a broad campaign to reduce the demand for forced
labor and commercial sex acts; and

-- Enhance monitoring of recruitment and travel agencies to
ensure they do not facilitate or otherwise engage in
trafficking-related activities.

(end of Action Plan)
CLINTON