SAUDI ARABIA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 STATE 060413 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG SA SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND DEMARCHE REF: A. STATE 59732 ¶B. STATE 005577 ¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. ¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a press conference in the Department's press briefing room. This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic and foreign news outlets. Until the time of the Secretary's June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or country narratives contained therein is prohibited. ¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter. Also provided is demarche language to be used in informing the Government of Saudi Arabia of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's imminent release. The text of the TIP Report country narrative is provided, both for use in informing the Government of Saudi Arabia and in any local media release by Post's public affairs section on June 16 or thereafter. Drawing on information provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide the host government with the text of the TIP Report narrative no earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts. Please note, however, that any public release of the Report's information should not/not precede the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16. ¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 release. Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts in all countries appearing on the Report. The Secretary's statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website shortly after the June 16 event. Ambassador de Baca will also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. ¶5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform the appropriate official in the Government of Saudi Arabia of the June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the �A;points in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of the country narrative provided in para 8. For countries where the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it is particularly important to advise governments prior to the Report being released in Washington on June 16. ¶6. Action Request continued: Please note that, for those countries which will not receive an "action plan" with specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw host governments' attention to the areas for improvement identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the "Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the narrative text. This engagement is important to establishing the framework in which the government's performance will be judged for the 2010 Report. If posts have questions about which governments will receive an action plan, or how they may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. ¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the press guidance provided in para 11. If Post wishes, a local press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP Report's country narrative provided in para 8. ¶8. Begin Final Text of Saudi Arabia,s country narrative in the 2009 TIP Report: -------------- SAUDI ARABIA (Tier 3) -------------- Saudi Arabia is a destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and many other countries voluntarily travel to Saudi Arabia as domestic STATE 00060413 002 OF 006 servants or other low-skilled laborers, but some subsequently face conditions indicative of involuntary servitude, including restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and non-payment of wages. Women, primarily from Asian and African countries are also believed to have been trafficked into Saudi Arabia for commercial sexual exploitation; others were reportedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution after running away from abusive employers. In addition, Saudi Arabia is a destination country for Nigerian, Yemeni, Pakistani, Afghan, Chadian, and Sudanese children trafficked for involuntary servitude as forced beggars and street vendors. Some Saudi nationals travel to destinations including Morocco, Egypt, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to engage in commercial sexual exploitation. Some Saudi men have also used legally contracted &temporary marriages8 in countries such as Mauritania, Yemen, and Indonesia as a means by which to sexually exploit migrant workers. Females as young as seven years old are led to believe they are being wed in earnest, but upon arrival in Saudi Arabia subsequently become their husbands, sexual slaves, are forced into domestic labor and, in some cases, prostitution. The Government of Saudi Arabia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making discernible efforts to do so. There is no evidence that the government criminally prosecutes or punishes trafficking offenders, particularly abusive employers and fraudulent recruiters involved in labor trafficking. Furthermore, it has not been observed that the government took law enforcement action against trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in Saudi Arabia, or took any steps to provide victims of sex trafficking with protection. In general, victim protection efforts in Saudi Arabia remain weak, with authorities failing to institute a formal victim identification procedure and often treating victims of trafficking as criminals. The government shows no sign of significant political commitment to addressing the serious issue of involuntary servitude in the Kingdom; indeed, an official responsible for such matters has denied that trafficking in persons takes place in Saudi Arabia. Despite tightening immigration laws and visa entry requirements, there has been no prevention of the trafficking of men, women, and children who migrate legally and voluntarily, but who are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude or commercial sexual exploitation. Recommendations for Saudi Arabia: Enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that criminalizes all forms of trafficking in persons and assigns sufficiently stringent criminal penalties; significantly increase criminal prosecutions and punishments of traffickers, including abusive employers and those culpable of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation; institute a formal victim identification mechanism to distinguish trafficking victims among the thousands of workers it deports each year for immigration violations and other crimes; ensure that trafficking victims are not detained or punished for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as violations of immigration regulations; extend protection to victims of sex trafficking; undertake public awareness campaigns to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts and child sex tourism committed by Saudi nationals abroad; consider measures to prevent labor trafficking, such as ensuring that all workers hold their own passports and are free to depart the country without requiring permission from their sponsors, and extending labor law protections to domestic workers. Prosecution -------------- Saudi Arabia made no discernible efforts to criminally prosecute or punish trafficking offenses during the reporting period. While the government points to examples of employers being jailed or fined, these examples are rare and are usually only in cases of extreme physical abuse that may or may not include trafficking. The government does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, but penalizes forced labor through Articles 229-242 of its Labor Law. Penalties prescribed under these forced labor statutes, however, are limited to fines or bans on future hiring, and are not sufficiently stringent. These laws also do not apply to domestic servants, the primary victims of forced labor in Saudi Arabia. In March 2009, it was reported that the Shura Council discussed a number of draft regulations that would prohibit some activities that facilitiate human trafficking, including a proposed comprehensive anti-trafficking law. Saudi Arabia does not have a law specifically prohibiting trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. The Saudi government asserts that Shari,a (Islamic) law can be used to prosecute trafficking offenses, though in practice no STATE 00060413 003 OF 006 prosecution of such cases was observed. Trafficking victims are often deported without receiving assistance and with little or no compensation. By May 2008, all charges were dropped and a conviction was nullified against the employer of Nour Miyati, an Indonesian domestic worker who was severely abused, exploited, and enslaved in a Saudi residence in 2004 and 2005; after years of seeking justice in her well publicized case, Ms. Miyati was awarded just $668 in compensation by a Saudi court. In addition, despite available administrative laws, the government does not regularly enforce fines or bans on hiring workers imposed upon abusive employers or recruitment agencies. Police continue to be criticized for being unresponsive to requests for help from foreign workers. Furthermore, it has been maintained by some observers that the social status of the employer weighs heavily on the chances of a judge siding with a plaintiff,s case in court, with wealthy individuals, high officials, and royalty rarely if ever losing a case. As in previous years, training was provided in January 2009 to judges, prosecutors, and investigators about trafficking; the training has not yet been observed to result in improved criminal law enforcement against trafficking in persons. Adequate enforcement is not possible without a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that clearly outlines jail time and fines for specific acts. Protection -------------- Saudi Arabia made insufficient efforts to protect victims of trafficking. The government operates deportation facilities for runaway workers in several cities and a shelter for female domestic workers in Riyadh. The government sometimes pays workers, repatriation expenses but not their claims for compensation. However, many victims are not provided access to government facilities or shelter; they must seek refuge at their embassies, negotiate settlements with their employers, and independently obtain funds to return home. Of particular concern is Saudi Arabia,s continued lack of a formal procedure to identify victims of trafficking from among vulnerable populations, such as foreigners detained for immigration violations or women arrested for prostitution. As a result, victims of trafficking are often punished or automatically deported without being offered protection. Women arrested for prostitution are not interviewed for evidence of trafficking and may be subjected to stringent corporal punishment under Saudi law. Women who have been raped by their employers have found themselves imprisoned or sentenced to lashes for &moral criminality.8 Although Saudi Arabia offers temporary relief from deportation to some victims who identify themselves to authorities, those who have run away from their employers, overstayed their visas, or otherwise violated the legal terms of their visas may be jailed. Saudi officials do not encourage victims to assist in investigations against their traffickers, and often discourage cooperation by persuading victims to take monetary compensation in lieu of filing criminal charges against their employers or by returning to their employers. The length of time to process cases against employers leads many foreign workers to drop both criminal and monetary claims, choosing instead to return to their home countries in lieu of submitting to a legal process. There is no mechanism in place under Saudi law for continuing such cases once the employee has departed Saudi Arabia. Although the government reports providing legal services to victims, the lack of translation assistance and lengthy and costly delays often discourage victims. Some children caught in begging rings are now sent to juvenile shelters and reportedly offered counseling and medical care instead of being put into prison, which was previously the norm. The government does not offer legal alternatives to the removal of foreign trafficking victims to countries where they may face hardship or retribution. Prevention -------------- Saudi Arabia has not made significant efforts to prevent trafficking in persons during the reporting period. Although the Shura Council indicated its intent to discuss a comprehensive anti-trafficking law in November 2008, there has been no public discussion of the matter to date. The government continues to produce brochures about workers, rights in Arabic, English, and some source country languages, but the distribution of these materials appears extremely limited. Officials tend to favor employers -- particularly those who are well-connected -- who claimed they were victims of nonperforming, negligent migrant workers and accuse them of such offenses as child abuse and witchcraft and even more routinely of theft. No information was available from the government about measures taken during the reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. Similarly, there is no evidence that Saudi Arabia took steps to reduce STATE 00060413 004 OF 006 participation in child sex tourism by its nationals abroad. -------------- ¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report country narrative: (begin non-paper) -- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to Congress. The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and create partnerships around the world in the fight against modern-day slavery. The USG approach to combating human trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol"). The TVPA and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, or coercion, whether overt or through psychological manipulation. While much attention has focused on international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a showing that the victim was moved. -- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of three tiers. Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1. Countries assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, but making significant efforts to meet those minimum standards are classified as Tier 2. Countries assessed as neither complying with the minimum standards nor making significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. -- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a "Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of each year. Countries are included on the "Special Watch List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. -- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: (1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim population. As indicated in reftel B, 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. -- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for participation by government officials or employees in educational and cultural exchange programs. In addition, the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to international financial institutions to oppose loans or other utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, trade-related or certain types of development assistance) with respect to countries on Tier 3. Countries classified as Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's STATE 00060413 005 OF 006 release to show significant efforts against trafficking in persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier classification, would avoid such sanctions. Guidelines for such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared by Posts with host governments. -- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon: fraudulent recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor. As the May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion. The current global financial crisis threatens to increase the number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated "cost of coercion. " -- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on website www.state.gov/g/tip. -- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State Department. We are providing you an advance copy of your country's narrative in that report. Please keep this information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June ¶16. The State Department will also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. (end non-paper) ¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as possible after the TIP Report is released. Funding for translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human Rights Report. Posts needing financial assistance for translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX office. ¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use with local media. Q1: Why does Saudi Arabia have a Tier 3 ranking? A: Saudi Arabia was placed on Tier 3 because its government has not criminally prosecute or punish trafficking offenders, particularly abusive employers and fraudulent recruiters involved in labor trafficking. The government similarly did not take law enforcement action against trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in Saudi Arabia, or take any steps to provide victims of sex trafficking with protection. Victims of trafficking are often punished or automatically deported without being offered protection. Women arrested for prostitution are not interviewed for evidence of trafficking and may be subjected to stringent corporal punishment under Saudi law. Q2: Has Saudi Arabia made any progress in combating trafficking although the tier ranking has remained the same since 2008? A: Despite tightening immigration laws and visa entry requirements, the government has not prevented the trafficking of men, women, and children who migrate legally and voluntarily, but who are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude or commercial sexual exploitation. Q3: What can Saudi Arabia do to further the fight against trafficking in persons? A: The Saudi Arabian government could: Enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that criminalizes all forms of trafficking in persons and assigns sufficiently stringent criminal penalties; significantly increase criminal prosecutions and punishments of traffickers, including abusive employers and those culpable of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation; institute a formal victim identification mechanism to distinguish trafficking victims among the thousands of workers it deports each year for immigration violations and other crimes; ensure that trafficking victims are not detained or punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked, such as violations of immigration regulations; extend protection to victims of sex trafficking; undertake public awareness campaigns to STATE 00060413 006 OF 006 reduce the demand for commercial sex acts and child sex tourism committed by Saudi nationals abroad; reform the law to insure that all workers hold their own passports and are free to depart the country without requiring permission from their sponsors; and adapt labor laws to apply to domestic workers. ¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the preceding action requests. CLINTON