GOK STEPS UP ABUSE PROSECUTIONS/TRAINING AHEAD OF

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000022 SIPDIS NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KTIP PHUM ELAB KU SUBJECT: GOK STEPS UP ABUSE PROSECUTIONS/TRAINING AHEAD OF TIP DESIGNATION REF: KUWAIT 1192 ¶1. (U) Summary: Further to reftel report of a recent landmark court case in which a Kuwaiti national received a 16-year sentence for abuse of a domestic worker, the GoK has continued to demonstrate an increased commitment to prosecuting TIP-related crimes (particularly against foreign domestic workers, a heretofore little protected group) and raising GoK authorities' consciousness of TIP-related crimes through training. The GoK's new momentum against TIP appears motivated, in part, by a desire to avoid a repeat Tier III designation and likely also reflects a growing public awareness of (and embarrassment over) the TIP problem. End Summary. Recent TIP-related court actions include: -------------- ¶2. (U) On December 22, Kuwait's Criminal Court sentenced a Kuwaiti woman to 15 years in prison for murdering her housemaid. According to press reports, the maid had been assaulted and mortally injured by her employer and then denied medical care for a period of three days prior to being transported in critical condition to a hospital, where she expired. -- On January 6, the Kuwaiti Criminal Court found a Kuwaiti woman guilty of physically abusing a domestic worker in her employ, and sentenced her to two years imprisonment. (Note: This sentence was subsequently suspended upon payment of a 100 KD fine (USD 350). End note.) The Indonesian maid was allegedly beaten, scalded by boiling water and branded with a heated knife. Increased IOM Training Participation -------------- ¶3. (U) The GoK also undertook the following recent efforts to upgrade the training and TIP awareness of judicial officials: -- December 6-10, Kuwaiti officials from the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Social Affairs and Labor, and Foreign Affairs actively participated in an International Organization for Migration (IOM) workshop on expatriate workers' rights. -- On January 11 the IOM opened a conference/workshop funded by the Dutch Embassy aimed at building TIP awareness and the capability of Kuwaiti officials to use existing law in TIP-related crimes. The three-day workshop will train 20 senior Kuwaiti judicial officials and representatives from the Attorney General's office. The conference received widespread, positive publicity in the local media, with prominent coverage given to Ambassador's participation in the opening session, along with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs Rashed al-Hammad. -- Further IOM training on trafficking crimes and migration issues is planned for judges and prosecutors. Comment: -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Recent successful prosecutions and convictions of Kuwaiti nationals for mistreatment of domestic workers are signaling that the GoK no longer considers its citizens to be above the law. While the National Assembly has not yet passed an Anti-Trafficking bill (the draft was unanimously approved by the Legislative Committee, but has yet to appear on the agenda for Parliamentary debate),the courts' creative application of existing and more limited criminal law in recent cases is commendable. In Embassy's frequent engagement on TIP with the GoK (both at the leadership and working level and facilitated by a November 16 visit by G/TIP Ambassador at large CdeBaca),IOM and NGOs, interlocutors have suggested that the GoK's newly proactive approach is motivated by embarrassment over its repeated Tier III ranking (and the hope of avoiding such a ranking this year) and similar concern over an upcoming Human Rights Council periodic review in which the GoK will have its record examined by the UN. (Note: we understand the HRC review was scheduled for May of this year but may have been postponed until May 2011.) End Comment. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* JONES