This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000855 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL FOR TAGGART, AND NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2014 
TAGS: PHUM SMIG ASEC ELAB KWMN KFRD PGOV YM KRIC HUMAN RIGHTS TRAFFICKING PERSONS
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER ON THE HRR, TIP, AMNESTY 
INTERNATIONAL, RESPONSIBLE MEDIA AND HER PROPOSED TRIP TO 
WASHINGTON 
 
REF: A. SANAA 662 
 
     ¶B. SANAA 611 
     ¶C. SANAA 505 
     ¶D. SANAA 472 
     ¶E. SANAA 359 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edmund J. Hull for reasons 1.5 (b and d) 
 
¶1. (c) Summary:  On 4/10, Ambassador and Pol/Econ Chief met 
with Minister of Human Rights Amat al-Alim al-Suswah at her 
request to discuss the ROYG's response to the 2003 Human 
Rights Report (HRR), additional ROYG actions to quantify and 
combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP), the Amnesty 
International (AI) delegation visit and her proposed trip to 
Washington  in May to accept an award and meet Department 
officials and NGOs.  Al-Suswah handed over new data from the 
Ministry of Interior on cases of women and children being 
trafficked and gave a progress report that reflects increased 
cooperation within the ROYG on current investigations and 
on-going or pending prosecutions; she was receptive to the 
Ambassador's message not to punish the victims but the 
persecutors.  Ambassador and the Minister agreed that the 
message to AI should reflect Yemen's progress on human rights 
in tandem with increasing counter-terrorism cooperation and 
security.  Both were critical of inaccurate press reporting 
and discussed their attempts at remedial action.  Ambassador 
provided a copy of the April 2004 Freedom House report on 
Yemen.  End summary. 
 
TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN:  INTERAGENCY COOPERATION, 
ON-GOING INVESTIGATIONS, PROSECUTIONS EXPECTED 
 
¶2. (c) Apologizing that she still does not have complete 
information on some of the issues raised during preparations 
for input for the TIP report, al-Suswah provided 
documentation (in Arabic) that she received from the Ministry 
of Interior (MOI).  Note: This information is being 
translated and reviewed by the Embassy; the Minister 
specifically requested that the names of victims and 
perpetrators be withheld to protect their privacy.  End note. 
 The Minister explained that for the first time, the MOI has 
coordinated with other ROYG entities to record the cases of 
women and children being trafficked in three governorates 
(Hajjah, Mahwhit, and Saada) from 2002 to 2003. 
 
¶3. (c) Al-Suswah commented that the TIP phenomenon in Yemen 
is still new, and that the root of the problem is poverty. 
She described most of the children's cases as a desperate 
economic measure by families forced to send children outside 
the country to beg.  Al-Suswah remarked that this practice is 
prohibited by Yemeni law, and said that the vast majority of 
children identified by the MOI have already been returned 
home and the cases are being prosecuted.  She also cited a 
recent public announcement by the Ministry of Social Affairs, 
which is launching a Child Protection Program aimed at 
providing care, rehabilitation and education services to 
needy children. 
 
¶4. (c) She characterized the majority of the women's cases as 
involving prostitution which, in addition to prompting moral 
objections and religious prohibitions, is also against the 
law.  Acknowledging the change in visa policy for Iraqis (ref 
b), al-Suswah said that Yemen's "eyes are open to address 
issues," but that the problems are complex.  Stating that 
there have been 13 deportations of women involved in 
prostitution, mostly due to health concerns, Al-Suswah 
advocated for clear legal measures and coordination among 
security agencies to address the issue, and assured the 
Ambassador that the ROYG is commited to tracing the source of 
the problem and to prosecuting perpetrators.  She expressed 
that the criminals engaged in this activity are not 
well-organized or well-established.  Ambassador emphasized 
that the focus should be on punishing the criminals, rather 
than the victims.  He also indicated that preliminary 
responses from Washington were supportive of Yemen's efforts, 
that it is unlikely that Yemen will be named in any of the 
tiers, and that it needs to continue to pursue the issue and 
put pressure on the traffickers. 
 
MESSAGE FOR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL:  HUMAN RIGHTS AND 
SECURITY, NOT A ZERO-SUM GAME 
 
¶5. (c) The Minister shared her thoughts -- and the text of 
her opening remarks -- on the 2-day conference co-sponsored 
by Amnesty International (AI) and the Yemeni National 
Organization for Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) 
to focus attention and organize in support of the detainees 
at Guantanamo and in Yemen.  She said that she tried to be 
diplomatic in her message that it is possible to balance 
human rights and security interests.  She was pleased that 
the AI delegation arrived after the announcement that the USS 
Cole attackers will be prosecuted.  Al-Suswah expressed her 
approval of the dialogue process headed by Judge al-Hitar 
(ref e) to educate detainees that they have no right to 
jihad, but mentioned that conference attendees were vocal in 
their opinion that the ROYG is unfairly detaining suspected 
terrorist activists. 
 
¶6. (c) Ambassador mentioned that he would be meeting with the 
AI that afternoon (septel).  He and al-Suswah agreed that 
they want to convey substantially the same message:  Terror 
is a world-wide problem with no easy solution, but there can 
be a balance between security and human rights and over the 
past two years Yemen has proven that a country can make 
progress on Human Rights and counter-terrorism.  The Minister 
said that the Ministry is arranging meetings for the 
delegates with the Presidential Office, the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Security Office (PSO) and 
the Ministry of Justice; she noted that the Ministry of 
Interior declined to meet with the delegation. 
 
HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT RECEIVED WITH "RESPECT" - FREEDOM OF THE 
PRESS REQUIRES RESPONSIBILITY 
 
¶7. (c) Minister al-Suswah said that, except for the Women's 
National Committee, she has received all the government's 
comments on the HRR.  Saying the report has been received 
with "respect, she requested a joint meeting or press 
conference in conjunction with the Ambassador once she has 
compiled all of the reactions.  Ambassador responded that we 
benefit from the comments and he is pleased with Yemeni 
efforts to improve the dialogue. 
 
¶8. (c) Al-Suswah complained that the state Saba News agency 
misrepresented the HRR as "full of lies."  Upon 
investigation, she said she learned the journalist used the 
previous year's printed description to improperly 
characterize the 2003 HRR.  Accordingly, she requested a 
published correction to reflect that the report is favorable 
toward Yemen.  She expounded that journalists should be 
punished for false reporting, but are not properly trained 
and often unduly influenced by political affiliations.  The 
Minister is planning to meet with the journalists syndicate 
to discuss the future of the press and the laws governing it, 
especially so-called "crimes" of the press, and to begin to 
develop a "charter of ethics" for journalists. 
 
¶9. (c) Ambassador relayed a recent problem Post had with the 
moderate Islamist weekly mouthpiece for the Popular Forces 
Union Party, al-Shura, publishing inflammatory reports on the 
anniversary of the March 2003 anti-war demonstrations at the 
Embassy (ref a).  He emphasized that ROYG forces only 
returned fire when fired upon and did not instigate the 
resulting violence.  Ambassador noted that the Post's PAO 
wrote an explanatory letter that was published, but only with 
defensive commentary.  Ambassador and al-Suswah agreed that 
the media should not create its own version of history and 
that security forces should be credited for acting 
appropriately and admonished and corrected if they act 
improperly. 
 
FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT CITES YEMEN AS "AN EXAMPLE FOR THE 
ARABIAN PENINSULA" 
 
¶10. (c) Ambassador shared the newly-released Freedom House 
report on 30 countries at the crossroads of reform (available 
at www.freedomhouse.org/research/crossroads/cac. htm).  He 
commented favorably on Minister al-Suswah's facilitation of 
the September 2003 visit by consultant Brian Katulis, who 
drafted the report. 
 
MINISTER TO TRAVEL TO ISTANBUL IN APRIL AND WASHINGTON IN MAY 
 
¶11. (c) Al-Suswah stated she is attending the Congress of 
Democrats from the Islamic World (CDIW), organized by the 
National Democratic Institute, along with FM Abu Bakr 
al-Qirbi, Presidential Advisor Abdul Karim al-Iryani, the 
Chairman of the Supreme Committee on Election and Referenda, 
and influential representatives from the three main political 
parties.  She said she also plans to travel to Washington, DC 
around May 15 to receive an award, along with three other 
women, from Vital Voices.  The Minister is planning to stay 
several additional days for meetings with the Department and 
NGOs.  She expressed regret that she missed meeting U/S 
Dobriansky in Geneva in March, but understood how difficult 
it can be to connect during conferences.  Ambassador pledged 
assistance in facilitating her travel and appointments. 
 
HULL