VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKU #0126/01 0421022
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111022Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4589
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000126 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, G-LAURA PENA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB
KMCA, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT'S 2010 TIP REPORT SUBMISSION: PART 1 
 
REF: STATE 2094 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) Part 1 of Embassy Kuwait's submission for the 2010 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report follows. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Responses are keyed to paragraphs 25 to 27 of 
reftel. 
 
 
================== 
THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION 
================== 
 
¶3. (SBU) Please find below responses to questions in 
paragraph 25 of reftel: 
 
25A Question: What is (are) the source(s) of available 
information on trafficking in persons? What plans are in 
place (if any) to undertake further documentation of human 
trafficking? How reliable are these sources? 
 
25A Answer: There are no GOK sources of available information 
on trafficking in persons and there are no plans to undertake 
further documentation of human trafficking. NGOs, the local 
press, lawyers, and labor attaches from labor-sending 
countries are the most reliable non-official sources. 
 
The Government of Kuwait (GOK) keeps reliable records on the 
number of foreign workers (the primary victims of trafficking 
in Kuwait) in the country, as do source countries, to a 
lesser degree of reliability. Post has requested these 
numbers repeatedly during numerous meetings with GOK 
interlocutors at the relevant ministries as well as 
submitting a request through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
(MFA) but, to date, has not received any statistical data. 
 
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) informed 
post that approximately 300 domestic workers -- which is the 
group most vulnerable to trafficking and abuse -- enter and 
leave the Temporary Domestic Worker's Shelter per year. The 
shelter has a maximum capacity of 40 occupants. 
 
25B Question: Is the country a country of origin, transit, 
and/or destination for men, women, or children subjected to 
conditions of commercial sexual exploitation, forced or 
bonded labor, or other slave-like conditions? Are citizens or 
residents of the country subjected to such trafficking 
conditions within the country? If so, does this internal 
trafficking occur in territory outside of the government's 
control (e.g. in a civil war situation)? From where are 
people recruited or from where do they migrate prior to being 
subjected to these exploitative conditions? To what other 
countries are people trafficked and for what purposes? 
Provide, where possible, numbers or estimates for each group 
of trafficking victims. Have there been any changes in the 
TIP situation since the last TIP Report (e.g. changes in 
destinations)? 
 
25B Answer: Kuwait is a destination country for men, women, 
or children sometimes subjected to slave-like conditions. 
There are no reports of citizens being trafficked. 
Trafficking does occur within the country's borders; however, 
there is no trafficking in areas outside of GOK control. 
 
Kuwait's two million foreign workers, some of whom are 
subjected to exploitative conditions, are mostly from India 
(estimated 580,000), Egypt (est. 430,000), Bangladesh (est. 
220,000), Syria (est. 140,000), Pakistan (est. 130,000), the 
Philippines (est. 110,000), Sri Lanka (est. 100,000), 
Indonesia (est. 65,000), Iran (est. 50,000), and Jordan (est. 
50,000). Many of Kuwait's expatriate workers complain of 
violations of their rights as workers, though most of these 
cases do not meet the definition of trafficking in persons. 
The GOK and most source-country embassies do not distinguish 
between simple labor violations and those of trafficking, 
making it unclear as to the real number of trafficking 
victims. 
 
Concerning numbers or estimates for groups of trafficking 
victims, the group of workers most vulnerable to trafficking 
are women who work as domestic workers, who number an 
estimated 550,000. According to NGO reports, the local press, 
and sending-country labor attaches, hundreds of Kuwait's 
domestic workers are being subjected to abuse and other forms 
of trafficking. Trafficking in persons remains a problematic 
issue in Kuwait. 
 
Source country embassies and NGOs do not report any major 
changes in governmental efforts to combat trafficking as 
compared to the previous year, although there were minor 
improvements in some areas. 
 
In the past year, the GOK took some steps to increase 
knowledge and awareness of trafficking-related issues. The 
government partially fulfilled the four commitments that were 
made in 2007 in order to demonstrate significant effort. The 
four commitments and the status of progress are as follows: 
 
i. Increase the number of investigations and prosecutions of 
trafficking-related crimes. Make available statistics on 
trafficking-related prosecutions, convictions and sentences 
achieved during the assessment period. Status of progress: 
For the first time, the GOK provided Post with statistics on 
trafficking-related prosecutions, convictions and sentences 
achieved during the assessment period. 
 
Investigations and prosecutions of trafficking-related crimes 
during the last year include: 
 
-- On 10 December 2009, in a landmark ruling, a criminal 
court sentenced a Kuwaiti employer in absentia to 16 years in 
jail for sexually and physically abusing a Filipina maid in 
his employ and issued a warrant for his arrest; the employer 
absconded and as of December 12 had not been apprehended, 
according to local press reports. The Philippines Embassy had 
filed charges on behalf of the woman in March after she had 
been hospitalized for a head wound requiring 24 stitches. In 
her sworn statement, she claimed that her employer sexually 
assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she refused his 
advances, according to the Philippines Embassy. 
 
-- On 22 December 2009, 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 6 January 2010, 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. 
However, this sentence was subsequently suspended upon 
payment of a 100 KD fine (USD 350). The Indonesian maid was 
allegedly beaten, scalded by boiling water and branded with a 
heated knife. 
 
-- In the past year, the GOK charged fifteen Kuwaiti citizens 
and a larger number of expats with domestic labor abuse. 
However, the 10 December 2009 sentence of 16 years is 
unusually stiff. By comparison, a Kuwaiti citizen charged 
with murder for beating his maid to death in July was 
sentenced to ten years. 
 
ii. Enact already drafted anti-trafficking legislation that 
prohibits severe forms of trafficking, including trafficking 
for the purpose of involuntary servitude and commercial 
sexual exploitation. Status of progress: Kuwait's draft 
anti-TIP law has been approved by the Council of Ministers 
and now must be debated and passed by the parliament in order 
to be ratified.  It is currently listed as the twentieth item 
on parliament's agenda for discussion. 
 
iii. Conduct a training program to educate and sensitize law 
enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors and other 
government officials on the effective handling of trafficking 
cases. In February 2009, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) 
Undersecretary approved anti-TIP training for fifteen MOI 
officers. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) 
held the two-week training in May 2009. 
 
iv. Establish a permanent shelter for trafficking victims to 
replace the low-capacity temporary shelter currently in use. 
Status of progress: In August 2008, a site for the permanent 
shelter was identified, a former elementary school building. 
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL), the lead 
governmental agency for the shelter, is waiting for official 
handover of the site from the Ministry of Education. Once the 
site is officially turned over to MOSAL, renovation of the 
building is expected to begin. MOSAL has already allocated 
approximately USD 2.5 million for the renovation. 
 
25C Question: To what kind of conditions are the trafficking 
victims subjected? 
 
23C Answer: In Kuwait, most trafficking victims are recruited 
as domestic or menial labor, not for the commercial sex 
trade. Victims are usually brought into the country with 
promises of salaries and jobs that do not materialize once 
they arrive. The most common problems are non-payment of 
salaries, work hours in gross excess of contract 
stipulations, and withholding of passports. Some domestic 
workers face additional problems of restriction of movement, 
unsuitable living conditions and physical and sexual abuse. 
 
Another problem is "visa trading" or "residence permit 
trading" in which sponsors (all foreign workers in Kuwait 
must have a Kuwaiti sponsor) profit by charging workers for 
sponsorship. In many cases, workers pay very high fees to 
recruiters (sometimes in Kuwait but often in source 
countries) for a right to procure a job in Kuwait. Some of 
these workers arrive in the country to find out that the jobs 
they were promised do not exist while others are aware that 
no job exists but come in the hopes of obtaining one upon 
arrival. 
 
There are also reports of people promising runaway domestic 
workers well-paid service industry jobs and non-domestic work 
visas, then coercing the workers into prostitution. (NOTE: 
Domestic workers receive Article 20 visas. These visas are 
restrictive and fall under the jurisdiction of the MOI. All 
other foreign private sector workers are given Article 18 
visas which fall under the jurisdiction of MOSAL. END NOTE) 
The GOK asserts that cases of actual coercion are rare, and 
that most of the women apprehended for prostitution made 
conscious choices to work as prostitutes. The number of cases 
that involve coercion is unknown. 
 
25D Question: Are certain groups of persons more at risk of 
human trafficking (e.g. women and children, boys versus 
girls, certain ethnic groups, refugees, IDPs, etc.)? If so, 
please specify the type of exploitation for which these 
groups are most at risk. 
 
25D Answer: Adult female domestic workers make up the group 
most at risk of being trafficked. Men and women working in 
low-skilled sectors such as janitorial services are also 
victims of various forms of exploitation. There does not seem 
to be a specific bias against any one nationality or 
ethnicity; however, poorly educated female expatriate 
nationals appear to be the most vulnerable. 
 
25E Question: Traffickers and Their Methods: Who are the 
traffickers/exploiters? Are they independent business people? 
Small or family-based crime groups? Large international 
organized crime syndicates? What methods are used to gain 
direct access to victims? For example, are the traffickers 
recruiting victims through lucrative job offers? Are victims 
sold by their families, or approached by friends of friends? 
Are victims "self- presenting" (approaching the exploiter 
without the involvement of a recruiter or transporter)? If 
recruitment or transportation is involved, what methods are 
used to recruit or transport victims (e.g., are false 
documents being used)? Are employment, travel, and tourism 
agencies or marriage brokers involved with or fronting for 
traffickers or crime groups to traffic individuals? 
 
25E Answer: Labor recruitment offices in both Kuwait and 
source countries and local employers are the most common 
traffickers. Employment/recruitment agencies are involved in 
trafficking. (NOTE: For further information please refer to 
answer 25C. END NOTE) To restrict traffickers, on February 9, 
2009, the MOI issued new guidelines requiring sponsors to 
show proof of owning a house before obtaining a visa for a 
domestic servant. 
 
================== 
SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
================== 
 
¶4. (SBU) Please find below responses to questions in 
paragraph 26 of reftel: 
 
26A Question: Does the government acknowledge that 
trafficking is a problem in the country? If not, why not? 
 
26A Answer: The GOK recognizes that labor exploitation 
occurs, but enforcement officials are overwhelmed by the 
foreign workers' huge numbers (there are over two million 
foreign workers in Kuwait and only one million Kuwaiti 
citizens). The GOK defines trafficking more narrowly that the 
USG; it defines trafficking as a systematic phenomenon, 
whereas it views the situation in Kuwait as consisting of 
isolated individual cases of workers whose rights were 
abused. The GOK acknowledges that some workers face 
difficulties but it denies that this constitutes a systemic 
problem and points to the fact that the vast majority of 
foreign workers come to Kuwait and remain voluntarily in 
order to take advantage of higher wages and better work 
conditions than may be available in their home countries. The 
general view held by GOK officials is that a few publicized 
extreme cases of worker abuse have unfairly maligned the 
entire system. 
 
26B Question: Which government agencies are involved in 
efforts to combat sex and labor trafficking - including 
forced labor - and, which agency, if any, has the lead in 
these efforts? 
 
26B Answer: The Ministries of Social Affairs and Labor, Awqaf 
(Religious Endowments) and Islamic Affairs, Interior and 
Justice are all involved in anti-trafficking efforts. The MOI 
monitors the concerns related to domestic workers and MOSAL 
is the relevant ministry for all other foreign workers. 
Although in the past it had been unclear which ministry had 
the lead on TIP and coordination among the various ministries 
is episodic and inconsistent, over the past year Minister of 
Social Affairs and Labor Mohammad Al-Afasi has demonstrated 
an apparent desire to direct and strengthen these efforts: 
 
 
-- On August 9, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor 
(MOSAL) issued a Ministerial resolution -- not subject to 
Parliamentary approval -- to immediately permit most foreign 
workers to change employers after three years of work, 
without first having to secure the permission of the current 
Kuwaiti sponsor. 
 
 
-- One week earlier, on August 2, Minister Al-Afasi publicly 
proposed the complete abolition of the GOK's current 
sponsorship system for foreign workers as a way of combating 
trafficking in persons. 
 
 
-- Separately, Minister Al-Afasi told the press that Kuwait 
had strongly backed the proposal at the June 8 meeting of 
GCC foreign ministers to exempt Yemenis from any sponsorship 
requirements, and expressed the view he hoped this policy 
would be adopted soon. 
 
26C Question: What are the limitations on the government's 
ability to address this problem in practice? For example, is 
funding for police or other institutions inadequate? Is 
overall corruption a problem? Does the government lack the 
resources to aid victims? 
 
26C Answer: The GOK does not lack the financial resources to 
combat TIP or to aid its victims. To date, the GOK has shown 
an inability to effectively define trafficking and a lack of 
political will to address TIP as a problem. Most trafficking 
abuses involve domestic workers in private homes, an area 
culturally considered sacrosanct, where the GOK has been 
reluctant to intrude in order to investigate and prosecute 
Kuwaiti citizens. 
 
Kuwaiti officials argue that the expatriate labor community's 
size (approximately 67 percent of the population), diversity 
(over 100 nationalities) and low education profile make 
combating TIP difficult. 
 
The GOK faces considerable obstacles in implementing its 
various commitments to combat trafficking. Legislative 
efforts to properly define and criminalize trafficking were 
hindered by a parliamentary dissolution and cabinet 
reshuffles. There have been four reshuffles in the past four 
years, as well as incessant wrangling between government and 
parliament that often stymied the legislative process 
altogether. 
 
26D Question: To what extent does the government 
systematically monitor its anti-trafficking efforts (on all 
fronts -- prosecution, victim protection, and prevention) and 
periodically make available, publicly or privately and 
directly or through regional/international organizations, its 
assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
26D Answer: The GOK does not systematically monitor its 
anti-trafficking efforts and instead tends to investigate 
abuse claims under existing criminal and civil codes. 
However, Kuwaiti suspects under investigation tend to receive 
less scrutiny from GOK authorities than do third country 
nationals. 
 
26E Question: What measures has the government taken to 
establish the identity of local populations, including birth 
registration, citizenship, and nationality? 
 
26E: The GOK registers the birth of all citizens and foreign 
workers.  Although the GOK did not previously issue birth 
certificates to its 100,000 stateless "Bidoon" residents, 
since March 2008 the GOK has increasingly registered Bidoon 
births and issued certificates to Bidoon newborns. 
 
26F Question: To what extent is the government capable of 
gathering the data required for an in-depth assessment of law 
enforcement efforts? 
 
26F Answer: The GOK is fully capable of gathering the data 
required for an in-depth assessment of law enforcement 
efforts. 
 
================== 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
================== 
 
¶5. (SBU) Please find below responses to questions in 
paragraph 27 of reftel: 
 
27A Question: Does the country have a law or laws 
specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons -- both for 
sexual exploitation and labor? If so, please specifically 
cite the name of the law(s) and its date of enactment and 
provide the exact language (actual copies preferable) of the 
TIP provisions. Please provide a full inventory of 
trafficking laws, including non-criminal statutes that allow 
for civil penalties against alleged trafficking crimes (e.g., 
civil forfeiture laws and laws against illegal debt). Does 
the law(s) cover both internal and transnational forms of 
trafficking? If not, under what other laws can traffickers be 
prosecuted? For example, are there laws against slavery or 
the exploitation of prostitution by means of force, fraud, or 
coercion? Are these other laws being used in trafficking 
cases? 
 
27A Answer: The GOK does not have a law specifically 
prohibiting trafficking in persons. The GOK has draft 
legislation that has been approved by the Council of 
Ministers but has not yet been presented to the Parliament 
for consideration. 
 
There are several laws that address TIP-related crimes 
including: 
 
-- Kuwait criminal law criminalizes kidnapping, detention and 
slave trading with penalties as severe as life imprisonment. 
 
-- Article 31 of Kuwait's constitution protects against 
restriction of movement, torture, or "degrading" treatment. 
 
-- Law 16/1960 criminalizes forced labor or exploitation as 
well as maltreatment of all kinds of individuals. If the 
maltreatment amounts to torture and leads to death, it is 
considered first degree murder. In addition, rape can lead to 
execution and incitement of (sexual) immorality can result in 
up to seven years imprisonment. 
 
-- MOSAL decree 152/2004 forbids underage employment in 
dangerous industries. 
 
-- Ministerial decree 152/2004 forbids the use of camel 
jockeys younger than 18 years. 
 
-- Ministerial decree 152/2007 forbids sponsors/employers 
from withholding passports. 
 
Traffickers can also be prosecuted for committing violence 
against workers. In a landmark 10 December 2009 ruling, a 
criminal court sentenced a Kuwaiti employer in absentia to 16 
years in jail for sexually and physically abusing a Filipina 
maid in his employ and issued a warrant for his arrest; the 
employer absconded and as of December 12 had not been 
apprehended, according to local press reports. The 
Philippines Embassy had filed charges on behalf of the woman 
in March after she had been hospitalized for a head wound 
requiring 24 stitches. In her sworn statement, she claimed 
that her employer sexually assaulted her and threatened to 
kill her if she refused his advances, according to the 
Philippines Embassy. 
 
On 22 December 2009, 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 6 January 2010, 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. However, 
this sentence was subsequently suspended upon payment of a 
100 KD fine (USD 350). The Indonesian maid was allegedly 
beaten, scalded by boiling water and branded with a heated 
knife. 
 
In the past year, the GOK charged fifteen Kuwaiti citizens 
and a larger number of expats with domestic labor abuse. 
However, the 10 December 2009 sentence of 16 years is 
unusually stiff. By comparison, a Kuwaiti citizen charged 
with murder for beating his maid to death in July was 
sentenced to ten years. 
 
On 23 December 2009, the National Assembly passed especially 
important new legislation: a new private sector labor law, 
which came into effect on 23 January 2010. The approximately 
70 new articles and amendments in the updated law are largely 
viewed as beneficial to Kuwait's expatriate laboring 
community. Pressure from concerned governments, international 
organizations and NGOs, and reform initiatives undertaken by 
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) Dr. Mohammed 
Al-Afasi are credited with providing the impetus for the 
passage of this bill into law. Benefits to private workers 
include: 
 
-- more favorable working conditions, -- longer leaves, -- 
higher severance pay, -- more secure salaries (minimum wage 
for workers according to their professions). 
 
(U) Of key importance in the amendments is a provision for 
the establishment of a state-owned recruitment company to 
oversee and manage the importation of foreign labor, a move 
intended to eliminate visa trading and illicit recruitment of 
foreign workers. The new law also punishes more harshly -- 3 
years imprisonment and/or raised fines up to KD 5000 -- the 
illicit recruitment of workers. The passage of this law, 
though it does not address the plight of Kuwait's half 
million domestic workers, may pave the way for an anti-TIP 
bill previously approved by the National Assembly's 
legislative committee. 
 
27B Question: What are the prescribed and imposed penalties 
for trafficking people for commercial sexual exploitation, 
including for the forced prostitution of adults and the 
prostitution of children? 
 
27B Answer: Since there is no anti-trafficking legislation, 
there are no prescribed penalties for any trafficking crimes. 
Forced prostitution is illegal, as are the activities of 
brothel owners/operators, clients, pimps and enforcers. 
Penalties include prison sentences for up to seven years 
depending on the level of involvement and the age of the sex 
workers. 
 
27C Question: What are the prescribed and imposed penalties 
for labor trafficking offenses, including all forms of forced 
labor? If your country is a source country for labor 
migrants, do the government's laws provide for criminal 
punishment -- i.e. jail time -- for labor recruiters who 
engage in recruitment of workers using knowingly fraudulent 
or deceptive offers with the purpose of subjecting workers to 
compelled service in the destination country? If your country 
is a destination for labor migrants (legal/regular or 
illegal/irregular), are there laws punishing employers or 
labor agents who confiscate workers' passports or travel 
documents for the purpose of labor trafficking, switch 
contracts without the worker's consent as a means to keep the 
worker in a state of compelled service, or withhold payment 
of salaries as means of keeping the worker in a state of 
compelled service? 
 
27C Answer: Law 16/1960 criminalizes forced labor and 
exploitation, and penalties range from up to seven years, 
imprisonment (for incitement of sexual immorality) to death 
in cases of sexual crimes and murder. 
 
Kuwait is not a source country for labor migrants. 
 
A Ministerial Decree was issued in July 2007 (152/2007) 
forbidding the withholding of workers' passports. To date, 
this law has not been adequately enforced. Source country 
embassies report that over 90 percent of the domestic workers 
that come to the embassies for assistance do not have their 
passports with them. 
 
 
Kuwaiti law criminalizes the withholding of salaries. Article 
32 of the Kuwaiti Private Sector Law prohibits withholding a 
worker's salary or a portion of it, unless the employer is in 
debt, in which case up to 25% of the worker's salary can be 
deducted. However, this law is not adequately enforced, a 
fact cited by several thousand foreign laborers, who 
demonstrated violently in July 2008. 
 
27D Question: What are the prescribed penalties for rape or 
forcible sexual assault? (NOTE: This is necessary to evaluate 
a foreign government's compliance with TVPA Minimum Standard 
2, which reads: "For the knowing commission of any act of sex 
trafficking . . . the government of the country should 
prescribe punishment commensurate with that for grave crimes, 
such as forcible sexual assault (rape)." END NOTE) 
 
27D Answer: The maximum penalty for rape is death. 
 
********************************************* ********* 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: 
 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it 
********************************************* ********* 
JONES