VZCZCXRO7127
PP RUEHDE RUEHJO
DE RUEHKU #4559 2971136
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241136Z OCT 05
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1482
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1046
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 004559 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI SWALKER, LONDON FOR LTSOU, EB/FO, 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR PBURKHEAD AND USPTO FOR 
PFOWLER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ELAB PGOV PREL KU IPR
SUBJECT: KUWAIT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON IPR AND LABOR ISSUES 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 4402 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 3222 
     ¶C. KUWAIT 1493 
     ¶D. KUWAIT 790 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment.  In an October 19 meeting with 
Econ Counselor, the Deputy Director General of the Kuwait 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) contested Kuwait's 
non-compliance status on IPR and labor rights.  He requested 
additional details outlining USG IPR compliance issues and 
rejected trade unions as potentially destabilizing 
organizations that could be exploited by Kuwait's large and 
fractious foreign workforce to advance competing national 
interests.  Al-Rabah's efforts to link trade unions with the 
potential for increased political instability appear 
misplaced, disguising perhaps a broader and more realistic 
concern for increased unity and influence among foreign 
laborers in labor disputes with their public and private 
sector employers. 
End Summary and Comment 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 19, Econcouns, accompanied by Econoff, 
met with Rabah Al-Rabah, Deputy Director General of the KCCI, 
a non-government entity with close ties to the GOK.  Emboffs 
addressed Kuwait's non-compliance with IPR and labor issues 
within the on-going TIFA process.  Al-Rabah expressed 
disappointment and surprise that Kuwait could be considered 
uncooperative on these issues, particularly IPR, and 
requested clarification of USG expectations.  He asserted 
that the GOK's 1998 IPR law and the government's efforts to 
enforce IPR measures were making headway and that enforcement 
measures were being implemented per USG requests. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Al-Rabah added that the "even the U.S. Congress had 
expressed support for GOK laws and actions."  Econcouns 
countered that although Kuwait had taken some steps regarding 
IPR protection, much remained to be done.  He said although 
Kuwait Customs and the Commerce Ministry are taking active 
measures, adequate and sustained enforcement by the Ministry 
of Interior is still lacking, as well as a clear legal basis 
for prosecutions.  He added that punitive measures by the MOI 
against violators arrested during IPR raids were weak, 
translating into long-term economic losses for Kuwait and the 
United States.  Al-Rabah reiterated his call for additional 
information.  (Note: On October 22, Econoff passed KCCI 
detailed IPR non-compliance information earlier provided by 
USTR regarding Kuwait.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) On labor issues, Al-Rabah concurred that Kuwait was 
not in compliance with ILO conventions it had agreed to 
concerning labor rights.  He urged increased consideration of 
Kuwait's social demographics.  He explained that Kuwait was 
not ready for trade unions, stating that labor rights, in 
general, are not "a clear cut issue" in Kuwait given the "130 
nationalities working and residing in the country, comprising 
80 percent of the country's workforce."  Al-Rabah suggested 
that rival nationalities in Kuwait could use trade unions as 
destabilizing political blocs against one another, resulting 
in social unrest in Kuwait. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Al-Rabah continued that although Kuwait was a 
democratic and free society, with a developed legal 
infrastructure, the country remained exposed to 
"international political risk" given the competing 
ideological and national sentiments of its contentious 
international workforce (e.g., Syrians, Lebanese, 
Palestinians, Pakistani, Indians, Libyans).    He urged USG 
consideration of these and other "political risks" 
confronting Kuwait within the context of international labor 
rights discussions. 
 
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http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
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LEBARON