VZCZCXRO4568
OO RUEHDE
DE RUEHMK #1013/01 1611548
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 101548Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4912
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001013 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2016 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KHUM PREL PGOV SMIG BA HUMRIT
BILAT 
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: 2006 TIP REPORT AND TIER 2 WATCH LIST 
ACTION PLAN 
 
REF: A. STATE 89065 
     ¶B. STATE 85592 
 
Classified By: A/DCM Steve Bondy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarches June 5 to MFA Human 
Rights Coordinator Ali Al Aradi, including Bahrain's 2006 TIP 
Report and the Tier 2 Watch List Action Plan.  Al Aradi 
expressed optimism that two key items would be accomplished 
by year's end: passage of comprehensive anti-TIP legislation 
and the opening of the government shelter for victims of 
trafficking and other abuse.  In a separate meeting, MFA 
Assistant Undersecretary Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Mubarak Al 
Khalifa was less optimistic about the six-month window for 
legislation to be passed due to the fall election schedule. 
In public comments Shaikh Abdul Aziz stated that government 
databases are being upgraded to track prosecutions and other 
statistics related to trafficking.  In testimony before the 
Shura (Consultative) Council May 29, Minister of Social 
Development Dr. Fatima Al Balooshi stated that the Ministry 
would take possession of the building for the shelter on June 
10, and the shelter will be operating at full capacity by the 
end of the calendar year.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) PolOff met with MFA Human Rights Coordinator Al Aradi 
June 5 to deliver reftel demarches consisting of the 2006 TIP 
report for Bahrain and the Tier 2 Watch List Action Plan for 
Bahrain.  PolOff focused on the importance of both the 
passage of anti-TIP legislation and the opening of the 
shelter within the next six months for Bahrain to maintain 
its position on the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
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MFA Optimism and Renewed Resolve 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Al Aradi was optimistic that these two items would be 
accomplished in the time before Bahrain's re-evaluation.  He 
stated that the Ministry of Social Development continued to 
make progress toward the opening of the shelter, and said 
that there was still an opportunity for the draft legislation 
to be passed from the Cabinet to the Council of 
Representatives (COR) before the close of the current 
legislative session.  He added that there is wide agreement 
on the need for the law, so debate in the COR and passage 
could be quick. 
 
¶4.  (C) Al Aradi said that the release of the TIP report and 
its attention to the shelter and the legislation will give 
fresh impetus to the inter-ministerial anti-TIP task force. 
It will provide ammunition to task force chairman Shaikh 
Abdul Aziz to push the respective government players to 
address areas within their control.  Al Aradi said that he 
would personally look into the details of the cases of the 
repatriated Thai women and seek clarification on the 92 cases 
forwarded to the Public Prosecutor's Office.  Al Aradi 
admitted that Bahrain needs to improve its system of 
reporting statistics and expressed hope that current 
technological upgrades in the Ministry of Justice and Public 
Prosecutor's Office would yield results. 
 
¶5.  (C) In a separate meeting June 5 with Shaikh Abdul Aziz, 
A/DCM raised the public release of the TIP report.  Shaikh 
Abdul Aziz was grateful for the six-month extension for the 
GOB to focus on opening the shelter and passing the anti-TIP 
law.  However, he noted that the parliament would end its 
session fairly soon, and with elections approaching in the 
fall, he was less optimistic about parliament passing the law 
by December.  He said that the government would push the law 
as far as possible given the realities of the end of the 
legislative session and elections.  He suggested that post 
engage directly with Minister of Social Development Al 
Balooshi for progress on the shelter. 
 
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Public Statements from GOB, BCHR 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) In public reactions to the report June 7, Shaikh 
Abdul Aziz said that Bahrain is committed to making progress 
in the fight against trafficking before the end of the year. 
In addition to passing legislation and opening a shelter, the 
capacity of government databases is being updated so that 
reports and statistics on trafficking and abuse will be 
available once legislation is passed and prosecutions under 
 
MANAMA 00001013  002 OF 002 
 
 
the new law commence.  Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR, 
now dissolved) vice-president Nabeel Rajab publicly stated 
that the situation had improved since the formation of the 
anti-TIP inter-ministerial task force, but said that, 
although the GOB has been talking about it for two years, 
there is still no shelter.  Regarding domestic workers, Rajab 
said that before being dissolved the BCHR submitted to the 
Ministry of Labor a proposed model work contract for domestic 
workers, drafted in coordination with a UN organization, that 
would protect them and prevent them from being trafficked. 
He claimed that the Ministry agreed to study the contract 
with the possibility of implementing it, but there has been 
no visible action. 
 
¶7.  (U) Minister Al Balooshi appeared before the Shura 
(Consultative) Council May 29 to address questions relating 
to progress on the shelter.  Shura Council member and 
regional and international director of the Bahrain Human 
Rights Watch Society Faisal Fulad, whose society is 
campaigning for a comprehensive law protecting the rights of 
domestic laborers, directed the questions to the Minister. 
Minister Al Balooshi stated that the Ministry was to take 
possession of the building to be used for the shelter on June 
10 and that the shelter will be fully operational by the end 
of the calendar year.  The shelter will be able to 
accommodate up to 40 individuals.  Officials from the 
Ministry have met with representatives of Bahraini NGOs to 
develop the shelter's by-laws.  Current plans are for the 
shelter to be administered by a private sector institution. 
The Minister said that negotiations with this institution 
relating to operation of the shelter and training of its 
staff are ongoing. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
 
MONROE