VZCZCXRO5024
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHAD #4322/01 3251231
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211231Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7719
INFO RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 6644

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004322 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL, NEA/RA AND NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM ELAB KCRM KWMN SMIG AE
SUBJECT: TIP: INTERIM ASSESSMENT FOR NEA SPECIAL 
WATCHLIST-UAE 
 
REF: A. STATE 175900 
     ¶B. ABU DHABI 4286 
     ¶C. ABU DHABI 4261 
     ¶D. ABU DHABI 3689 
     ¶E. ABU DHABI 3616 
     ¶F. ABU DHABI 2809 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Since the release of the June 2006 TIP 
Report, the UAEG has made steady progress in addressing the 
problem of trafficking in the UAE, especially with regard to 
women in the sex trade and laborers working in servitude. 
The answers in paragraphs 2-7 below are keyed to the six 
questions specifically posed in ref A.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in increasing 
criminal investigations and prosecutions of trafficking 
crimes and punishment of these crimes with adequate jail 
sentences? 
 
A: No statistics have been provided since May 2006 regarding 
investigations and prosecutions of trafficking crimes.  Prior 
to November 2006, there was no law specifically against 
"trafficking," and most trafficking crimes were prosecuted 
under different parts of the penal code including those 
against slavery, kidnapping, and various statutes related to 
sex-crimes.  In September 2006,  Ministry of Justice 
officials explained that the ministry is willing to provide 
any and all trafficking related statistics which it has to 
the USG, but claimed that any failure to do so is only 
because they do not have complete records that correlate to 
USG reporting requirements. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Q: What progress has the UAEG made in instituting 
formal procedures for the identification of trafficking 
victims among at-risk populations, particularly foreign women 
arrested for prostitution or immigration law violations? 
 
A: The Ministry of Interior reports that Abu Dhabi and Dubai 
Immigration officials have instituted a two-prong approach to 
prevent women being trafficked for prostitution from entering 
the UAE.  The first prong seeks to limit the number of 
potential victims through known vectors (i.e., travel and 
tourism companies from source countries that have been used 
to traffic women previously) by either subjecting those 
companies' passengers to secondary screening, or canceling 
those companies' future visa transactions altogether.   The 
second prong uses victim profiling at ports of entry to 
identify at-risk groups (i.e., women under the age of 25, 
traveling alone, and from a known source country, may not 
only subject to additional scrutiny, but have reportedly been 
denied entry en masse.)  This second prong of profiling often 
feeds the first prong by identifying suspicious travel 
companies. 
 
In 2005, Dubai Police Criminal Investigations Department 
(CID) established a Human Trafficking section that cooperates 
closely with the Human Rights Care Department (HRCD). 
According to police officials, whenever CID has a possible 
trafficking case, the case is referred to HRCD, which 
interviews the detainees, specifically screening for 
trafficking victims.  HRCD then returns cases that indicate 
human trafficking to CID for further investigation and 
prosecution of identified traffickers. 
 
In July 2006, Minister of Labor Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al-Kaabi 
told the press that the Ministry of Labor is developing a 
program to oversee all labor recruitment.  Describing labor 
recruiting agencies as "corrupt and mafia-like 
organizations," Al-Kaabi stated that plans were under way to 
shut down the manpower agencies that recruit construction 
laborers for the UAE.  He also announced that he would travel 
to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Philippines to 
pursue labor exchange agreements that would eliminate the 
middlemen from construction-labor recruitment, thereby 
eliminating the excessive fees in obtaining work visas. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Q: What progress has the UAEG made in providing 
protection for identified victims, separate from detention 
facilities? 
 
A: Abu Dhabi Immigration officials stated in November 2006 
that the Ministry of Interior is providing shelter assistance 
for trafficking victims, and that a hotline has been set up 
to facilitate victim access to government assistance.  The 
officials explained that instead of creating a new shelter as 
was recommended in the TIP action plan, the UAEG had 
broadened access to existing social support programs to 
include trafficking victims (ref C). 
 
 
ABU DHABI 00004322  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in drafting 
comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that criminalizes 
labor forms of trafficking and guarantees protection for 
victims of trafficking? 
 
A: On November 10, UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan 
issued a federal law to combat human trafficking in the UAE. 
The law defines trafficking in generally the same manner as 
the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking 
in Persons, upon which the UAE legislation is reportedly 
based (ref B).  This law significantly clarifies the UAE's 
criminalization of human trafficking, and appears to address 
all forms of human trafficking, with emphasis on sex and 
labor trafficking.  Although the law does not specifically 
refer to "debt bondage," the law's definitions appear to be 
significantly broad to include this form of labor trafficking. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in ratifying the 2000 
U.N. Protocol to Punish, Prevent and Suppress Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children? 
 
A: In past discussions with UAEG officials, ratification of 
the U.N. protocol and the passing of anti-TIP legislation 
have often been spoken of in tandem.  With the enactment of 
an anti-TIP law in November that closely follows U.N. 
protocol definitions, Post expects the protocol to be 
ratified in the near future, and officials involved have 
stated as much. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Q: What progress has UAEG made in formulating 
regulations to ensure that victims of trafficking are not 
fined or otherwise punished even if they entered the UAE 
illegally? 
 
A: There is no evidence that new written regulations have 
been specifically created to protect trafficking victims from 
fines or punishment.  However, officials in both Abu Dhabi 
and Dubai point to the relatively new practices of sheltering 
victims in non-detention facilities, providing them with 
medical and social services, and assisting them in returning 
to their home countries, as illustrations of treatment that 
victims could expect even without formal regulations. 
SISON