VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #2536 2271412
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151412Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6542

UNCLAS CAIRO 002536 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ELA, G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI PGOV KWMN KCRM EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT:  TIP ISSUES UPDATE 
 
REF: CAIRO 2030 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  This summer we have seen modest but 
genuine GOE progress on TIP.  The GOE has announced the 
establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to combat TIP 
in Egypt.  People's Assembly (PA) representative Georgette 
Qellini announced in June that she would introduce a draft 
law when Parliament reconvenes in November seeking to 
institute harsher punishments for those found guilty of TIP. 
Finally, the GOE has initiated a public awareness campaign 
airing a UN-produced public service announcement (PSA) on 
trafficking several times a day on state-owned and operated 
Egyptian television.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  A July 15 Prime Ministerial decree formally 
established a "National Committee to Combat and Prevent 
Trafficking in Persons."  (Senior MFA officials had first 
previewed this committee for us in late 2006.)  NGO activists 
have told us they expect that the bulk of the committee's 
work will be shared by the Ministries of Justice and the 
Interior, which traditionally have had the lead for combating 
trafficking in Egypt.  The July 15 decree noted that the 
Committee's responsibilities will include:  submitting annual 
reports on the status of efforts to combat TIP to the GOE's 
Council of Ministers; drafting a national plan of action to 
prevent TIP in Egypt; coordinating with international bodies 
such as the United Nations; drafting anti-TIP legislation; 
and building anti-TIP capacity through educational, judicial, 
and general awareness programming.  Egypt's official wire 
service and the largest independent daily, Al Masry Al Youm, 
published prominent articles covering the decree.  Working 
level officials at both the Public Prosecutor's Office and 
the MFA told us that the Committee's first formal meeting 
will occur in early September. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Separately, PA member Georgette Qellini told us 
that she presented a draft law in June to the People's 
Assembly which seeks to impose harsher penalties on those 
convicted of human trafficking crimes.  The new law includes 
punishment by "temporary hard labor" for any individual found 
to be trafficking a child younger than sixteen years of age. 
If the person convicted of trafficking a minor is a relative 
or guardian, or if the victim is a female, the draft law 
proposes that a life sentence of hard labor should be 
imposed.  The law also seeks to punish anyone who receives 
services from TIP victims, including a sentence of temporary 
hard labor for "the buyer."  Qellini said her draft law, in 
addition to major revisions to the children's protection law, 
will be considered by the PA when it reconvenes in November. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In early July, state-owned Egyptian television 
began airing UN-produced public service announcements on 
labor trafficking during prime time broadcasts.  As the 
result of direct advocacy by NCCM Director Ambassador Mushira 
Khattab, the head of ETV, Suzanne Hassan, agreed to air the 
spots free of charge in order to raise public awareness 
effort about TIP.  Media monitoring indicated that the spots 
were aired throughout the day, most notably before and after 
evening news programs, serials and popular prime-time talk 
shows. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Comment:  The GOE has used the "blue-ribbon 
commission" approach to tackle various controversial issues, 
including gender issues and human rights.  The new committee 
is solid evidence that GOE realizes that a more robust 
approach to TIP in Egypt is needed.  NCCM's work with ETV to 
broadcast the trafficking PSAs is also an important step, 
abetted by the Embassy's PA section which placed the 
UN-produced PSAs with NCCM.  Similarly, the fact that the 
People's Assembly is scheduled to consider the revised child 
protection law (as well as the related proposal, submitted by 
PA member Qellini, for increased penalties for TIP) beginning 
in November can also be seen as an additional opportunity for 
progress. 
 
 
RICCIARDONE