VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKU #1623/01 3191522
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 151522Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0278

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001623 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARP, INL/HSTC, AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2027 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB KU TIP
SUBJECT: KUWAIT'S TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: A. STATE 147732 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 1571 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Alan Misenheimer for reasons 1.4 (b) a 
nd (d). 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  Following the very positive development 
of establishing a shelter for domestic workers, Kuwait has 
not taken addditional actions to improve its efforts to 
combat trafficking in persons (TIP) since Ambassador Lagon's 
September 26 visit and the subsequent October 18 Tier 
placement revision.  This stems largely from the short period 
of time in question.  Post extensively documented 
developments between the June release of the report and the 
end of September.  October was a particularly difficult month 
for Kuwait because of tensions between Parliament and the 
Government, which have stymied all kinds of legislation and 
ultimately led to a major cabinet reshuffle on October 28. 
Four of five ministries key to TIP have new ministers: 
Justice, Interior, Social Affairs and Labor, and 
Awqaf/Islamic Affairs.  The Foreign Minister retained his 
post.  The ministries have therefore found it difficult to 
proceed with major new steps.  Now that the ministries are 
beginning to settle back into work routines, Post has 
requested meetings to continue work on key areas where 
progress is needed.  The Charge briefed the new Minister of 
Interior on TIP and the importance of sustaining the progress 
Kuwait made from June through September of this year.  End 
Summary. 
 
Increased Investigation and Prosecution Against Traffickers 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  There has been no concrete progress in getting the 
GOK to increase its prosecution efforts against suspected 
traffickers or to provide better information about the 
investigations and prosecutions it has undertaken.  Post 
continues to stress the importance of this point in meetings 
with GOK contacts and expects an appointment soon with key 
officials to push for more activity on this issue.  Ministry 
of Justice officials report, however, that the Committee to 
Study International Human Rights Reports is aware of the need 
for more information and is discussing it.  Post will also 
suggest training for prosecutors, in light of recent 
information provided by G/TIP about the availability of DOJ 
prosecutors who can provide training. 
 
Victim Identification and Training 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  PolOff met with Hassan Al-Abdulsalam, Director of 
Kuwait's Police Academy, on October 28 to stress the need for 
training of police officers in victim identification and the 
investigation of TIP crimes (ref B).  The director welcomed 
the idea and noted that police officers have to undergo 
regular training courses, so it would be easy to bring them 
in for the training.  Post promised to find training 
implementers and then pursue the matter further.  On November 
7, PolOff met with IOM (International Organization for 
Migration) Regional Representative for the Middle East 
Shahidul Haque, who said IOM has Arabic-language training 
materials and Arabic-language trainers ready to start 
training courses.  Post is working to bring IOM and the GOK 
together.  The Charge met with new Interior Minister Shaykh 
Jaber Al-Khaled Al Sabah on November 8 and reiterated the 
importance of this training.  The Interior Minister replied 
that this was his first day in the office so he had not been 
fully briefed, but said he looked forward to working with the 
USG on training. 
 
Shelter 
------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  A Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) 
contact reports that it continues to work toward 
establishment of a permanent domestic workers shelter to 
replace the temporary shelter established in September.  The 
major development so far is that it has secured a location 
for the permanent shelter. 
 
Legislative Efforts to Combat TIP 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  The Parliament has made no concrete progress toward 
passing the draft anti-trafficking law finalized by the 
Ministry of Justice in June.  Parliament was out of session 
from the beginning of July through October 30 and since then 
has been consumed by the new cabinet and a set of major 
economic reform issues.  Kuwait's democratic Parliament is 
currently engaged in a highly visible tug-of-war with the 
Government over ministerial appointments, and in the current, 
highly charged political environment is unlikely to move 
quickly on the draft law.  The Ministry of Justice reports, 
however, that it has been working behind the scenes on the 
law, and has addressed some internal GOK criticisms of the 
law.  The ministry hopes this will enable more concrete 
progress soon. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  MOSAL continues efforts to introduce a revised 
labor law.  The law would still not cover domestic workers, 
which is one of its key failings with regard to TIP.  MOSAL 
has consulted with the International Labor Organization (ILO) 
on alternatives to the sponsorship system and is doing its 
own studies of alternatives.  Eliminating the sponsorship 
system will not be easy, however, since it will affect the 
status of a sizable portion of the roughly two-thirds of 
Kuwait's residents who are not Kuwaiti citizens.  However, 
the sponsorship system leads to many of the TIP problems in 
Kuwait, so the effort to revamp the system may be the most 
effective long-term solution to TIP problems.  Post will 
continue pressing interlocutors in Parliament and MOSAL to 
take action in this regard. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
MISENHEIMER