VZCZCXRO3675
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMS #0043/01 0161052
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161052Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9158
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000043 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP, AND DRL 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR JAMES RUDE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB KMPI MU
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT HOLDS ANTI-TRAFFICKING WORKSHOP 
 
REF: A. 07 MUSCAT 822 
 
     ¶B. 07 MUSCAT 778 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Government officials and representatives of 
civil society met in December 2007 under the auspices of the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to review and amend Oman's 
draft anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) law.  The Council of 
Ministers is expected to approve the law and name the 
chairman of the national anti-trafficking committee before 
the end of January 2008.  Contacts report that the Council 
will likely choose Minister of Manpower Juma bin Ali al-Juma 
to the position.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 16, 2007, the MFA hosted a two-day, 
inter-ministerial workshop on TIP, titled "Combating TIP - 
the National Responsibility," to review Oman's draft anti-TIP 
legislation (ref A).  According to contacts at the MFA, the 
workshop was designed to generate broad-based support within 
the government for the law before it is presented to the 
Council of Ministers for approval.  Participants later told 
poloff that most ministries with TIP-related portfolios were 
represented at the workshop, including the Royal Oman Police 
(ROP), Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Legal Affairs, and 
the Public Prosecutor's Office.  Several women's association 
members and journalists represented civil society.  On 
invitation from the MFA, Dr. Mohammad Mattar, Director of the 
Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University School of 
Advanced International Studies, and Dr. Nihal Fahmy, Regional 
Consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 
participated as international experts. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Poloff spoke with Dr. Mattar following the workshop, 
who reported that he was "very impressed" with the 
participants' level of engagement as well as the draft law, 
which includes stiff penalties for trafficking offenders and 
a number of protections for victims (ref B).  Under the 
leadership of the Attorney General and the Deputy President 
of the Supreme Court, participants discussed each article of 
the law in depth, recommending a number of possible changes. 
Dr. Mattar said that he offered additional recommendations to 
strengthen the law's victim protection provisions, including: 
a) specifying that potential victims are exempt from court 
fees when involved in a TIP case; and b) affording victims 
the right to stay in Oman while authorities investigate and 
prosecute their case, particularly if required by the 
circumstances of their personal status in Oman or their 
country of origin.  According to Dr. Mattar, if Oman adopts 
recommended changes to the draft, it will have the best law 
in the region. (Note: The Arabic-language daily Shabiba 
published an early version of the draft law on January 7. 
Post will pass a copy to G/TIP via separate email.  End note.) 
 
- - - - - - 
Next Steps 
- - - - - - 
 
¶4. (SBU) Humaid al-Ma'ani, Office Director for the Secretary 
General of the MFA, told poloff on December 30 that with the 
conclusion of the workshop, he expected the government to 
move quickly toward passage of the law.  The drafting 
committee met during the last week of December to consider 
amendments and accepted many of the workshop participants' 
and Dr. Mattar's recommendations.  He stated that the 
committee already had sent an amended version of the law to 
the Council of Ministers, and that the Council could take 
action before the end of January 2008.  The last step in the 
legislative process is for the Sultan to issue the law as a 
Royal Decree, which should not take more than two months, 
al-Ma'ani informed poloff. 
 
¶5. (SBU) According to al-Ma'ani and contacts in the Public 
Prosecutor's office, the Council also will choose a Minister 
to chair the National Committee for Combating Human 
Trafficking.  The Committee -- which is to be comprised of 
Undersecretaries at the Ministries of Justice, Manpower, 
Social Development, Health, and Legal Affairs, as well as the 
Attorney General and Assistant Inspector General of the ROP 
-- will have broad powers to establish a comprehensive 
anti-TIP program and publish periodic reports on the 
government's efforts to combat TIP.  Al-Ma'ani told poloff 
that the MFA intends to recommend either Juma bin Ali 
al-Juma, Minister of Manpower, or Malik Sulaiman al-Ma'mari, 
Inspector General of the ROP, for the position of Chairman. 
Juma and his Ministry are doing the most at present to 
prevent labor exploitation, al-Ma'ani said, and Juma may be 
the Council's likely choice. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: The Council of Ministers held its first 
 
MUSCAT 00000043  002 OF 002 
 
 
meeting of the year on January 14.  When poloff asked 
al-Ma'ani on January 15 if the Council had reviewed the 
anti-TIP law, al-Ma'ani demurred, saying that he is not privy 
to the Council's agenda.  Post will continue to monitor the 
law's status, and urge the government to take action as 
quickly as possible.  End Comment. 
GRAPPO