VZCZCXRO7104
RR RUEHC
DE RUEHMK #0147/01 0701253
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111253Z MAR 09 ZUI RUEHZC #4116 0701909
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8528
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1022
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 0004
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0444
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0122
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0022
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000147 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
BAGHDAD FOR AMBASSADOR ERELI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP PREL PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF
ELAB, BA 
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN HOSTS ANTI-TIP CONFERENCE 
 
REF: MANAMA 107 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The government of Bahrain hosted a two-day 
international conference on combating trafficking in persons. 
 The conference was the first of its kind in the Gulf.  The 
conference concluded with a resolution to continue the fight 
against trafficking in persons.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The Bahraini government hosted a conference entitled 
"Human Trafficking at a Crossroads" from March 2 to 3 with 
the stated purpose of raising awareness of human trafficking 
and bringing together experts in the field to share best 
practices.  The Foreign Ministry organized the event under 
the patronage of the King's wife, Sheikha Sabika, and in 
collaboration with the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International 
Peace Movement (SMWIPM), Vital Voices, and the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM).  While SMWIPM had organized 
previous anti-trafficking conferences in Sharm el-Sheikh and 
Athens, the Bahrain event was the first of its kind in the 
Gulf. 
 
¶3. (U) G/TIP Acting Director Nan Kennelly and Senior 
Coordinator Mark Taylor represented the USG at the 
conference.  Prominent international participants included: 
 
--UNGA president (and former Nicaraguan FM) Miguel d'Escoto 
Brockman, 
--UNODC executive director Antonio Mario Costa, 
--Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, 
--Dominican Republic First Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, 
--Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohammed 
Rachid, 
--UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, and 
--India's Minister of State for Women and Child Development. 
 
International corporations such as Gap Inc., Microsoft, 
Manpower, and Orascom sent senior representatives to the 
conference.  CNN's John Defterios, Al Arabiya's Giselle 
Khoury, The Guardian's Helena Smith, and Arabic TV host 
Ricardo Karam also attended and covered the event. 
 
¶4. (U) Most speakers focused on women as trafficking victims, 
although Sheikha Sabika and Suzanne Mubarak also spoke of 
victims of labor trafficking as major issues.  Sheikha Sabika 
opened the conference, and both she and Suzanne Mubarak 
stayed through every session.  At the end of a panel 
discussion of three recent TIP-related cases in Bahrain, 
Sheikha Sabika publicly directed one of the participants, Dr. 
Mansour Al Jamri, editor-in-chief of the opposition daily Al 
Wasat, to make her office aware of such cases for follow up. 
 
¶5. (SBU) MFA Assistant Undersecretary Sheikh Abdulaziz Al 
Khalifa - who is the GOB's interagency coordinator for TIP 
issues - told G/TIP that Bahrain had undertaken this 
conference to demonstrate its commitment to combat 
trafficking in persons.  Other Bahraini government officials 
concerned with TIP also attended, including representatives 
of the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Trafficking Unit, Judge 
Mohammed Al Rumaihi - who presided over Bahrain's first TIP 
conviction - Ministry of Social Development's Ebrahim Al 
Obaid, and Ministry of Culture and Information Affairs 
representative to the interministerial TIP committee Nancy 
Jamal. 
 
¶6. (U) Coverage of the event served to raise the profile of 
TIP in Bahrain and highlight U.S. policy on the issue.  Every 
local print daily carried stories on the conference and 
interviews with participants.  G/TIP representatives Kennelly 
and Taylor conducted a series of interviews with local press 
to discuss USG approaches to combating human trafficking. 
CNN's Middle East Marketplace aired its coverage on March 6. 
 
¶7. (U) The conference ended with a 13-point declaration. 
 
Begin text of declaration: 
 
MANAMA DECLARATION ON 
"HUMAN TRAFFICKING AT THE CROSSROADS" 
Kingdom of Bahrain, 1st-3rd March 2009 
 
The participants of the Manama International Conference 
 
MANAMA 00000147  002 OF 002 
 
 
express their deep appreciation to Her Highness Shaikha 
Sabeeka Al-Khalifa, Wife of the King of Bahrain and the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their commitment and 
contribution to the success of our conference concluding in 
this Declaration. 
 
We commend the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace 
Movement for initiating the campaign "End Human Trafficking 
Now!" in 2006.  The Athens Ethical Principles adopted then 
are even more relevant today, particularly as we are facing 
crises of unprecedented magnitude.  We need to work harder 
for the protection, safety and dignity of vulnerable groups, 
especially women and children, whose very survival is 
threatened. 
 
We recognize in this moment of crisis that we need to 
exercise leadership by: 
 
¶1. Working with the private sector to achieve zero tolerance 
for human trafficking by adopting the Athens Ethical 
Principles. 
 
¶2. Encouraging governments to implement national strategies 
to end human trafficking according to the UN protocol. (NOTE: 
Footnote reads, "The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, 
supplementing the United Nations Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime."  End Note.) 
 
¶3. Urging the adoption and implementation of national legal 
frameworks to include human trafficking as a criminal offence 
and ensure the protection of victims. 
 
¶4. Requesting regional entities to develop frameworks to 
enhance inter country collaboration to end human trafficking 
between countries. 
 
¶5. Urging the UN General Assembly to adopt a Global Plan of 
Action against Human Trafficking. 
 
¶6. Publicly acknowledging ethical business practices as a 
major contribution to restoring confidence in the private 
sector. 
 
¶7. Requesting business partners to include elimination of 
human trafficking in their corporate social responsibility 
programs. 
 
¶8. Requesting industry associations and international 
standards organizations to work towards including elimination 
of human trafficking within their standards. 
 
¶9. Supporting the creation of helplines and networks of 
services required for victims of trafficking. 
 
¶10. Encouraging the media and the cultural and artistic 
communities to continue their leadership in awareness-raising 
and disseminating best practices. 
 
¶11. Strengthening information sharing on progress made. 
 
¶12. Ensuring continued support of the international partners 
involved in the campaign "End Human Trafficking Now!" 
 
¶13. Reconvening in two years to assess steps taken to 
implement the declaration. 
 
End text of declaration. 
 
¶8. (U) G/TIP Acting Director Nan Kennelly has cleared this 
message. 
 
********************************************* ******** 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
HENZEL