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O 112057Z JUN 09
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TO AMEMBASSY MANAMA IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060495 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG BA
SUBJECT: BHARAIN -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND 
DEMARCHE 
 
REF: A. STATE 59732 
     ¶B. STATE 005577 
 
¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. 
 
¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will 
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a 
press conference in the Department's press briefing room. 
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic 
and foreign news outlets.  Until the time of the Secretary's 
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or 
country narratives contained therein is prohibited. 
 
¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press 
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter.  Also provided 
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government 
of Bahrain of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's imminent 
release.  The text of the TIP Report country narrative is 
provided, both for use in informing the Government of Bahrain 
and in any local media release by Post's public affairs 
section on June 16 or thereafter.  Drawing on information 
provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide the host 
government with the text of the TIP Report narrative no 
earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, 
EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 for 
SCA and EAP posts.  Please note, however, that any public 
release of the Report's information should not/not precede 
the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16. 
 
¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at 
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 
release.  Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts 
in all countries appearing on the Report.  The Secretary's 
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of 
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and 
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis 
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website 
shortly after the June 16 event.  Ambassador de Baca will 
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign 
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
¶5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on 
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local 
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform 
the appropriate official in the Government of Bahrain of the 
June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points 
in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of 
the country narrative provided in para 8.  For countries 
where the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it 
is particularly important to advise governments prior to the 
Report being released in Washington on June 16. 
 
¶6. Action Request continued:  Please note that, for those 
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with 
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw 
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement 
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the 
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the 
narrative text.  This engagement is important to establishing 
the framework in which the government's performance will be 
judged for the 2010 Report.  If posts have questions about 
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they 
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, 
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. 
 
¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared 
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the 
press guidance provided in para 11.  If Post wishes, a local 
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP 
Report's country narrative provided in para 8. 
 
¶8. Begin Final Text of Bahrain,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
--------------------------- 
BAHRAIN (Tier 2 Watch List) 
--------------------------- 
 
Bahrain is a destination country for men and women trafficked 
for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual 
exploitation.  Men and women from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri 
Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, 
Ethiopia, and Eritrea migrate voluntarily to Bahrain to work 
as formal sector laborers or domestic workers.  Some, 
however, face conditions of involuntary servitude after 
arriving in Bahrain, such as unlawful withholding of 
passports, restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, 
threats, and physical or sexual abuse.   In addition, women 
from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Russia, 
Ukraine, Morocco, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon are trafficked 
to Bahrain for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. 
 
 
The Government of Bahrain does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  The 
government achieved its first trafficking conviction in late 
2008 ) a conviction for sex trafficking -- and instituted a 
new visa regime in July 2008 allowing migrant workers to 
change employers.  Despite these significant overall efforts, 
the government did not show evidence of progress in providing 
protective services to victims or prosecuting offenses 
relating to labor trafficking ) the most prevalent form of 
trafficking in Bahrain; therefore, Bahrain is placed on Tier 
2 Watch List. 
 
Recommendations for Bahrain:  Significantly increase the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses ) 
particularly those involving forced labor ) and conviction 
and punishment of trafficking offenders; institute and apply 
formal procedures to identify victims of trafficking among 
vulnerable groups, such as domestic workers who have fled 
from abusive employers and prostituted women, and refer 
identified victims to protective services; and ensure that 
victims of trafficking are not punished for acts committed as 
a direct result of being trafficked, such as illegal 
migration or prostitution. 
 
Prosecution 
------------ 
The Government of Bahrain made modest progress in conducting 
anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the year, 
prosecuting its first case under its January 2008 
anti-trafficking statute.  The Law to Combat Trafficking in 
Persons prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons and 
prescribes penalties ranging from three to 15 years, 
imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and 
commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, 
such as rape.  The Ministry of Interior,s 10-person 
specialized unit investigated trafficking crimes, 
particularly those involving sex trafficking.  It claimed to 
have disbanded a prostitution ring and rescued 43 Chinese 
women believed to be trafficking victims, but prosecutors 
reportedly viewed the evidence as insufficient to pursue 
legal action.  In December 2008, the Public Prosecutor 
obtained the conviction of a Thai woman who was sentenced to 
three and a half years, imprisonment and a $13,250 fine for 
trafficking three other Thai women into commercial sexual 
exploitation in Bahrain.  During the reporting period, the 
government reportedly closed several manpower agencies 
alleged to have confiscated workers, passports, switched 
contracts, or withheld payment of salaries.  The government 
also ordered 12 employers to pay back and release their 
workers.  It did not criminally prosecute any employers or 
labor agents for forced labor of migrant laborers, including 
domestic workers, under its new anti-trafficking law.  The 
law against withholding workers, passports ) a common 
practice that restricts the mobility of migrant workers and 
contributes to forced labor ) was not enforced effectively, 
and the practice remained widespread.   The Royal Police 
Academy provided new police recruits with specific 
instruction on identifying trafficking victims during the 
reporting period. 
 
Protection 
----------- 
The Bahraini government did little to improve protective 
services available to trafficking victims over the last year, 
though it issued new policy guidance on the employment 
conditions of migrant workers.  The government maintains one 
floor of its shelter for female migrant workers, but did not 
provide information regarding the number of foreign workers 
assisted or the types of care the shelter provided to 
trafficking victims.  The majority of victims continued to 
seek shelter at their embassies or through the Migrant 
Workers Protection Society, which in April and July 2008 
received a project grant of $15,900 from the Bahraini 
government to operate its shelter.  The government did not 
have a referral process to transfer trafficking victims 
detained, arrested, or placed in protective custody to 
institutions that provide short- and long-term care.  There 
are no shelter facilities or protective services for male 
trafficking victims in Bahrain. 
 
In August 2008, the Ministry of Social Development 
established a committee to protect trafficking victims as 
part of its obligation under the anti-Trafficking in Persons 
law.  One of the responsibilities of this committee, as part 
of the new law, is its approval for trafficking victims to 
remain in Bahrain pending their traffickers, prosecution; in 
the aforementioned case, the Thai victims were offered the 
option of remaining in Bahrain to work, but all three chose 
to repatriate to Thailand instead.  To address 
vulnerabilities to trafficking arising from the migrant labor 
sponsorship system, the government launched a new migrant 
labor visa regime in July 2008 that allows for workers to 
change employers and criminalizes the use of &free visas8 
that often leave workers stranded in Bahrain without a job. 
These regulations do not, however, apply to domestic workers, 
which are the migrant workers most vulnerable to forced labor 
in Bahrain.  The government continued to lack a formal 
procedure to identify victims among vulnerable groups, such 
as domestic workers who have left their employers or women 
arrested for prostitution.  As a result, potential 
trafficking victims may have been charged with employment or 
immigration violations, detained, and deported without 
adequate protection.  Most migrant workers who were able to 
flee their abusive employers were frequently charged as 
&runaways,8 sentenced to two weeks, detention, and 
deported.  Employers also sometimes filed police reports 
against their runaway workers.  The government  encouraged 
victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of 
their traffickers; however, long and indefinite delays in 
legal cases, as well as a perceived bias against foreign 
workers by judges and prosecutors, discouraged workers from 
such involvement in criminal proceedings against their 
traffickers. 
 
Prevention 
----------- 
The government's efforts to prevent trafficking increased 
during the reporting period.  The Ministry of Interior,s 
Human Trafficking Unit produced a brochure describing 
Bahrain,s anti-trafficking law and soliciting complaints to 
its hotline for investigations; it distributed this brochure 
to at-risk groups upon arrival in the country.  The Labor 
Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) collaborated with IOM to 
produce a pamphlet explaining how to legally obtain a work 
visa, workers, rights, and how to report suspected 
violations.  Throughout 2008, the CEO of LMRA and the 
Minister of Labor conducted press conferences to highlight 
illegal practices, particularly withholding of passports, 
relating to human trafficking.  Despite the increased level 
of awareness fostered by these campaigns, understanding of 
what constitutes trafficking remained low.  Many people, 
including courthouse clerks, continued to believe that it is 
legal to confiscate workers, passports, despite several 
instances over the course of the reporting period in which 
the Minister of Labor explicitly stated that withholding 
passports is illegal.  In March 2009, the government hosted a 
two-day international conference on combating trafficking in 
persons.  In April, June, and July 2008, the government 
provided services and support valued at more than $60,000 
that enabled IOM to train 315 civil society volunteers, 
journalists, foreign diplomats, and government officials in 
the LMRA and Ministries of Interior, Social Development, 
Culture and Information Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Labor, and 
Justice.  In July, the government requested and supported a 
training and awareness program for its anti-trafficking unit. 
 Nonetheless, the government did not take any steps to reduce 
the demand for forced labor or the demand for commercial sex 
acts within the country. 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer 
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to 
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report 
country narrative: 
 
(begin non-paper) 
 
-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), 
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to 
Congress.  The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and 
create partnerships around the world in the fight against 
modern-day slavery.  The USG approach to combating human 
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in 
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol").  The TVPA 
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in 
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex 
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, 
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological 
manipulation.  While much attention has focused on 
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol 
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a 
showing that the victim was moved. 
 
-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that 
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking 
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, 
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of 
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of 
three tiers.  Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum 
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" 
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1.  Countries 
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, 
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum 
standards are classified as Tier 2.  Countries assessed as 
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making 
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. 
 
-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a 
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. 
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to 
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the 
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of 
each year.  Countries are included on the "Special Watch 
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP 
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been 
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: 
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human 
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant 
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over 
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of 
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim 
population.  As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008 
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been 
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after 
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier 
¶3.  Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this 
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP 
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch 
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to 
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report).  The new law allows for a waiver 
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a 
determination by the President that the country has developed 
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make 
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the 
minimum standards. 
 
-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory 
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on 
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance 
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for 
participation by government officials or employees in 
educational and cultural exchange programs.   In addition, 
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to 
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other 
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, 
trade-related or certain types of development assistance) 
with respect to countries on Tier 3.  Countries classified as 
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's 
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in 
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier 
classification, would avoid such sanctions.  Guidelines for 
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared 
by Posts with host governments. 
 
-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of 
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of 
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and 
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon:  fraudulent 
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in 
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor 
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the 
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship 
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal 
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor.  As the 
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced 
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and 
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion.  The 
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the 
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated 
"cost of coercion. " 
 
-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on 
website www.state.gov/g/tip. 
 
-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the 
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State 
Department.  We are providing you an advance copy of your 
country's narrative in that report.  Please keep this 
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June 
¶16.  The State Department will also hold a general briefing 
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 
17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
(end non-paper) 
 
¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country 
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web 
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as 
possible after the TIP Report is released.  Funding for 
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human 
Rights Report.  Posts needing financial assistance for 
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX 
office. 
 
¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use 
with local media. 
 
Q1:   Why was Bahrain placed on Tier 2 Watch List? 
 
A:   Bahrain was place on Tier 2 Watch List because it did 
not show evidence of progress in prosecuting human 
trafficking offenses and punishing trafficking offenders over 
the last year. Bahrain lacked in providing protective 
services to victims and specifically prosecuting offenses 
relating to labor trafficking ) the most prevalent form of 
trafficking in Bahrain. The government continued to lack a 
formal procedure to identify victims among vulnerable groups, 
such as domestic workers who have left their employers or 
women arrested for prostitution.  As a result, potential 
trafficking victims were often charged with employment or 
immigration violations, detained, and deported without 
adequate protection 
 
Q2:   What anti-trafficking progress has Bahrain made during 
the last year? 
 
A:    The government achieved its first trafficking 
conviction in late 2008 ) a conviction for sex trafficking 
-- and instituted a new visa regime in July 2008 allowing 
migrant workers to change employers. During the reporting 
period, the government reportedly closed several manpower 
agencies alleged to have confiscated workers, passports, 
switched contracts, or withheld payment of salaries. The 
Royal Police Academy provided new police recruits with 
specific instruction on identifying trafficking victims 
during the reporting period.  To address vulnerabilities to 
trafficking arising from the migrant labor sponsorship 
system, the government launched a new migrant labor visa 
regime in July 2008 that allows for workers to change 
employers and criminalizes the use of &free visas8 that 
often leave workers stranded in Bahrain without a job. 
 
Q3:   What can Bahrain do to improve its efforts in 
addressing trafficking in persons? 
 
A:   The Bahraini government could: Significantly increase 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses ) 
particularly those involving forced labor ) and conviction 
and punishment of trafficking offenders; institute and apply 
formal procedures to identify victims of trafficking among 
vulnerable groups, such as domestic servants who have fled 
their employers and prostituted women, and refer them to 
protective services; and ensure that victims of trafficking 
are not punished for acts committed as a result of being 
trafficked, such as illegal migration or prostitution. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON