VZCZCXYZ0010
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #1956 3022259
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 292237Z OCT 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY MANAMA PRIORITY 0000

UNCLAS STATE 111956 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KTIP KWMN PHUM PREL SMIG BH
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: TIP TIER 2 WATCH LIST ACTION PLAN 
(2009-2010) 
 
REF: A. 2008 STATE 132759 
     ¶B. 2007 STATE 150188 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request (see paras 2-4). 
 
¶2. (SBU) Begin action request:  Drawing from points in para 
8, Post is requested to approach appropriate host government 
officials to highlight the United States' strong commitment 
to continue to work with the Government of Bahrain to help 
strengthen its efforts to combat and prevent trafficking in 
persons (TIP) and to assist victims.  Post is requested to 
convey the recommendations in para 9 as a non-paper and draw 
from the talking points in para 8 to explain to the host 
government the need for prompt action on the recommendations 
for a positive review in the interim assessment that the 
Department will release to Congress by February 2010 and for 
movement out of the Tier 2 Watch List in next year's Report. 
 
3.(SBU) Action request continued:  Post is further requested 
to emphasize to the Government of Bahrain that these 
recommendations are often referred to as "high-priority" 
items for Tier 2 Watch List removal.  However, sustained and 
significant anti-trafficking efforts by the government 
throughout the year will remain the basis for   determining 
next year's tier placement.  The interim assessment for 
Special Watch List countries (to include Tier 2 Watch List 
countries) will provide a progress report regarding the 
government's actions to address the short list 
recommendations designed to address the concerns that 
resulted in Bahrain's placement on the Tier 2 Watch List in 
the 2009 TIP Report (high-priority items), but there will be 
no changes in tier ratings at that time.  We will reconsider 
the government's tier placement when we conduct our annual 
full assessment for the March 2009-2010 reporting period next 
spring. 
 
4.(SBU) Action request continued:  The Department recognizes 
that Post may choose to use this opportunity to provide 
additional recommendations, beyond the recommendations for 
moving out of the Tier 2 Watch List.  In such a case, we 
request that Post make clear to the Government of Bahrain 
which are the "high-priority" items to move off of the Tier 2 
Watch List.  (For Post,s, background information:  G/TIP 
will be asking for posts to report on the country's progress 
in meeting these recommendations by no later than November 
16, 2009, in order to compile narratives for the interim 
assessment.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) In preparation for the interim assessment and 2010 
TIP Report, the Department is asking posts to work with host 
governments throughout the year to collect as many statistics 
as possible on law enforcement actions and judicial 
proceedings related to TIP crimes, specifically the 
Department requests data on investigations, prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences (e.g., fines, probation, length of 
prison sentences imposed, asset seizure information when 
available).  Whether a government collects and provides this 
data consistent with the government's capacity to obtain such 
data is considered in determining whether the government 
qualifies for Tier 1.  Law enforcement statistics, when 
available, are a good way of highlighting how well a 
government enforced its law and demonstrates strengths and 
weaknesses in various approaches.  Please note that host 
governments and embassies must interpret data terms provided 
by host governments such as indictments, charges, cases 
disposed, cases submitted for prosecution, etc., to ensure 
that they fit into one of the following categories: 
investigations, prosecutions, convictions or sentences.  The 
Department cannot accept "trafficking-related" law 
enforcement statistics (e.g, statistics on prostitution or 
smuggling offenses) because their direct correlation to 
trafficking crimes is not clear.  The Department will accept 
only law enforcement data that fall into the following 
categories: (1) investigations, prosecutions, convictions, 
and sentences for offenses that are explicitly defined as 
trafficking; and (2) investigations, prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences for offenses that are not defined 
explicitly as trafficking but in which the competent law 
enforcement or judicial authority has specific evidence 
indicating that the defendant was involved in trafficking. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Department is also asking Posts to engage with 
host governments on efforts to address amendments made by the 
2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 
(TVPRA).  As indicated in reftel C, 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. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Please keep in mind the TIP Report measures host 
government efforts.  In order for anti-trafficking activities 
financed or conducted principally by parties outside the 
government to be considered for tier placement purposes, Post 
needs to demonstrate a concrete role or tangible value-added 
by a host government in such activities carried out by NGOs, 
international organizations, or posts. 
 
¶8. (U) Background Points: 
 
Begin talking points: 
 
-- The Obama Administration views the fight against human 
trafficking, both at home and abroad, as a critical piece of 
our foreign policy agenda.  We are committed to making 
progress on this issue in the months ahead by working closely 
with partners in every country. 
 
-- The U.S. Government's Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
requires the State Department to submit an annual report to 
Congress on the status of foreign governments, efforts to 
combat trafficking in persons.  Pursuant to the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA), the 
Department created a special category for Tier 2 countries 
that do not show increasing efforts from the previous year, 
have a very significant number of victims, or whose Tier 2 
rating is based on commitments to take additional steps over 
the next year. 
 
-- Also as mandated by the TVPRA, by February 2010 the 
Department will submit to Congress an interim assessment.  At 
the end of 2009 in preparation for that submission, the 
Department will conduct an assessment of Tier 2 Watch List 
countries' progress in responding to the specific issues of 
concern that resulted in the Tier 2 Watch List rating. 
 
-- We offer the following recommended actions to tackle 
specific shortcomings highlighted in the 2009 TIP Report.  We 
believe these to be within the reasonable ability of your 
government to fulfill in the near-term and encourage you to 
take prompt action for a positive narrative in the interim 
assessment.  New tier evaluations will not occur at the 
interim assessment.  We will reconsider a government,s tier 
placement when we conduct our annual full assessment for the 
2009-2010 reporting period next spring.  Prompt, appropriate, 
and significant actions will lead to a more favorable tier 
placement; conversely, failure to address the issues 
mentioned above may lead to a Tier 3 placement. 
 
-- We would welcome the Government of Bahrain,s comments on 
these recommendations and any other ideas you might have to 
advance our common struggle against trafficking in persons. 
 
End talking points. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Begin Action Plan: 
 
 
¶I.  Action Plan for the Short-Term: The following are 
recommended measures for a positive interim assessment in 
January 2010 and in the broader assessment of government 
efforts during the reporting period: 
 
¶A. Take steps to increase prosecution efforts of trafficking 
offenses, particularly those involving forced labor.  Make 
available statistics on trafficking prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences achieved.  This can include cases 
charged under non-trafficking statutes (e.g., kidnapping, 
assault, rape, etc.), but each case must be confirmed to be 
trafficking in nature. 
 
-- Persons convicted should receive stringent sentences; 
minimum sentences should include prison time for convicted 
traffickers.  Imposed sentences should involve significant 
jail time, with a majority of cases resulting in sentences on 
the order of one year,s imprisonment or more, but taking 
into account the severity of the individual,s involvement in 
trafficking, imposed sentences for other grave crimes, and 
the judiciary,s right to hand down punishments consistent 
with the country,s laws. 
 
¶B. Develop and implement a formal procedure to identify 
trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, such as domestic 
workers who have fled from abusive employers and prostituted 
women, and refer them to available protective services, 
ensuring they are not punished for acts committed as a direct 
result of being trafficked. 
 
-- A formal procedure would, at a minimum, articulate a 
policy promoting proactive screening for victims, and 
training personnel in victim identification methods or 
assigning already trained personnel to high-risk areas.  This 
procedure would also include the use of social workers and/or 
other professionals trained specifically in trafficking 
victim identification to interview those in vulnerable groups 
for evidence of trafficking. 
 
-- Ensure that identified victims of trafficking are not 
prosecuted, detained, or otherwise penalized for acts 
committed as a result of being trafficked, such as violation 
of immigration provisions or prostitution. 
 
 
II. Action Plan for the Long-Term: Other measures the 
government should consider to boost its overall 
anti-trafficking efforts 
 
----------- 
Prosecution 
----------- 
 
-- Incorporate trafficking in persons in law enforcement 
training programs at police academies and law schools, 
possibly with the assistance of international organizations. 
The training should include investigative techniques, victim 
interviewing techniques, witness security and protection 
methods, referrals and after-care procedures, and 
coordination methods with civil society; 
 
-- Institute in-service training and sensitize law 
enforcement personnel ) including prosecutors, judges, labor 
inspectors, and the police ) to human trafficking crimes and 
equip them with methodologies in victim identification, case 
management, and analysis; and 
 
-- Increase cooperation and coordination with law enforcement 
counterparts from source and destination countries. 
 
------------- 
Protection 
------------- 
 
-- Adopt a mechanism by which the government can provide 
funding or other forms of aid, such as in-kind assistance, 
necessary for the establishment and smooth provision of 
legal, medical, and psychological services to trafficking 
victims; 
 
-- Establish a national referral system among police, 
immigration officials, and NGOs to ensure that victims 
receive adequate protective assistance and are not arrested, 
detained, or jailed; 
 
-- Track and provide information on the number of victims 
directly assisted by government personnel or referred by the 
government to other entities; 
 
--Take steps towards providing shelter facilities for male 
trafficking victims; and 
 
Prevention: 
 
-- Conduct public awareness campaigns to warn at-risk groups 
of the danger of trafficking and employers and travel 
agencies of the consequences for facilitating or engaging in 
human trafficking; 
 
-- Conduct a broad campaign to reduce the demand for forced 
labor and commercial sex acts; and 
 
-- Enhance monitoring of recruitment and travel agencies to 
ensure they do not facilitate or otherwise engage in 
trafficking-related activities. 
 
(end of Action Plan) 
CLINTON