VZCZCXRO5105
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHAD #1096/01 3260418
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 220418Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3119
INFO RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 8510
RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001096 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/RA AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ELAB KTIP KCRM KWMN SMIG AE
SUBJECT: G/TIP AMBASSADOR LUIS CDEBACA'S VISIT TO UAE 
 
REF: ABU DHABI 1070 
 
ABU DHABI 00001096  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  During his November 9-11 visit to the United Arab 
Emirates, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, head of the Office to Monitor and 
Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), met with senior federal and 
emirate-level officials, and toured government and foreign shelters. 
UAE officials said they welcomed USG advice and assistance in the 
fight against human trafficking.  CdeBaca shared some of the USG's 
own anti-trafficking methods and stressed that the UAE must also 
place priority upon labor trafficking issues.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In Abu Dhabi, CdeBaca, joined by the Ambassador, met with 
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash, Chairman of 
the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT).  CdeBaca 
also met with Deputy Minister of Interior (MOI) General Saif Abdullah 
Al Shafar, Director of the Ministry of Interior's Human Rights 
Department Colonel Ahmed Mohammed Nakhira Al Muharami, Ministry of 
Labor (MOL) Undersecretary Yousuf Abdulghani, Advisor to the Minister 
of Labor Alex Zalami, and Labor Attach Nasser Munder from the 
Philippines Overseas Labor Office.  In Dubai, CdeBaca, joined by the 
Consul General, met with Ministry of Social Affairs Undersecretary 
Hussein Al Shaikh, Dubai Police Colonel Dr. Mohamed Abdalla Al Mur, 
NCCHT member Lana Nusseibeh, and staff of the Dubai Foundation for 
Women and Children (DFWC). 
 
 
Downgrade to Tier 2 Watchlist 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Nearly all of CdeBaca's interlocutors expressed 
disappointment in the State Department's decision to downgrade the 
UAE to the Tier 2 Watchlist in the 2009 TIP Report.  Following the 
report's release in June, it was initially unclear if UAEG officials 
would continue to engage on TIP issues, but the government actively 
supported CdeBaca's visit and, at Gargash's direction, helped 
organize a broad range of meetings. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Gargash told CdeBaca the State Department downgraded the UAE 
when it "changed the goal posts" by emphasizing labor issues while 
the UAEG was focused largely on fighting sexual exploitation.  He 
said the UAE was doing much to combat human trafficking in a region 
where the issue is widely ignored by other governments.  Repeating 
the comparison, Gargash said "receiving the same rank as a 
neighboring country doing nothing makes the report irrelevant." 
 
 
Focus on Laborers 
----------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Gargash acknowledged the need to address trafficking of 
laborers and domestic servants, who he said willingly pay deposits in 
their home countries which make them bonded labor when they arrive in 
the UAE.  The government has instructed police, prosecutors, and 
labor officials to scrutinize recruiting agencies for possible 
offenses.  Gargash said he was hoping for a "breakthrough" on mass 
trafficking of workers and predicted it would involve domestic 
servants. 
 
¶6. (SBU) During a meeting with MOI officials, CdeBaca noted recent 
UAE media coverage of an agency in the Philippines shut down for 
illegitimate recruitment practices.  Deputy Minister Al Shafar said 
the source country is the best place to stop trafficking of laborers 
to the UAE and that MOI officials often cooperated with foreign 
embassies to share information in such cases. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Al Shafar said an international strategy was necessary to 
combat mass trafficking of workers and that partnership with the USG 
was important.  He told CdeBaca that MOI was working on new 
initiatives specific to domestic workers who are outside of the 
Ministry of Labor's jurisdiction.  CdeBaca noted that identifying 
trafficking victims among domestic workers presented a unique 
challenge due to their relative seclusion.  Colonel Al Muharami, the 
MOI's representative on the NCCHT, said the Ministry was studying 
ways to maintain contact with domestic workers in the UAE, noting 
previous seminars in workplaces and labor camps designed to inform 
foreign laborers of their rights and where they can get help if 
needed. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Zalami told CdeBaca the MOL was in the early stages of a 
pilot project with the governments of India and the Philippines, in 
consultation with the International Labor Organization (ILO), to 
improve labor recruiting practices in those countries. 
 
 
An Integrated Anti-Trafficking Plan 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) CdeBaca frequently shared with his interlocutors examples of 
the USG approach to human trafficking, noting the global nature of 
 
ABU DHABI 00001096  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the problem and the potential for countries to learn from the 
successes and failures of others.  CdeBaca stressed the benefit of 
creating and training specialized units of all relevant parties --- 
police, prosecutors, investigators, judges, and social workers --- in 
order to broaden their exposure to human trafficking cases.  CdeBaca 
praised the UAE's collaborative interagency approach as a model that 
could be successful.  Gargash said the NCCHT, created by the UAE's 
anti-trafficking law, was only two years old but has met 18 times to 
coordinate law enforcement, labor, health, and social welfare 
efforts.  He also noted the creation of a similarly integrated 
specialized unit managed by the Dubai Attorney General (reftel). 
 
¶10. (SBU) Gargash said the NCCHT is reviewing the UAE's legal 
definition of human trafficking, which is currently based on the 
Palermo Protocol.  Other new initiatives for the committee include 
its first airport advertising campaign in early 2010 and more 
"victim-sensitive" training sessions for police and prosecutors. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Staff at the DFWC shelter told CdeBaca there was a 
noticeable change in police attitudes toward human trafficking.  Two 
years ago, Dubai police treated trafficking victims like criminals 
but this is no longer the case, according to DFWC staff.  They 
attributed the change to joint training sessions sponsored by the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) including role-playing 
between police, NGO staff and trafficking "victims".  Another TIP 
workshop involving shelter and police personnel was scheduled for 
late November. 
 
OLSON