US embassy cable - 04AMMAN4855

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004855 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, ELAB, PREF, KWMN, IZ, JO, KTIP 
SUBJECT: JORDAN TAKES ACTION TO PREVENT TRAFFICKING OF 
PERSONS INTO IRAQ 
 
REF: AMMAN 04132 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for Reasons 1.5 (b), (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) King Abdullah and senior GOJ officials have strongly 
condemned the possible trafficking of third country nationals 
(TCNs) into Iraq from Jordan.  The Minister of Interior 
promised the Ambassador that he would take firm action 
against unscrupulous labor recruiting agents and others 
complicit in this prohibited practice.  The GOJ has reached 
an agreement with the Embassy of India in Amman requiring 
Indian nationals to obtain a letter of authorization from the 
Embassy before exiting Jordan on their way to Iraq.  End 
Summary. 
 
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RESOLVE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL 
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2.  (C) During a lunch June 8 hosted by King Abdullah and 
which included senior GOJ officials, the Ambassador raised 
the issue of the possible trafficking of TCNs into Iraq from 
Jordan (see reftel).  The King replied that he was already 
aware of the potential problem, having been briefed on cases 
of TCNs duped into going to Iraq after coming to Jordan, and 
firmly stated that this would not be tolerated.  Foreign 
Minister Muasher and other officials present likewise 
condemned the trafficking of persons into Iraq and promised 
to help investigate and end this prohibited practice. 
 
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INTERIOR MINISTER PLEDGES ACTION 
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3.  (C) Following lunch with the King, the Ambassador met 
separately with Minister of Interior Samir Habashneh to 
discuss the trafficking issue.  The Ambassador told Habashneh 
about recent instances of TCNs possibly trafficked into Iraq 
and gave him the names and phone numbers of two labor 
recruiting agents implicated in one of these cases. 
Habashneh promised to immediately investigate the agents and 
to take firm action against anyone involved in facilitating 
the trafficking of persons into Iraq from Jordan. 
 
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GOJ, INDIAN EMBASSY COOPERATE TO PREVENT TRAFFICKING 
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4.  (C) The Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center for 
Iraq (HACC) recently reported that the GOJ was working on 
agreements with select third country embassies in Amman to 
help prevent trafficking into Iraq.  PolOff confirmed that 
such an agreement has been reached between the Ministry of 
Interior and the Embassy of India.  Specifically, the Indian 
Consul told PolOff June 14 that Indian nationals wishing to 
enter Iraq from Jordan to obtain work must personally appear 
at the embassy and attest that they are traveling to Iraq of 
their own free will to accept a bona fide job offer that 
includes insurance.  The Indian Embassy will then, and only 
then, issue a formal letter that the Indian nationals must 
present to Jordanian border authorities before being 
permitted to leave the country for Iraq.  (NOTE: 
Representatives of the Embassies of Sri Lanka and the 
Philippines informed PolOff they were aware of possible 
instances of trafficking of their nationals into Iraq and 
were in contact with the GOJ on this subject, but had not yet 
negotiated any agreement.  There is no Bangladeshi diplomatic 
mission present in Amman.) 
 
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COMMENT 
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5.  (C) The King's awareness and unequivocal repudiation of 
the trafficking of persons should further encourage the GOJ 
to address this issue.  The agreement reached between the 
Ministry of Interior and the Embassy of India demonstrates 
that high-level GOJ resolve is already being translated into 
real action. 
 
6.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
HALE