US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1425

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 001425 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP AND NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2014 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, ELAB, BA 
SUBJECT: GOB ENGAGED IN ANTI-TRAFFICKING MEASURES; WELCOMES 
IOM CAPACITY-BUILDING PROJECT 
 
REF: A. STATE 167713 
 
     B. 03 MANAMA 3015 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C)  G/TIP Senior Reports Officer Feleke Assefa visited 
Bahrain August 20-24 to meet with GOB officials and demarche 
them on G/TIP's Bahrain-specific Action Plan (Ref A). In 
response to the demarche, GOB officials outlined what 
measures they have implemented to combat trafficking and 
their plans for the upcoming year, which focus on 
establishing a victim assistance shelter, speeding up the 
judicial process, and a national awareness campaign. Assefa 
also met with the NGO Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) 
President Nabeel Rajab who reported on the status of migrant 
workers in Bahrain and described the rescue activities of his 
volunteer group.  Assefa also met a group of abused runaway 
housemaids who recounted their situations in a meeting 
organized by BCHR. END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) In all his meetings with GOB officials, Assefa urged 
the GOB to investigate and prosecute recruitment agencies 
found guilty of sexually abusing housemaids and establish a 
NGO-operated GOB protected victim assistance shelter. Assefa 
concluded that the GOB appears genuinely engaged in 
anti-trafficking measures but lacks the expertise for proper 
implementation.  Training is essential. Assefa informed GOB 
officials that the USG has funded the International Office of 
Migration (IOM) to train GOB personnel in anti-TIP measures. 
Assefa suggested that IOM assist with the establishment of a 
victim assistance shelter and possibly assist the GOB with a 
nation-wide public awareness campaign. The GOB looks forward 
to IOM's arrival in September. (NOTE: IOM Project Manager 
will arrive the week of September 18th. END NOTE) 
 
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Prevention - Pamphlet Distribution 
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3.  (C)  Assefa noticed upon his arrival at the airport that 
no literature for foreign workers was displayed or 
distributed.  Bahrain Centre for Human Rights/Migrant Workers 
Group (BCHR/MWG) volunteer Selma Bala lamented that the 
biggest problem for many of the housemaids trying to escape 
is that they do not know who to call or where to run.  On 
August 23 we suggested to Director of Security Affairs Khalid 
Al Moawda that immigration officers distribute pamphlets 
translated into Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog, Singhalese, 
Bengali, and Hindi when processing housemaid visas.  Al 
Moawda said he was willing to arrange for distribution of the 
pamphlets produced by the TIP inter-ministerial committee. 
 
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Prevention - Public Awareness Campaigns 
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4.  (C)  On August 21 BCHR President Nabeel Rajab commented 
that his organization continues to apply pressure to the GOB 
by alerting the press about every housemaid abuse case it 
hears of.  He attributed the GOB's swift work in prosecuting 
Anita Verma's case due to abundant press coverage in the 
English language newspapers (Ref B).  BCHR Public Relations 
Coordinator Janan Shaikh Abdulla noted that BCHR experiences 
difficulty in getting its press releases on trafficking cases 
published in the Arabic press.  We noted that chairman of the 
GOB's TIP inter-ministerial committee Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin 
Mubarak Al Khalifa had previously requested technical 
assistance for implementing public awareness campaigns on 
TIP. 
 
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Protection - Victim Assistance Shelter 
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5.  (C)  Rajab expressed his frustration with the GOB's lack 
of progress in establishing a victim assistance shelter. 
With the approval of Shaikh Abdul Aziz, BCHR raised BD30,000 
(USD80,000) to establish a shelter.  However, last month the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA), the ministry 
responsible for registering NGOs, sent a letter to Rajab 
informing him that it is not part of BCHR's purview to 
establish a shelter and that BCHR must stop working on this 
project.  Rajab hopes to bring this up with Shaikh Abdul Aziz 
soon.  MFA Director of Bilateral Relations Dr. Dhafer Al 
Umran explained that both MOLSA and the Ministry of Interior 
(MOI) had delayed establishing a GOB victim assistance 
shelter because no one had the expertise to "do it right." 
Al Umran admitted that the ministries had been quibbling on a 
number of issues related to the shelter.  The committee was 
embroiled with who should manage the shelter and provide 
counseling, medical assistance and legal aid.  Assefa stated 
that IOM will be able to help establish a shelter that meets 
international standards.  Al Umran said he looked forward to 
meeting the IOM project manager upon his arrival to help 
resolve the situation. (NOTE: PolOff scheduled a meeting with 
MFA and the IOM Project Manager on September 21. END NOTE) 
 
6.  (U)  Rajab noted that the Philippine mission has a good 
reputation for providing refuge to runaway and abused 
Philippine housemaids.  The mission runs a shelter on embassy 
grounds. However, it does not grant access to BCHR volunteers 
or police to pursue the investigation and prosecution of 
legal cases.  Therefore a shelter of international standards 
is preferable.  Assefa said that IOM will be able to assist 
in establishing the screening center that would benefit all 
victims. 
 
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Protection - Standardized Housemaid Contract 
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7.  (C)  Rajab also mentioned that BCHR submitted to Shaikh 
Abdul Aziz the United Nations Development Fund for Women 
(UNIFEM) model contract that was previously endorsed by the 
Jordanian government for non-Jordanian domestic workers. 
Rajab hoped that the inter-ministerial committee would accept 
the UNIFEM contract as a standardized contract for foreign 
housemaids in Bahrain.  Rajab complained that it has been 
over 10 months with no feedback from the committee.  In 
response to Assefa's question, Al Umran said that he would 
check with the committee about the status of adopting the 
model contract. 
 
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Protection - Legal Status to Laborers 
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8.  (C) Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Assistant Undersecretary 
for Courts and Notary Affairs Judge Abdulla bin Hassan Al 
Boainain mentioned that he used to hear cases about abused 
housemaids and knows the legal problems encountered by 
laborers who press charges against their employers.  On 
August 22 Al Boainain drafted a Letter of Cooperation between 
MOI, Passport Directorate and MOJ to draft a law that will 
give workers legal status during the time his/her labor case 
is being decided.  Al Boainain explained that current labor 
law makes no provision for a laborer who has left his 
employer due to a labor dispute to remain in Bahrain to work. 
Al Boainain admitted that the National Assembly is very slow 
in approving legislation and was skeptical that the amendment 
could be implemented quickly. 
 
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Prosecution - Abused Worker Cases 
--------------------------------- 
 
9.  (C)  As noted in last year's TIP report, the processing 
and prosecution of labor cases moves slowly.  Rajab remarked 
that ever since the new Minister of Interior Lt. General 
Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa took office, he has 
noticed greater care and an increased awareness for abused 
housemaid cases.  Criminal Investigation Directorate 
Brigadier Farooq Salman Jassim Al-Maawda and member of the 
GOB TIP inter-ministerial committee Colonel Adil Khalifa 
Hamad Al Fadhel echoed Rajab's remarks.  In their 
directorate, combating TIP has become a top priority.  Rajab 
recalled in July that the police and the courts moved quickly 
to apprehend two recruitment agency bosses who allegedly 
raped two Indonesian and Bangladeshi housemaids. 
 
10.  (C)  BCHR/MWG volunteer Selma Bala added that maids are 
too scared to press charges and do not like dealing with the 
authorities.  MOJ Al Boainain explained that the GOB appoints 
legal counsel when someone is unable to afford it, although 
Bahrain lacked a formal Legal Aid program.  Assefa mentioned 
that some victims feel more comfortable with a NGO attorney 
and not a GOB attorney. With a University of Bahrain law 
school that is 78% female, Assefa suggested that Al Boainain 
consider incorporating women graduate students to advise in 
labor cases. 
 
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Corrupt Recruitment Agencies 
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11.  (C)  On August 21, Assefa and PolOff met with four 
abused and runaway housemaids and volunteers from BCHR's 
Migrant Workers Group. A Sri Lankan housemaid recounted how 
she was tied to a table and raped for several hours by her 
employer.  The employer then dumped her on the recruitment 
agency's doorstep.  The recruiter kicked her out of the 
office to fend for herself.  A citizen realized she was 
injured and called BCHR for assistance. 
 
12.  (C)  Two Indonesian housemaids told Assefa and PolOff 
that they had run away from their employers just the night 
before.  They claimed that they were forced to clean four 
households, not just the one household for which they were 
each contracted. In addition, the employer has not paid their 
salaries in over three months.  One alleged that she was 
beaten.  Both housemaids said they were too scared to contact 
their recruiting agent because he would beat them and lock 
them up until he could find another employer. They would not 
tell BCHR volunteers the name of the agent.  For the time 
being, they are living with BCHR volunteers who will take 
them to the police to file a report against the sponsor. 
 
13.  (C)  Bala recounted the story of an Indian housemaid who 
was raped by her sponsor, locked up and beaten by her 
employment agency and then put on a plane before she could 
complain to the police. She offered to provide PolOff with a 
list of abusive agencies to submit to the GOB to take action. 
 On August 23 Director of Security Affairs Khalid Al Moawda 
told Assefa that he would like a copy of the list so he could 
send someone to inspect these agencies.  Al Moawda noted that 
the GOB shut down 63 recruitment agencies in 2003.  He added 
that he is working with MOJ Al Boainain to amend the penal 
code to assess punishment for these types of crimes.  The 
current law only allows the MOLSA and MOI to shut down or 
blacklist recruitment agencies. 
 
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A Successful Rescue 
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14.  (C)  In 2003 Indian housemaid Anita Verma was seriously 
beaten by her employer (Ref B). Eight months later, healthy 
and content, Anita recounted how on that night a neighbor who 
heard her screams called BCHR.  BCHR got her medical care, 
brought her to the police and after recuperation found her a 
new sponsor.  Anita has been able to stay in Bahrain and 
press charges against her employer.  The GOB has not 
prevented Verma from working while pursuing her case.  The 
court process has been slow but in October the Criminal 
Courts will rule on her case. Verma plans to stay and work in 
Bahrain and send money home to her children. 
MONROE