US embassy cable - 04ABUDHABI4261

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004261 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KJUS, PHUM, ASEC, TC 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON UAE INTERIOR MINISTER SHEIKH 
SAIF BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN ON NOVEMBER 24 
 
Classified by Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
1.  (U)  Summary.  Ambassador and the U.S. Embassy law 
enforcement team (RSO, LEGAT, DHS/ICE) called on new Interior 
Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed al Nahyan on November 24. 
Ambassador emphasized that cooperation through USG law 
enforcement training and exchange programs would remain a 
high priority for the Embassy, and expressed interest in 
receiving updates on the Ministry,s work in the police, 
prison, immigration, and civil defense areas.  End Summary. 
 
EXCELLENT  US-UAE LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U)  The Ambassador opened the meeting by thanking Sheikh 
Saif for his personal attention to U.S. Embassy security 
matters during his previous tenure as Director General of the 
Abu Dhabi Police.  She also praised the Abu Dhabi Police 
Department,s cooperation in joint criminal investigations 
with U.S. law enforcement on smuggling, money laundering, and 
counter-terror and CT finance cases.   The Minister commented 
on two recent successful examples of US-UAE law enforcement 
cooperation, the first involving a kidnapping by Russian 
criminals, and the second involving a child pornography case. 
 The Minister expressed great satisfaction that in both 
cases, the two governments working together were able to take 
concrete action rather than &just talk.8 
 
3.  (U)  Sheikh Saif cited the close working relationship 
between UAE and U.S. law enforcement and praised the robust 
law enforcement training and exchange program between the two 
countries.  The Ambassador noted that RSO would accompany 
three senior Emirati police officials the following week to a 
DSS/ATA Police Academy Curriculum Development training 
program.  DHS/ICE attach noted the ongoing three-week DHS 
facility security unit training with the Abu Dhabi Police 
Department, a program which will address risk assessment, 
countermeasure development, and tactics designed to defeat 
potential attacks on oil production and other critical 
infrastructure sites.  The Minister praised this initiative, 
and noted how much he valued his own U.K. (Scotland Yard) 
short-term training experience. 
 
CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE; 
MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATY 
------------------------------ 
 
4.  (U)  Ambassador then turned to a discussion of DHS, 
Container Security Initiative (CSI).  She briefed the 
minister on Commissioner Robert Bonner,s planned travel to 
the UAE next month to sign a Declaration of Principles with 
the Dubai Port Authority and to post U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection officers at Port Rashid.  The Ambassador noted 
that CSI would increase the flow of information between the 
U.S. and the UAE and strengthen our law enforcement 
relationship by targeting suspect shipping containers prior 
to their arrival at a UAE or U.S. port.  The Minister agreed 
with the importance of the CSI, and highlighted the strong 
need for enhanced information and intelligence sharing in 
this area. 
 
5.  (U)  The Ambassador informed Sheikh Saif that the UAEG 
Ministry of Justice and the US DoJ Mutual Legal Assistance 
Treaty teams would hold their first meeting January 10-12 in 
Washington, DC, with the second meeting to follow in Abu 
Dhabi.  LEGAT noted that the MLAT would assist each 
government in investigating and prosecuting criminal matters 
related to terrorism, narcotics trafficking, economic crime, 
and organized crime. 
 
BORDER SECURITY UNIT STATUS UNCLEAR 
----------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C)  The Ambassador noted that the Federal Customs 
authority had recently asked DHS/ICE to participate in 
preliminary discussions regarding the potential for 
developing border security units.  There had also been talk 
earlier in the year of transfering 5,000 troops from the UAE 
military,s land forces for this purpose.  The Minister 
opined that border security would properly fall under the 
military,s reach.  (Note:  Embassy will be following up with 
the concerned UAEG ministries to determine the exact status 
of the border security unit/border patrol initiative.  It is 
not yet clear which UAEG entity has the lead, although 
several officials have expressed interest in looking 
first-hand at how the U.S. manages its land borders. ) 
 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS AND THE CAMEL JOCKEYS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU)  The discussion then moved to trafficking in 
persons and the plight of foreign underage camel jockeys in 
the UAE.  Sheikh Saif briefed the Ambassador on a recent 
Ministry of Interior/police investigation that had resulted 
in the removal of 18 boys from a camel farm the day before. 
He said that his half-brother, Crown Prince Mohammed bin 
Zayed, had been very clear that the camel jockey issue 
&needed to be cleaned up.8  If this was not done quickly, 
said Saif, the whole sport might be shut down.  He added that 
the UAEG is attempting to utilize DNA testing in an effort to 
reunite children with their families.  As this would not 
succeed in all cases, the UAE was also working with Pakistan, 
Bangladesh, and India to launch UAE-funded shelters intended 
to house children who did not know or were unable to be 
reunited with their families.  The suffering of &even one 
child is too many,8 emphasized the Minister.  The UAE would 
seek to resolve these issues by working within the UAE as 
well as with source country governments. He also noted that 
part of the problem was that many of these children utilized 
false passports to enter the UAE from their home country, and 
that source countries also needed to crack down on this 
aspect. 
SISON