US embassy cable - 05MANAMA1714

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001714 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, KWMN, PHUM, SMIG, PREL, BA, HUMRIT 
SUBJECT: G/TIP INTERIM REPORT FOR BAHRAIN 
 
REF: A. STATE 194903 
 
     B. STATE 174045 
 
1.  Short-term action items delivered to the GOB in September 
2005 (ref B) guide post's response to ref A.  The following 
paragraphs cover the three items in ref A, among other items. 
 Action item No. 1:  Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Mubarak Al 
Khalifa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for 
Coordination and Follow-up is the de facto anti-TIP national 
coordinator as the chair of an inter-ministerial taskforce 
comprised of officials from the Ministries of Foreign 
Affairs, Labor, Social Development, Interior, and Justice. 
In an October 2005 meeting, the committee tasked the Minister 
of Social Development with exploring the possibility of 
signing an MOU with International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) that would allow the IOM to register legally with the 
GOB.  As yet there is no concrete follow-up on IOM's status. 
 
2.  Action item No. 2:  The Ministry of Justice hosted 
Italian judge and trafficking expert Maria Grazia 
Giammarinaro for one week to train judges, public prosecutors 
and Ministry of Justice officials about international laws 
regarding trafficking in September 2005.  Judge Giammarinaro 
trained 25 officials in international treaties and 
conventions and in comparative trafficking legislation from 
other nations.  Judge Giammarinaro will return to Bahrain in 
early 2006 for one week for follow-up training with a broader 
group of judges, prosecutors and government officials.  In 
November 2005 USAID contractor and trafficking expert Dr. 
Mohamed Mattar visited Bahrain to assess needs to guide 
future trainings.  In April and May 2006, Ministry of 
Interior Head of Investigation for the General Directorate of 
Nationality, Passports and Residence Ghazi Saleh Al Doseri 
will attend an International Visitor (IV) Program focused on 
combating trafficking.  Regarding the free visa problem, the 
Ministry of Labor identified 130 companies in October and 
November 2005 that were using free visa workers.  The 
Ministry levied fines on these companies and required that 
the companies provide airline tickets to the workers' home 
countries.  To provide increased monitoring of companies the 
Ministry recently hired 20 additional inspectors to begin a 
four-month training course.  This represents a significant 
increase in the number of inspectors, to a total of 60. 
Additionally in November 2005, the Ministry hired two 
inspectors to follow up on complaints received about the 85 
manpower recruitment agencies operating in Bahrain.  This is 
the first time there have been officials dedicated full-time 
to the accountability of recruitment agencies.  To increase 
transparency and accountability, the Ministry of Labor is 
currently working with the banking sector to establish worker 
bank accounts so that all worker salaries will be 
electronically transferred to their accounts.  The Ministry 
will begin requiring companies to use the system in the first 
quarter of 2006. 
 
3.  Action item No. 3:  The Ministry of Justice began 
drafting anti-trafficking legislation in September 2005. 
Judge Giammarinaro worked with the draft committee in the 
initial stages and continues to review each draft.  In 
addition, MEPI-funded American Bar Association (ABA) in-house 
legal consultants provide continual feedback and guidance to 
the Ministry.  Dr. Mohamed Mattar is providing sample draft 
language for several pieces of the legislation.  The draft is 
expected to be completed by year end.  The draft legislation 
will then be forwarded to the cabinet for approval before 
being considered by the parliament for a vote.  The 
parliament is currently considering labor reform legislation 
designed to reduce Bahrain's reliance upon foreign workers 
and is expected to vote on it in December.  Indications are 
that domestic laborers, who are vulnerable to trafficking, 
will be covered only in part by this labor reform 
legislation; remaining issues for domestics will be covered 
by specific future legislation also to be drafted by the 
Ministry of Justice.  The Ministry has been implementing 
major reform including the introduction of automation and the 
overhaul of the case management system to increase efficiency 
and expedite all cases including labor cases.  The 
inter-ministerial committee has tasked Justice with 
documenting trafficking-related cases.  In November 2005, a 
conference of Ministers of Justice from Gulf Cooperation 
Council (GCC) countries chose the Bahraini Ministry of 
Justice to take the lead in introducing unified 
anti-trafficking legislation for all GCC countries. 
 
4.  Action item No. 4:  The Ministry of Labor trafficking 
hotline is still only staffed during Ministry hours of 
operation.  Hotline staff members say that funding 
limitations do not allow for the hiring of additional help at 
this time.  The hotline phone number is published daily in 
the English language Gulf Daily News, in the Local Scene 
section.  A separate Labor inspection hotline is also 
published daily in the same paper. 
 
5.  Action item No. 5:  The Ministry of Social Development 
submitted the by-laws and administrative and staffing plan 
documentation for the operation of the shelter to the Civil 
Service Administration in October 2005.  Approval of the plan 
is expected by the end of November 2005.  Once approved, the 
Ministry will begin hiring and training staff for the 
shelter.  The Ministry has already identified candidates from 
the Ministries of Social Development and Health and NGOs to 
become the administrators of the new shelter.  Funding at a 
level of 500,000 Bahraini dinars (over $1.3 million) has been 
allocated for the first year of operation.  Land has also 
been set aside for construction of a new shelter facility. 
While the new structure is being constructed, the government 
will rent space in existing buildings for shelter operation. 
The Ministry of Social Development has identified several 
suitable facilities and will lease one when the plan is 
approved.  Members of the Ministry have been meeting with 
referring agencies, such as the police and hospitals, to 
coordinate efforts once the shelter is open.  According to 
the Minister of Social Development, the center is expected to 
be fully operational by mid-2006. 
 
6.  Action item No. 6:  In addition to an existing Foreign 
Workers Manual providing important legal information and 
emergency contacts for embassies and local authorities, the 
Ministry of Labor is currently updating a labor information 
leaflet, available in source country languages and 
distributed since 2003, to include illustrations for 
illiterate workers.  The Ministry expects it to be completed 
and republished by the end of December 2005.  The Ministry 
elicited content for the leaflet from the embassies of worker 
source countries.  When the new leaflet is completed, the 
Ministry is planning media events to introduce it.  The 
leaflet will be distributed, along with the other source 
country language leaflets, at the airport, the Naeem Health 
Center, where expatriate workers get physical exams after 
arrival in Bahrain, the national identification registration 
office, embassies, and at the Ministry of Labor, among other 
locations. 
 
MONROE