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### Viewing cable 04MANAMA339, ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT:

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
04MANAMA339 | 2004-03-11 11:17 | 2011-08-24 01:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Manama

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 MANAMA 000339

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE

    DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, NEA/ARP
    CAIRO FOR STEVE BONDY
    LONDON FOR ETHAN GOLDRICH
    DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
    DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, AND
    DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB BA
    SUBJECT: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT:
    BAHRAIN

    REF: SECSTATE 07869

    ¶1. (SBU) Post submits this report having received GOB,s
    final report on anti-TIP activities for March 2003-2004.  The
    following is Post,s response to reftel questions.

    ¶2. (U) Embassy Manama's input for the March 2004 Trafficking
    in Persons report follows.  Responses are keyed to reftel
    questions.  Post POC on trafficking is POLOFF Rebecca Fong,
    tel. (973) 1724-2834, fax: (973) 17273-011, E-mail:
    FongRA@state.gov.

    ¶3. (SBU) TIP Report March 2003-March 2004

    --------------------------------------------- -----------
    ¶18.  Overview of Bahrain's Activities to Eliminate TIP:
    --------------------------------------------- -----------

    ¶A.  Bahrain is a destination country for TIP.  There are no
    official reports of trafficking within Bahrain's borders.
    There are no reliable estimates on the magnitude of the
    trafficking problem, but there are approximately 210,000
    expatriate workers in Bahrain (out of a total workforce of
    approximately 330,000).  At present, the most reliable
    sources of information are local embassies and the GOB, but
    none of these sources follows trafficking closely.  For this
    reporting period, 50 Filipino housemaids sought refuge at the
    Philippine Embassy from abusive employers.  The press
    reported 20 cases of housemaid abuse, which included 3
    suicides and the murder of an employer by her Ethiopian
    housemaid.  Local NGOs offer anecdotal reports of varying
    quality.  Even less reliable are reports from international
    NGOs (e.g. "The Protection Project"), none of which have
    representatives in Bahrain.  Those most at risk for
    trafficking include male laborers and female domestic
    workers.  Both men and women are subject to withholding of
    documents, alteration of contracts, and non-payment of
    salaries.  One local embassy official reported that
    alteration of contracts for laborers and domestics upon
    arrival in Bahrain is "routine" but his analysis seemed to be
    based more on anecdotes than on any systematic method of
    information collection.  Women, particularly those employed
    as domestics, are more susceptible to physical abuse,
    including instances of rape.  All sources Post contacted
    agreed that the sex industry in Bahrain is overwhelmingly
    voluntary.  Post has no information that children are at risk
    for trafficking to Bahrain.

    ¶B.  Given the lack of reliable data, determining the source
    countries of trafficking victims is difficult.  However,
    given the large pools of workers from India, Pakistan, Sri
    Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, these are the most
    likely source countries.  Other Asian countries, such as
    China or Indonesia may also be involved.  Some victims may
    also come from the states of the former Soviet Union,
    Morocco, or Ethiopia.

    ¶C.  The lack of reliable data makes it difficult to assess
    changes of the flow of trafficking to Bahrain.  There is some
    data on changes in the flow of workers in general, which may
    or may not be representative of changes in the flow of
    trafficking victims. There is no available information that
    indicates that anything has changed since 2002.  In terms of
    numbers, however, the volume of laborers and domestic workers
    from South and Southeast Asia is far greater than workers
    from China and the former Soviet Union.

    ¶D.  Pending official notification of funding approval, IOM
    plans to conduct the first professional survey on trafficking
    as part of a project that will also train GOB officials and
    local NGOs to combat trafficking.

    ¶E.  The majority of low and unskilled expatriate workers
    coming to Bahrain are subject to withholding of documents
    (especially passports) by their sponsors.  Holding passports
    is against the law; however it has become customary practice
    to do so.  Bahraini sponsorship agreements require that
    sponsors take full responsibility for their imported workers,
    including medical care and a return ticket to their home
    country.  In the case of domestic workers, a sponsor may not
    import a second person until he can prove that the first one
    has left Bahrain.  Consequently, sponsors feel compelled to
    have control over worker movements, particularly of their
    domestic workers.  Fearing the consequences of runaway,
    injured, or pregnant housemaids, sponsors in some instances
    refuse unaccompanied excursions from the household or
    compound.  Another widespread abuse is the demand by sponsors
    for money before returning passports for travel or other
    purposes.

    The two sectors most vulnerable to trafficking are
    construction and domestic work.  Up to half of low and
    unskilled expatriate workers coming as construction or other
    laborers are subject to contract substitution.  One embassy
    described this practice as "routine," but it is not clear
    that this embassy had collected the information necessary to
    reach such a categorical conclusion.  Workers that have
    agreed to certain contract terms before leaving their home
    country find that they are presented with different contract
    conditions upon arrival.  Promised salaries of 140 BD (USD
    370) per month often become 70-80 BD (USD 185-212).
    Sometimes promised housing is not provided, or the housing
    provided is unsanitary.  In most cases, workers have little
    choice but to accept the new contract/conditions as they have
    debts to repay, both to recruiting agents and for
    transportation to Bahrain.  For construction workers, these
    costs can be USD 1200 or more.  Contract substitution is
    often due to the duplicity of recruiting agents in the home
    country.  These unscrupulous recruiting agents promise a
    worker that he or she will receive a particular contract when
    they know that the terms of this contract will be changed
    once the worker enters Bahrain. Nevertheless, Bahraini
    sponsors are also known to make changes to promised salaries
    claiming that workers have misrepresented their
    qualifications.  Post has no hard evidence to assess which of
    these scenarios happens more frequently.  Two housemaids
    alleged to the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights Migrant
    Workers Group (MWG) that two recruitment agencies make it a
    practice to rape incoming housemaids to  break them in, for
    employers. The MWG forwarded this information to the GOB in
    October 2003 and requested that the agencies be shut down.
    The Government has not yet responded to Post,s follow-up on
    the closure of the two agencies.

    Victims can take their case to Bahrain Labor Court but the
    process can be very long (from months to years) and most
    victims need their salary to survive and/or support relatives
    in their home countries.  The MWG is tracking over 200 free
    visa cases, some of which have languished in the courts for
    more than 2 years.  The lawyer representing these foreign
    workers refused to provide us details of these cases, citing
    attorney-client privilege. Often complainants withdraw their
    cases because they cannot continue to rely on the generosity
    of charitable NGOs or the MWG to share their personal homes
    for months at a time.

    ¶J.    Expatriate workers have successfully sued Bahraini
    sponsors in the Labor Court.  The GOB provided Post with
    2000-2002 data on foreign worker complaints that were
    forwarded to Labor courts for resolution.  However, the
    Government did not provide any data on prosecutions.

    The situation of domestic workers differs from other laborers
    as they are usually placed without a formal contract.  They
    are often promised salaries of 50-60 BD per month or higher
    (USD 130-160) but receive only 40 BD (USD 106).  This salary
    varies, however, depending on the country of origin of the
    housemaid:  Filipinas are among the best paid (up to 70
    BD/month).  Indonesians and Sri Lankans, who lack diplomatic
    representation in Bahrain are among the lowest (40 BD).  At
    these salaries, full room and board are normally provided.
    Complaints include partial or non-payment of salaries,
    extreme hours, lack of freedom to leave the house, verbal or
    physical abuse, and in some cases, rape.

    The Philippine Embassy has the most active worker protection
    program in the Kingdom.  The Embassy provides help for
    workers to find new employment, assistance to resolve
    disputes, and a shelter for abused housemaids.   Most
    complaints involve delayed or partial payment of salary or
    verbal harrassment.  Workers from the Philippines who go
    through reputable recruiting agents use contracts approved by
    both the Philippine Ministry of Labor Overseas Labor Office
    (POLO) and the Foreign Ministry, which works with its embassy
    in Bahrain to determine fair wages and working conditions.
    POLO also provides health care and registers workers to vote
    in the Philippine National elections.  Workers who go through
    these legal channels and have embassy representation
    generally face fewer problems.  The demand for Filipina
    housemaids is such, however, that the Philippines Embassy
    estimates that 4000 to 5000 may be in Bahrain without going
    through these channels, which makes them more vulnerable to
    abuse.

    Although Bahraini labor law does not cover domestic workers,
    they can approach the Ministry of Labor's Complaint
    Department for help in resolving most disputes, and they can
    seek legal redress from forced labor under the penal code.
    Some local embassies report that government officials are
    fair in resolving disputes, but many workers do not know
    about the complaint department service, and implementation of
    its decisions can be difficult.  Due to a general lack of
    awareness of workers' rights, employers can easily make
    inordinate demands of their employees.  The Bangladeshi
    Embassy told us it receives few complaints from workers (only
    one or two every two or three months) because:  a) the men
    fear that their sponsors will file false reports about them
    of theft or negligence of duty, and b) the women do not know
    their rights and it is not in their nature to complain.

    Numerous sources report that the sex industry in Bahrain is
    almost wholly voluntary.  When prodded on the question of
    forced or coerced prostitution, most embassies denied that
    any of their nationals were involved.  Last year, one embassy
    said that at least 8 out of 10 of the women from his country
    who come to Bahrain to work as prostitutes did so with full
    knowledge of what was expected of them.  (NOTE:  This
    estimate appeared to be more of a hunch than a research-based
    analysis.)  Women who come to perform in bands and dance
    groups (often from Belarus, Moldova, and the Ukraine) usually
    do just that, and do so in costumes that are far less
    revealing than one finds in an average music video.  Some may
    choose to offer sexual services, but only at their own
    discretion.  Physical contact between performers and audience
    members is strictly forbidden.  Violations of these rules led
    to the closure of 17 entertainment outlets this reporting
    period.

    Last year,s TIP report mentioned that Russian women have a
    more difficult time obtaining visas to come to Bahrain.  For
    example, an Embassy officer observed that approximately 170
    Russian and Slavic women entered on ,visit visas, to
    Bahrain on November 26, 2003.  These women were accompanied
    by 7-10 transaction agents.  The agents have agreements with
    Arab agents and some hotels to house the women.  Some have
    reported that they are locked in their rooms for night work
    but are free to go to the shopping malls and walk the
    corniche (boardwalk) during the day.  Two sources on a Hong
    Kong to Bahrain flight noted that in February 2004,
    approximately 60 Chinese women arrived in Bahrain to  work,
    through the Formula One event.

    ¶F.  N/A--Bahrain is a destination country.

    ¶G.  There is political will at the highest levels to combat
    trafficking.  However, it is difficult to measure the amount
    of resources the GOB is devoting to combating TIP.  In
    December 2003 the National Assembly approved the UN
    Convention on Transnational Crime and the optional protocols
    on the rights of the child and trafficking.  On March 10, the
    MFA officially notified the Embassy of Bahrain,s accession
    to this Convention.  The GOB established an inter-ministerial
    task force to design a national plan to combat TIP.  The
    committee is chaired by Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak
    Al-Khalifa, an Assistant Undersecretary in the Foreign
    Ministry and brother of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
    Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa.  According
    to Shaikh Abdul Aziz, the Bahraini Embassy in Washington has
    also assigned a diplomat to liaise with the State Department
    and Congress on TIP matters; we will update the Department
    when we learn this person's name.

    We do not believe that high-level GOB officials are involved
    in TIP and we have no information alleging that that they
    are.  However, the practice of "sponsoring" workers--and
    receiving a substantial fee (up to USD 1200) from the
    sponsored worker without providing them a job--occurs
    frequently here.  This practice is illegal, but some
    Bahrainis from influential families may be involved in this
    practice of providing "free visas."

    A hotline was established in February 2003 for people to
    provide information on "free visa" workers (there may be
    40,000 to 50,000 of them in Bahrain), but it has not yet been
    used as a tool to identify sponsors.

    ¶H.  We have no reason to believe that GOB authorities condone
    or facilitate trafficking.  Customs officials act
    professionally and we have no reports of their accepting
    bribes.  Post has uncovered no information about bribes paid
    to government officials to facilitate the trafficking of
    individuals to Bahrain.

    ¶I.    The police in Bahrain are adequately funded.
    Corruption in government is not an overall problem.  Bahrain
    is not a low per-capita income country.  One limiting factor
    has been a lack of Labor Ministry inspectors.  Last year the
    number of inspectors was increased from 9 to 40.  The
    Minister of Labor told the Ambassador that the ministry plans
    to add 30 more inspectors.  There are more than 20 inspectors
    for entertainment outlets (the responsibility for this falls
    under the Information Ministry's Tourism Affairs Office and
    includes hotels, restaurants, and clubs), and at least one
    inspector visits each of the 91 licensed entertainment
    outlets daily.  MOLSA is seeking the authority for its
    nspectors to have arrest power.  Labor inspections occur 1)
    randomly, 2) upon application for a work permit; (3) after an
    employee complaint; (4) by request of an employer and (5) to
    follow up on a previous site visit.

    ¶J.    The GOB does not systematically monitor its
    anti-trafficking efforts or make available its assessments of
    these efforts.  The inter-ministerial committee meets
    periodically to discuss various government anti-TIP efforts.

    ¶K.  Prostitution is illegal and the activities of brothels
    and pimps are criminalized.  Enforcement, however, is
    variable.

    ---------------
    ¶19. Prevention
    ---------------

    ¶A.  Yes.  Bahraini government officials have acknowledged
    that trafficking in persons is an international problem that
    all countries must address and that must be better understood
    locally.
    ¶B.  The inter-ministerial task force consists of
    representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor
    and Social Affairs, Information, Justice, Interior, and
    Cabinet Affairs.

    ¶C.  A media campaign previously slated for March 2003 was
    launched December 9, 2003.  The English-speaking press
    continues to highlight the conditions faced by some
    expatriate workers and featured 20 cases of housemaid abuse.
    The Government censors some news that embarrasses the
    country.  Its allowing publication of worker abuse stories
    indicates that the GOB is serious about stopping trafficking.
     This does not appear to be a concerted media effort.

    The GOB has published a manual on the rights and duties of
    expatriate workers in Bahrain that has not yet been given to
    local embassies, Bahraini embassies abroad, and manpower
    recruitment agencies that do business in Bahrain.  In
    addition, the GOB has published a simpler brochure that is
    intended for distribution directly to expatriate workers.  It
    is translated into six languages; Urdu, Thai, Singhalese,
    Arabic, English, and Tagalog.  In 2004, there are plans to
    translate the brochure into Bengali.

    ¶D.  The Bahraini Government promotes women's participation in
    economic and political decision-making and continues to make
    good strides.  Women voted for the first time in a referendum
    in February 2001.  Bahrain's new constitution guarantees
    women full political rights. Young girls and women make up 70
    percent and higher of enrollment in educational institutions.

    ¶E.  The GOB has expressed its willingness to work with the
    IOM in conjunction with a Department-funded project (pending
    official funding notification).  At present, it lacks the
    expertise to support an effective prevention campaign.

    ¶F.  The MFA has met with the Bahrain Centre for Human
    Rights, Migrant Workers Group three times in the past 7
    months.  In January 2004, Salma Bala of the Migrant Workers
    Group submitted a list of 200 labor cases that are stuck in
    the courts.  In February 2004, Shaikh Abdul Aziz reviewed
    them on behalf of the inter-ministerial committee and met
    with the Chief Prosecutor to push 50 of the critical cases to
    resolution and to halt forced repatriation.  Post continues
    to encourage a more institutionalized arrangement and has
    contacted several embassies to probe their interest.

    ¶G.  The GOB monitors its borders and immigration effectively.
     Border officials are competent at recognizing forged
    documents, but are not specifically trained to recognize TIP.
     Post has no information that any immigration official
    attempts to track information related to TIP.

    ¶H.  The GOB established an inter-ministerial national
    taskforce in February 2002 that met periodically this year.
    It is the focal point for the GOB's anti-TIP policies.  The
    GOB does not have a public corruption task force, but, the
    elected Council of Representatives does have an Investigative
    Committee.  That Committee, for example, has highlighted
    serious financial mismanagement of the Government,s pension
    funds, and may pursue removal of the ministers responsible
    for the funds, mismanagement.

    ¶I.  At present, the GOB does not coordinate its anti-TIP
    efforts with multinational or international working groups.
    However, the GOB has agreed to work with the IOM if the
    Department decides to fund IOM,s project proposal.

    ¶J.    The GOB has a national plan of action.  The Ministries
    of Foreign Affairs, Labor, Information, Justice, and Interior
    were involved in drafting this plan.  NGOs were not consulted
    during the drafting of this plan.  Parts of the action plan
    were not made public.  On December 9, Shaikh Abdul Aziz held
    a press conference to underscore that the GOB is working to
    prevent abuse of migrant workers.  He announced that the GOB
    will focus on educating families with a media campaign
    launched by each directorate, that MOLSA will take a more
    active role with overseeing inspections and investigations,
    and target date for the first GOB victim assistance shelter
    is March 30.  Reported in the press on February 24, the
    Chairman of Municipality Affairs Committee has agreed to have
    the Sitra market organization (Corners Committee) help empty
    the souq of &free visa8 workers.

    ¶K.  Yes, the inter-ministerial task force.

    --------------------------------------------- -----
    ¶20.  Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶A.  The Bahraini penal code does not specifically criminalize
    trafficking in persons.  However, it does explicitly outlaw
    forced labor (including unjustifiable withholding of salary)
    for the government (Article 198) or for any other kind of
    work (Article 302 amended).  Forced prostitution through
    coercion, threat or deceit (Article 325) is also outlawed.
    While these articles provide significant protection for
    victims of trafficking, it remains a lengthy process to
    achieve redress of grievances in the current court system.
    The Head of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Labor warned us
    that the available English translation of the Penal Code is
    not as clear as the original Arabic.

    Article 198:  "A punishment of imprisonment for a period not
    exceeding 10 years shall be inflicted upon every civil
    servant or officer entrusted with a public service who
    employs, by forced labor, workers to work for the Government
    or one of the authorities mentioned in Article 107 hereof
    (defines civil servant) or unjustifiably withhold all or some
    of their wages."

    Article 302 amended by Legislative Decree No. 6 of 1993:
    "Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 198, a
    punishment of imprisonment and a fine, or either penalty,
    shall be inflicted upon every person who employs forced labor
    to undertake any work or unjustifiably withholds all or some
    of their wages."

    Law on Immorality and Prostitution (Chapter 3, Bahraini Penal
    Code 1976):

    Article 325:  "1.  Every person who forces a male or female
    to commit acts of immorality or prostitution by way of
    coercion, threat or deceit shall be liable for imprisonment
    for a period of no less than 2 years and no more than 7
    years.  2.  If the victim is less than 18 years of age, the
    punishment shall be a prison sentence for a period not less
    than 3 years and no more than 10 years."

    ¶B.  See 18A

    ¶C.  Law on Rape and Sexual Assault (Chapter 2, Bahraini Penal
    Code 1976):

    Article 344:  "Any person who assaults a female shall be
    liable for a prison sentence for a period not exceeding 10
    years.  A prison sentence shall be the penalty if the victim
    is less than 16 years of age."

    Article 346:  "A prison sentence for a period not exceeding 7
    years shall be the punishment for any person who assaults a
    person against his will.  The punishment shall be a prison
    sentence if the victim is less than 7 years of age.  The
    penalty shall be imprisonment for a term of no more than 10
    years if the victim is more than 7 years of age but has not
    reached the age of sixteen."

    Article 348:  "The following shall be aggravating
    circumstances in the crimes provided for in the preceding
    articles of this chapter:  1.  If the perpetrator is one of
    the victim's close relatives or those responsible for
    bringing him/her up, guardianship or having authority over
    him, or one of his servants or working with one of the
    aforesaid persons.  2.  If the perpetrator is one of the
    public servants or officers entrusted with a public service,
    clergymen, medical practitioners or their assistants and has
    abused his office, position or trust in him.  3.  If the
    crime is jointly committed by two persons or more who
    cooperated in overpowering the victim or took turns in
    committing the same act against the victim.  4.  If the
    victim sustains a venereal disease as a result of committing
    the crime.  5.  If the victim becomes pregnant or suffers
    loss of virginity by reason of the crime."

    ¶D.    Post has received contradictory information on this
    subject.  Because "trafficking" is not a legal concept under
    Bahraini law, no one has been prosecuted or convicted
    specifically for trafficking.  The subject of prostitution is
    a very sensitive issue in this conservative society and most
    of our Bahraini interlocutors are not keen to discuss it.
    The other legal cases we are aware of are civil cases in
    Labor court and involve disputes over non-payment of salary.
    In 2003 MOLSA reported that there were 84 domestic worker
    complaints, 46 of which were settled and 38 of which went to
    court.  Most cases involved nonpayment of salary.  MOLSA can
    remove a domestic worker from the place of employment and
    repatriate the employee at the employer,s expense.  There is
    one alleged case of forced repatriation by the GOB.  Attorney
    Fatima Hawaj reported to the press on February 13 that the
    General Directorate of Immigration, Passports and Residency
    repatriated her client, a Bangladeshi worker involved in a
    labor dispute case, against her client,s will and without
    her knowledge.  The labor courts had no option but to drop
    the case.  In February, Shaikh Abdul Aziz halted forced
    repatriation of 50 Indian workers who were in the middle of
    having their free visa cases decided by the Labor courts.
    These cases were brought to his attention by BCHR,s Migrant
    Worker,s Group.

    ¶E.  Those implicated in trafficking to Bahrain are manpower
    recruitment agencies, local and in source countries, as well
    as individual Bahraini sponsors who change labor contracts
    upon a worker's arrival.  The GOB has established a database
    of complaints and actions taken regarding individual cases.
    This year, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs tracked
    140 recruitment agencies and sixty three (63) have been shut
    down for malpractice.  In December 2003, the Ministry of
    Information Tourism Inspectorate shut down 10 tourism
    agencies for violating laws which promote clean tourism.

    ¶F.  The GOB investigates abuses when it learns of them, but
    the Government does not systematically investigate cases of
    trafficking and probably lacks the expertise to do so
    effectively.  Bahraini law allows for covert police
    operations, but these techniques are not used to investigate
    trafficking.

    ¶G.  The GOB does not provide any specialized training for
    government officials to recognize, investigate, and prosecute
    trafficking, and it currently lacks the expertise to do so.
    However, we are awaiting formal funding notification from the
    Department on an IOM project that will begin training GOB
    officials to pursue trafficking cases.

    ¶H.    Post does not know of any cooperative international
    investigations on trafficking involving Bahrain.  However,
    local embassies report that the GOB government generally
    cooperates in investigating reported abuses of workers when
    the embassies raise specific complaints with GOB officials.
    In January 2004, the Philippine mission brought to the
    attention of the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs 37
    worker abuse cases that have languished in the labor courts
    for at least two years.  Several cases are ongoing even
    though the complainants have attended over 10 hearings on
    their cases.  One case dates back six years concerning a
    housemaid claiming unpaid salary.  She abandoned her legal
    case and returned to the Philippines in December 2003.

    ¶I.  Post has no knowledge of any extradition requests
    involving trafficking in Bahrain.   The Kingdom of Bahrain is
    a party to a number of bilateral extradition treaties and
    some multinational arrangements, including the Agreement to
    Combat Trans-Arab Organized Crime and the Arab Agreement to
    Combat Terrorism.  The US and Bahrain do not have a bilateral
    extradition treaty.

    ¶J.  As mentioned in section 23H, government officials
    do not directly condone or facilitate trafficking. However,
    the government does tolerate the sale of "free visas" by
    certain prominent individuals.  These individuals import
    numerous laborers without verifiable employment.  Upon
    arrival, these workers (who often mortgage their belongings
    to pay up to USD 1200 or more for sponsorship and travel fees
    to get to Bahrain) are told to find work elsewhere. In many
    cases, the sponsors require monthly or annual fees for
    workers to maintain their right to remain in-country.  There
    may be approximately 40-50,000 of these "free visa workers"
    in Bahrain.  As they are not working for their original
    sponsor, their status is illegal and their rights precarious.
     Many such workers must take whatever work they can find.  On
    December 3, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs
    announced to the press that MOLSA will be clamping down on
    free visas and runaway workers.  There are no 2003 statistics
    available of arrests or prosecution of free visas sponsors.
    Reported in the press on February 24, the Chairman of the
    Municipality Affairs Committee has agreed to have the Sitra
    market organization (Corners Committee) help empty the souq
    of &free visa8 workers.

    ¶K.  No GOB officials have been prosecuted for involvement in
    offenses related to trafficking.  Sponsorship rules were
    reformed in the summer of 2002 to allow workers to change
    sponsors/jobs without a "no objection" letter from their
    current sponsor.  Theoretically, this allows workers to
    remove themselves legally from potentially abusive
    situations.  However, there are some conditions attached
    (e.g., the new employer must reimburse the original sponsor
    for any expenses involving the worker's entry into Bahrain),
    and it is not clear that many unskilled workers with little
    education are aware of this rule change to take advantage of
    it.

    The GOB established a telephone hotline to collect
    information on "free visa" workers, all of whom are, by
    definition, working in Bahrain illegally.  It is not yet
    clear if this information will be used to target sponsors for
    prosecution, or workers for deportation.   The GOB
    established a telephone hotline (17870176) for anyone to
    reoprt worker abuse.  The GOB announced that it would staff
    this hotline 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  The
    Embassy tested this hotline on 21 occasions.  The phone was
    answered twice.  Those who answered the phone did not appear
    to be knowledgeable about or trained in victim abuse
    referral.  Post notes that MOLSA initially published an
    incorrect phone number for the hotline in the newspaper.  The
    error has been corrected.  On December 7, 2003, the GOB
    announced plans to upgrade the current hotline to record all
    calls.  BCHR reported that MOLSA has assigned a new employee,
    Nabila Rajab (sister of BCHR,s President) to run the
    hotline.  She reported that her staff is in dire need of
    training.  There are no statistics available on the number of
    calls or referrals.

    ¶L.  ILO Convention 182:  signed and ratified, Feb. 2001

    ILO Convention 29 and 105:  signed and ratified.

    Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
    Child:  signed and ratified.
    In December 2003, the Parliament approved the UN Convention
    against Transnational Organized Crime and two protocols to
    prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons,
    especially women and children and smuggling of migrants by
    land, sea and air.  Shaikh Abdul Aziz notified the Embassy of
    Bahrain,s accession to this Convention.

    ------------------------------------------
    ¶21.  Protection and Assistance to Victims
    ------------------------------------------

    ¶A.  The government does not regularly provide assistance to
    trafficking victims such as shelter and medical or
    psychological services, but may provide temporary shelter
    and/or medical services in extreme cases.  Generally, such
    services are up to the victim's local embassy or NGOs.  One
    embassy has a facility for women, and local NGOs help some
    people on an ad hoc basis.  Should these options not be
    available, the police are allowed to temporarily house
    victims at police stations while a case is being
    investigated.  Police are not supposed to return victims to
    their sponsors if they believe the victims will be harmed;
    Post does not know if this prescription is generally
    followed.  There is no established system for providing legal
    or psychological services, but emergency medical treatment is
    available to anyone in Bahrain.  There are no established
    victim care facilities.  The GOB issued a public statement in
    December that a victim assistance shelter would be completed
    by March 31.  At the time of this report, no shelter had been
    erected.  On December 10, BCHR advertised in the press its
    plans to establish a victim assistance shelter and opened a
    bank account to receive donations.  On March 5, BCHR held a 5
    kilometer charity run to raise money for its shelter.

    The government does provide mediation services at the
    Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.  The Ministry's
    complaint department has a staff of 10 people with the sole
    duty to achieve amicable settlements of disputes between
    sponsors and employees.  The government often allows
    temporary residency during disputes (relief from deportation)
    and tolerates work for non-sponsors while a worker seeks
    settlement or legal redress.

    ¶B.  The GOB does not provide funding or other support to
    foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims.  However,
    Post introduced two local human rights NGOs to the MFA and we
    have heard through multiple channels that they continue to
    meet and are looking for areas of potential cooperation on
    matters involving expatriate workers in Bahrain.

    ¶C.  Cases where workers have been detained, jailed, or fined
    for criminal offenses are relatively few.  In 2003, the press
    cited one case of an abused Ethiopian housemaid that murdered
    her employer.  She was found guilty and her death sentence
    was commuted to life in prison.  According to the Ministry of
    Labor's Legal Advisor, prison sentences are meted out only
    where criminality accompanies a labor dispute, such as murder
    or theft.  Workers not working for their sponsor are subject
    to deportation.  Free visa violators are held at the
    Immigration Residence while being processed for deportation.
    ¶D.  In cases where mediation by the Ministry of Labor's
    complaint department does not succeed in resolving disputes,
    government officials encourage workers to pursue legal
    action.  The Ministry's Legal Advisor tells us that the
    ministry's mediators facilitate contact with lawyers.  The
    government often tolerates work for non-sponsors during legal
    disputes and allows/facilitates change of sponsors under
    situations of duress.  In 2002, the government introduced new
    rules that increase the flexibility of a rigid sponsorship
    law that in the past made the task of changing one's
    job/sponsor very difficult.  However, the requirements for
    utilizing these new rules and changing one's job legally are
    not well understood, especially by poorly educated laborers
    and domestic workers.  Sponsors are required to pay for
    repatriation of workers, regardless of whether or not the
    full contract has been fulfilled.  In cases where they
    refuse, the cost often falls to local embassies.

    ¶E.  Protection of victims normally falls to their local
    embassy, but GOB officials have told us that a victim in
    imminent physical danger would be protected and sheltered by
    the police.  Due to the lack of known examples, it is not
    possible to determine the GOB's actual practice.

    ¶F.  The GOB does not provide any specialized training for
    government officials in recognizing trafficking and assisting
    the needs of victims.  However, the IOM project-- --will
    assist the GOB in providing this sort of training.  The
    manual and pamphlet explaining workers' rights and
    obligations will also help educate Bahrainis on matters
    relating to trafficking.

    ¶G.  N/A.  Post has no information that suggests that Bahraini
    nationals are victims of trafficking.

    ¶H. Local embassies are the biggest source of assistance to
    trafficking victims.  The Philippine Embassy has the most
    developed assistance program, including an on-site shelter
    for workers who run away from their sponsors/employers.  The
    Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Administration provides
    legal assistance, loans, health insurance, voting
    registration assistance, counseling, repatriation and
    reintegration services.  Other embassies also provide
    services, but on a more ad hoc basis.  In severe cases of
    abuse or destitution, they seek placement of victims within
    their local national community until repatriation can be
    arranged. On February 17, the Indian Embassy announced that
    it will start registering Indian guest workers in an effort
    to help workers in distress and to reach out to Indian free
    visa workers.

    ¶I.  The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Migrant Worker's
    Group seeks to address the issue of trafficking and working
    conditions for expatriates.  Several staff members have told
    Post of their experiences in sheltering victims on an ad hoc
    basis.  Post introduced several members to the GOB's
    anti-trafficking task force, and they have met three times
    since then to look for ways to cooperate.  Shaikh Abdul Aziz
    has continued to meet with individual ministries and NGOs.
    The IOM project will seek to increase the capacity of local
    NGOs to assist victims.  The Bahrain Human Rights Society has
    members who are interested in the issue, but Post has no
    information on any related activities that this organization
    engages in.  The Indian Charitable Relief Committee (ICRC)
    visits a different "work camp" every month, providing medical
    check-ups and food to laborers working there. Helping Hands
    Charity provides temporary food and shelter to abused
    workers.
    FORD

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