Cablegate: East African Regional Labor Reports for Host

VZCZCXYZ0011
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #3213 2061239
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251239Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA PRIORITY 4817
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI PRIORITY 4293
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY 8682
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY 0492
RUEHAN/AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO PRIORITY 0191
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 4758
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 1472
RUEHLG/AMEMBASSY LILONGWE PRIORITY 2274
RUEHLS/AMEMBASSY LUSAKA PRIORITY 4036
RUEHPL/AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS PRIORITY 1657
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3224
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 0393
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1962

UNCLAS NAIROBI 003213

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/RSA, G/TIP, AND DRL/IL
DEPT ALSO PASS TO LABOR FOR ILAB

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PHUM KCRM PGOV KE
SUBJECT: East African Regional Labor Reports for Host
Governments

For all Labor Reporting Officers from Regional Labor
Officer (RLO)

1. Summary: Regional Labor Officer (RLO) will send
compilations of the State Department, Labor Department,
ICFTU, and other reports on worker rights, child labor, and
TIP for the 13 East African countries and destination
countries in the Middle East and Europe to Labor Reporting
Officers in the East African countries. RLO requests that
Posts provide copies to appropriate host government
agencies, NGOs, unions, and international organizations to
increase their knowledge of these problems, give them a
regional perspective, and help them to increase public
awareness about the problems. End Summary.

2. One of the problems our host government agencies and
local NGOs face when trying to address issues like forced
labor, TIP, child labor and worker rights is collecting and
disseminating information to organizations and the public
to raise their awareness. Poverty makes many people in our
host countries susceptible to alluring offers of work in
other domestic locales or in other countries that turn out
to be fraudulent and/or lead to abusive situations.

3. The USG and some international organizations publish
annual reports on these issues with information that should
be useful to host government officials and NGOs. However,
these local organizations often have limited access to the
internet, and limited paper, toner, and funds for making
printouts or publishing reports they can obtain.

4. The Kenyan Ministry of Labor plans to create a resource
room in which to collect the materials on these issues
developed by government agencies, NGOs and international
organizations, some of them funded by USAID or Dept of
Labor. Prospective work applicants could use this
information resource to check out a country before going to
work there. Companies, NGOs and government agencies can
use them to develop or enhance local policies and programs
to combat these problems.

5. RLO has compiled the following documents for the 13 East
African countries in his region, plus destination countries
in the Mid East and Europe:

- Section 6 on Worker Rights from the 2006 State Department
annual Human Rights report
- TIP Country reports from the 2006 State Department
Trafficking in Persons Report
- Country reports from the 2006 International Confederation
of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) report on violations of trade
union rights by the
- Dept of Labor Trade Act Report on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor.
- Saudi government pamphlet for foreign workers and their
employers on their rights and obligations

6. RLO requests that Labor Reporting Officers provide hard
copies, soft copies or disks as appropriate of these
reports to relevant host government agencies, NGOs,
employers federations, professional organizations, union
organizations, and international organizations to increase
their own knowledge of these problems, gain a regional
perspective, and use that information to increase public
awareness and sensitize people about the problems. RLO
requests that officers report delivery of these reports by
front channel message or by e-mail to fleitmanrh@state.gov.

Hoover

© Scoop Media