UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000057

SIPDIS

STATE FOR ECA/PE/V/P-MARGERY BENSON/DEBORAH THOMPSON
INFO: ECA/PE/V/G/N-ALICE SHIFFLETT; SA/PD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OEXC SCUL KPAO OEXC
SUBJECT: FY-2004 MRP "U.S. JUDICIAL SYSTEMS"-
JULY 8-29, 2004: SRI LANKAN NOMINATION
PROJECT NUMBER: E/VP-2004-0032

REF: (A) STATE 074070, (B) COLOMBO 0676


1. POST NOMINATES MR. DENIS S. SOOSAITHAS, LEGAL
OFFICER, HOME FOR HUMAN RIGHTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE
SUBJECT PROJECT. POST CONFIRMS THAT THIS NOMINATION
HAS "FULL COUNTRY TEAM APPROVAL."


2. NOMINATION IS AS FOLLOWS:
START FIXED-FORMAT TEXT (PLEASE DO NOT EDIT):
: THE FOLLOWING DATA IS IN A FIXED FORMAT WHICH ENABLES
: AUTOMATED PROCESSING IN WASHINGTON AND SHOULD NOT BE
: EDITED EXCEPT BY MEANS OF THE POST-EVDB SOFTWARE.
EXPORT-SOURCE: POST-EVDB
VERSION: 3.0.7
POST-EMAIL: RSCMB@PD.STATE.GOV
TRANSMITTING-POST: PAS COLOMBO
TRANSMITTING-POST-ID: 2929
EXPORT-TYPE: BIO DATA
START NOMINATION:
ECA-OFFICE: E/VGN
PROG-AGENCY-NAME:
POST-PROJ-ID: 98
ECA-PROJ-NO: E/VP-2004-0032
PROJ-NAME: U.S. JUDICIAL SYSTEMS - JULY 8-29, 2004
START MEMO PROJ-DESC:

END MEMO PROJ-DESC:
PROJ-TYPE: MULTI-REGIONAL
PROG-TYPE: IV GRANT VISITOR
FY: 2004
DEPART-POST: 07/06/2004
SESSION-DATE:
RETURN-POST: 08/01/2004
NO-OF-PART: 1
RANK-ORDER: 14
START MEMO POST-OBJ:
THIS NOMINATION IS IN SUPPORT OF MPP GOAL "SUPPORTING
HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW".
END MEMO POST-OBJ:
START MEMO POST-RCMD:

END MEMO POST-RCMD:
ECA-OFFICE-ID: 1039
PROG-AGENCY-ID:
PROJ-TYPE-ID: MRP
PROG-TYPE-ID: 29
NOMINATING-POST-ID: 2929
FUNDING-CNTRY-ID:
STATUS: N
ORIGINATOR: P
SUBJ-DISC: JUDICIAL SYSTEM
START BIO:
PREFIX: MR.
F-NAME: DENIS
M-NAME: SHANTHAN
L-NAME: SOOSAITHAS
SUFFIX:
POSITION-CODE: 339
PRINCIPAL?: YES
GENDER: M
DOB: 08/24/1969
MAR-STAT: M
BIRTH-CITY: JAFFNA
BIRTH-CNTRY: SRI LANKA
CITIZ-CNTRY: SRI LANKA
RES-CNTRY: SRI LANKA
START MEMO POSITION:
LEGAL OFFICER, HOME FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, MARCH 1999- TO
DATE
END MEMO POSITION:
START MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS:

END MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS:
START MEMO PREV-POSITIONS:
1998-FEBRUARY 1999 - DISSEMINATION OFFICER, SRI LANKA
RED CROSS SOCIETY

JULY -DECEMBER 1997 - INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PARTICIPANT,
CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN RIGHTS, UNIVERSITY OF
COLOMBO
JANUARY-JUNE 1997 - INTERN, HOME FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
END MEMO PREV-POSITIONS:
START MEMO US-TRAVEL:
NONE
END MEMO US-TRAVEL:
START MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL:

END MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL:
START MEMO EDUCATION:
LL.B., UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBO, 1992
'CONFLICT RESOLUTION' COURSE CERTIFICATE, BANDARANAIKE
CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, COLOMBO, 1996
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, SRI LANKA LAW COLLEGE, 1999
END MEMO EDUCATION:
START MEMO MEMBERSHIPS:

END MEMO MEMBERSHIPS:
START MEMO PUBLICATIONS:
END MEMO PUBLICATIONS:
START MEMO SPEC-CONSID:

END MEMO SPEC-CONSID:
FIRST-LANG: TAMIL
ENGL-READ: 4
ENGL-SPEAK: 4
ENGL-COMP: 4
START OTHER-LANGS:
OTHER-LANG: SINHALA
OTHER-LANG-ID: SI
READ: 3
SPEAK: 3
COMP: 3
END OTHER-LANGS:
START MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ:
THIS NOMINATION IS IN SUPPORT OF MPP GOAL "SUPPORTING
HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW."
END MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ:
START MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD:

END MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD:
START MEMO VIS-OBJ:

END MEMO VIS-OBJ:
START MEMO VIS-REC:

END MEMO VIS-REC:
NOMINATING-OFFICER: JOE NOVAK
START MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION:
AS A HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER, MR. SOOSAITHAS IS DIRECTLY
ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF IMPUNITY WITHIN THE SRI LANKAN
GOVERNMENT, AN ISSUE THAT THE USG HAS RAISED WITH IT ON
A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS. SOOSAITHAS HAS SHOWN HIMSELF
FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH A VARIETY OF ISSUES WITHIN
THE SRI LANKAN LEGAL SYSTEM. TO EXPOSE SOOSAITHAS TO
THE US SYSTEM WILL PERMIT HIM TO EXPAND HIS KNOWLEDGE
BASE AND WILL MAKE HIM MORE AND MORE EFFECTIVE HUMAN
RIGHTS LAWYER. IN TURN, HE WOULD BECOME A BETTER
CONTACT FOR INFORMATION ON PARTICULAR CASES AND HE
WOULD BE ABLE TO MORE EFFECTIVELY PURSUE THECASES THAT
THE USG HAS SHOWN INTEREST IN.
POST CONFIRMS THAT THIS NOMINATION HAS "FULL COUNTRY
TEAM APPROVAL."

END MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION:
NOM-OFF: POLITICAL
SPEAKER?: NO
NOTIFY-EMB: YES
MEDIA?: NO
HOME-STAY: YES
HOME-HOSP?: YES
E-I-TYPE:
NOMINEE-ID: 132
PERSON-ID: 135
BIRTH-CNTRY-ID: CE
CITIZ-CNTRY-ID: CE
RES-CNTRY-ID: CE
FIRST-LANG-ID: TC
E-I-TYPE-ID:
NOM-POST-ID: 2929
NOM-FUNDING-CNTRY-ID:
NOM-STATUS: N
DS2019-ACTION: 1
DS2019-SUBJECT: 22.0203
SPONS-FUNDS: 0
SPONS-AGENCY1:
USGOVT-AGENCY1: DOS
US-AGENCY-AMT1: 8000
USGOVT-AGENCY2:
US-AGENCY-AMT2: 0
INTL-ORG1:
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT1: 0
INTL-ORG2:
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT2: 0
VIS-GOVT-AMT: 0
COMMISSION: 0
OTHER-AMOUNT: 0
VIS-AMOUNT: 0
VIS-CAT: 5
END BIO:
END NOMINATION:
END FIXED-FORMAT TEXT:


3. PLEASE ADVISE ACCEPTANCE OF THIS NOMINATION.
LUNSTEAD