REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000146

SIPDIS

DEPT PASS DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2014
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM YM KICC HUMAN RIGHTS DEMOCRATIC REFORM
SUBJECT: REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND
THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)

REF: A. 03 SANAA 2754


B. 03 SANAA 2839

Classified By: Ambassador Edmund J. Hull for Reasons 1.5 (b,d)


1. (U) Summary and Comment: The Sanaa Inter-Governmental
Regional Conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Role
of the International Criminal Court was held January 10-12,
sponsored by No Peace Without Justice (an EU-affiliated NGO),
the ROYG, the European Union and several European governments
and Canada. Participants included a wide variety of
government and civil society representatives from the Middle
East and beyond. The U.S. was represented by the Ambassador
and kept a low profile because of the Conference's ICC
component. The opportunity to discuss ideas of democracy and
human rights regionally and a Declaration establishing a set
of principles on democracy, human rights and the rule of law
present a step in the right direction for democratic
advancement. However, the rhetoric far exceeded practical
commitments to real democratic change. End Summary and
Comment.

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Background on Conference: Organizers, Goals, Participants
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2. (U) The Conference was the brainchild of No Peace
Without Justice (NPWJ) founder Emma Bonino, a former European
Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs who has close personal
ties to Yemen. NPWJ organized several conferences outside
the Middle East on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and
was looking for a host in the region. Several months ago,
Bonino approached the ROYG Minister of Human Rights Amat
al-Alim al-Suswa. The Minister told Pol/Econ Deputy that she
expressed reservations on the irony of the ROYG hosting a
conference to convince themselves and fellow governments to
ratify the Rome Statute (ICC). However, ultimately the ROYG
expanded the aims of the Conference to include democracy and
human rights and agreed to host it.


3. (C) The Conference was organized by NPWJ and the ROYG,
and sponsored by the European Union, Canada, Germany, France,
Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom,
UNDP and the Open Society Institute. Participants included
Arab and Islamic governments (including Iraqi GC Minister of
Human Rights and an Afghani delegation),neighboring African
states, the Arab League, the United Nations, the United
States and European governments and civil society activists
from the region and the West. It was organized into plenary
sessions and smaller "thematic sessions" on: the ICC;
Democracy and Human Rights; and the Role of Civil Society in
Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law. Note: Because
of the Conference's ICC component and originally unclear
aims, the USG delegation was low-key and led by the
Ambassador. Prominent U.S. NGO representatives included
participants from the National Democratic Institute and
Partners for Democratic Change. The DCM delivered remarks
during the Democracy and Human Rights thematic session on the
importance of democracy, President Bush's vision as outlined
in his November 6 speech, the Middle East Partnership
Initiative and practical steps needed to advance democracy.
End Note.

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Sanaa Declaration Calls For
Furthering Democracy and Human Rights in the Arab World;
ICC Ratification Downplayed
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4. (U) The "Sanaa Declaration on Democracy, Human Rights
and the Role of the International Criminal Court" outlines 12
principles on democracy, human rights and the rule of law,
including specific references to the importance of
representative institutions, civil society, effective
judicial systems, combating corruption and free and
independent media. The participants agreed to 10 specific
points, including to "work seriously" to fulfill the 12
principles, empower women, ensure equality, establish a free
and independent judiciary and establish an Arab Democratic
Dialogue Forum to continue the dialogue on democracy and
human rights. Despite the original aims of the Conference to
promote ratification of the ICC, the ICC was mentioned only
once in the Declaration as one avenue to strengthen
international judicial institutions.


5. (C) The U.S. delegation did not participate in the
closed-session Declaration negotiations, which were attended
by the regional government participants and the organizing
European countries. The U.S. delegation did not/not
officially attest to the Declaration because of reservations
to its ICC component and an oblique reference to "occupation"
being "contrary to international law." Before viewing the
final version of the Declaration which contained the new
occupation language, the Embassy officially noted its
reservations over the ICC in a brief letter. A UNDP contact
not inside the discussions told Pol/Econ Deputy that he
believed the ICC language was downplayed primarily because of
reservations from Saudi Arabia, which has not signed or
ratified the Rome Statute.

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Some Controversy Over Participants; Poor Organization
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6. (U) The Conference attempted to combine government and
non-government participants to foster a dialogue during the
conference. Several governmental delegations did not react
well to some of the non-governmental participants invited to
the Conference. For example, the Egyptian government
delegation almost did not attend and ultimately became more
low-level with the participation of Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
According to conference organizers, the Iranian delegation
threatened not to attend should 2003 Nobel Prize winner
Shirin Ebadi attend. Note: She did not attend. End Note.
Yemeni NGO leaders, opposition parties and journalists also
complained of late invitations (the parties were invited
three days before the event) and denial of participation of
specific NGOs and journalists because of political reasons.


7. (U) The Conference was organized in less than three
months, and its specific makeup and design was not finalized
until mid-December. Participants were added until the last
minute, almost doubling the original estimate of participants
to more than 800. Comment: This disorganization caused some
problems during the Conference, particularly in terms of
logistics. However, several observers expressed surprise
that the Conference went as well as it did. End Comment.

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Good Rhetoric But What Next?
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8. (U) In addition to the Declaration, Conference speeches
and interventions were full of language praising human rights
and democracy. For example, a speech from a Saudi Arabia
government participant noted KSA commitment to move on the
democratic path, albeit at a measured pace. ROYG President
Saleh -- who invested the conference with high-level support
by personally presiding over the opening plenary and closing
ceremony -- called democracy a "rescue ship" for autocratic
governments.


9. (C) Comment: The interventions of several delegations
from autocratic countries praising democracy and human rights
were somewhat ironic. e.g., Iran's recent denial of
participation from reform candidates. The Conference
contained few practical or effective steps to move the region
towards democracy and human rights beyond dialogue. However,
as the first of Conference of its kind in the region, the
event and its Declaration represent an Arab advance in the
direction of meaningful principles on democracy and human
rights. The Conference did not visibly advance regional
support for the ICC. End Comment.
HULL