Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05SANAA3018
2005-10-18 12:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sanaa
Cable title:  

DEMOCRATIC REFORM STRATEGY FOR YEMEN -- QUARTERLY

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SANAA 003018 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KMPI KMCA ECON PHUM YM DOMESTIC POLITICS DEMOCRATIC REFORM
SUBJECT: DEMOCRATIC REFORM STRATEGY FOR YEMEN -- QUARTERLY
REPORT

REF: A. SANAA 1300

B. SECSTATE 152818

C. SANAA 2961

D. SANAA 2920

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SANAA 003018

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KMPI KMCA ECON PHUM YM DOMESTIC POLITICS DEMOCRATIC REFORM
SUBJECT: DEMOCRATIC REFORM STRATEGY FOR YEMEN -- QUARTERLY
REPORT

REF: A. SANAA 1300

B. SECSTATE 152818

C. SANAA 2961

D. SANAA 2920

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary: Post implemented the initial phase of
Yemen's Democratic Reform Strategy with mixed results. (Ref
A) This quarterly report demonstrates progress for women in
political participation, and in the role of Parliament
providing a check on the executive. (Ref B) The ROYG's
Threshold Proposal for the Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) promises to improve the effectiveness of Yemen's
judiciary and to combat corruption. The ROYG also committed
to significant reforms in finance management. In a recent
announcement, President Saleh called for direct election of
local officials and increased funding and responsibilities
for local councils. Despite the efforts of post and other
donors, however, Yemen experienced considerable backsliding
in press freedoms and obstructed progress in elections
reform. End summary.

--------------
Free and Fair Elections
--------------


2. (C) The role of women candidates in the upcoming 2006
elections has been the subject of high profile discussion in
recent months. Women from across the political spectrum,
receiving support from NDI's MEPI-funded program for women
and political parties, issued a demand that all political
parties fill a quota of 20 percent female representation in
government. The proposal initially met with a cool response,
but attitudes appear to be changing. President Saleh and the
ruling GPC party have approved the concept in theory, and
spokespeople for the opposition Islah party recently raised
the ante, suggesting that 30 percent of candidates from all
parties should be women, and that parties should run only
women against one another in specific districts to guarantee
female representation. There are even suggestions that the
opposition should run a women candidate for President.



3. (C) The Sanaa MEPI Committee views continuation of NDI's
project to be an essential component of the Democratic Reform
Strategy, and supports continuation through the 2006
elections. At this time, NDI has received unspecified bridge
funds through January 2006. NDI will also submit a follow-on
proposal for additional funding either from MEPI or USAID.
This will be critical for maintaining pressure on the
political parties to follow through on their pledges to
increase the roll of women. USAID also dedicated USD 42,000
for two small grants to support women in elections.


4. (C) There has been little progress in reforming the
elections law. Despite the persistent efforts of IFES,
through the MEPI-funded Election Systems Assistance program,
the ROYG has given little indication of when it will submit
necessary legislation to Parliament. The Supreme Council for
Elections and Referenda (SCER) has also delayed redistricting
plans for local councils, which is required by the Yemeni
constitution. Post met with SCER officials on several
occasions to urge action, with little effect. The Mission
Development Working Group will address this issue in the
coming quarter, as further delay could undermine public
confidence in the elections process.


5. (C) Post will evaluate proposals in the next quarter to
support elections activities, including election monitoring
and candidate training. Post is working closely with the
multi-donor working group, which features a robust and fully
funded UNDP elections program. Additional activities will
seek to foster healthy and fair competition, as well as
responsible campaigning by participating parties.

--------------
Free and Independent Press
--------------


6. (C) In July, post organized a PD-funded mission on press
freedoms. Two legal experts worked with ROYG officials and
over 40 journalists for one week, culminating in a
well-attended workshop, to provide recommendations on Yemen's
proposed press law. Post coordinated on this issue and
others with Danish and British-funded programs to support
press freedom and improve the quality of reporting.


7. (C) Ambassador met with members of the Yemeni Journalists
Syndicate to discuss an increase in harassment and attacks on
journalists who publish reports critical of the ROYG.
Following the meeting, Ambassador gave a public interview to
al-Ayyam newspaper, in which he expressed concern that
Yemen's democratic development may have "stalled", and cited
deterioration in freedom of speech as one example. (Ref C)
The comments provoked a heated debate in the press. The
government-controlled media accused the United States of
interfering in Yemen's sovereign affairs, but much of the
independent and opposition media praised the comments for
raising important issues. In this quarter, post will
determine next steps on press reform, exploring funding
options for more sustained assistance programs to augment
existing donor efforts.

--------------
Reducing Corruption
--------------


8. (C) In September, Yemen submitted its MCC Threshold
proposal to Washington for approval, with a primary focus on
reforming the court system. If enacted, the Threshold plan
would make the judiciary independent of the executive branch,
strengthening the integrity of judges and their decisions.
The plan also includes the cross-cutting theme of corruption,
aiming to control mismanagement and abuse at each stage of
implementation. If the plan is approved, coordinating its
implementation will be a central focus of post's democratic
reform activities.


9. (C) In October, Ambassador called a meeting of heads of
donor missions to discuss the adverse effects of corruption
on development efforts in Yemen. Participants included
ambassadors from the British, German, and Dutch embassies.
The group agreed to develop a shared reform agenda in the
area of governance, to be guided by MCC and World Bank
indicators. A U.S. and British-led working group will
develop these objectives, pairing technical programs in the
field with strong political messages on good governance at
the top. The ambassadorial group is scheduled to meet for a
second time in the next quarter.


10. (C) A multi-donor group for Public Finance Management
Reform, in which post is a key member, successfully worked
with the ROYG on passage of a reform strategy in the Cabinet.
Post has the lead on mapping existing donor activities, and
a World Bank consultant, funded by the British, is creating
an action plan to determine what donor support is needed to
encourage transparency of ROYG financial management. A major
component of the plan is reform of government procurement
practices, which post will consider funding in the next
quarter. Post will also consider additional anti-corruption
programs as part of 2005 DG initiatives from USAID.

--------------
Rule of Law
--------------


11. (C) The central feature of the ROYG's MCC Threshold plan,
supported by the Embassy, is the restructuring of the
judiciary. Authority to appoint, fire, and discipline judges
will be removed from the President's office and vested in an
independent council of legal professionals. With the
Threshold plan, the ROYG aims to raise the level of integrity
on the bench, ensuring that Yemen's judges are qualified and
experienced enough to adjudicate fairly the cases that come
before them.


12. (C) To achieve the stated milestone in adherence to due
process, post issued a MEPI small grant to the Democracy
School to train law students in the principle of human
rights. USAID will also provide USD 85,000 for three small
grants, in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Rights and
UNDP, to support "women in justice". The small grants aim to
raise awareness among Yemeni women of their rights under the
law, and to increase the role of women as judges and lawyers.
Post will continue to work with MEPI in an effort to bring
representatives of ABA-CEELI to Yemen, with the goal of
implementing recommendations from a 2005 assessment mission.

--------------
Expanding Government Accountability
--------------


13. (C) NDI's MEPI-funded program in "Strengthening
Parliamentary Institutions" produced significant results in
last quarter's Parliamentary session. (Ref D) The legislature
challenged the ROYG on a number of high profile corruption
cases, and demanded more oversight authority over the budget.
For the first time in its history, Parliament exercised its
constitutional authority to summon ministers for questioning
and to draft legislation. Many of the most active MPs
received training at NDI's parliamentary resource center, and
met in NDI-sponsored issue groups.


14. (C) In September, President Saleh made a surprise
announcement that the ROYG would allow for the direct
election of regional governors and district managers in 2007.
This is a positive sign in keeping with post's support of
decentralized government. The President also called for
increased funding and responsibilities for local councils.
The Ministry of Finance has stonewalled all attempts to date
at fiscal decentralization, with sector budgets for
ministries such as health and education remaining under
central control. The President's public position has created
renewed pressure on the ROYG to empower local government. In
the next quarter, post will review UNDP's findings on fiscal
decentralization and determine next steps to encourage the
ROYG to fulfill its commitments on decentralization.
Krajeski