MGLE01: QUARTERLY REPORT ON FREEDOM AGENDA IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIRUT 000608

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

TUNIS FOR MEPI - MULREAN
DEPT FOR NEA PDAS CARPENTER AND NEA/PI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2016
TAGS: KDEM KMPI PGOV KPAO EAID PREL LE
SUBJECT: MGLE01: QUARTERLY REPORT ON FREEDOM AGENDA IN
LEBANON

REF: A. 05 STATE 152818


B. 05 BEIRUT 2208

C. 05 BEIRUT 3204

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

INTRODUCTION
--------------


1. (C) This is post's progress report for the first quarter
of FY-06 on the country strategy for democratic reform. Refs
A and B identified three outcomes for our country strategy:

-- a new electoral law,

-- competent, effective, transparent government, and

-- reform of the judiciary.


2. (U) The last quarterly progress report submitted was Ref

C. Post's MEPI executive committee has since reviewed
progress made toward these three outcomes over the first
quarter of FY-06. Following are the main issues in each area.

A NEW ELECTORAL LAW
--------------


3. (SBU) The National Electoral Law Reform Commission
appointed by Prime Minister Siniora's government and charged
with drafting a new electoral law continued to work towards a
deadline of January 8. To make the process as transparent as
possible, the commission offered the chance to have a say to
interested members of the public. A large number of groups
and individuals submitted a total of 121 proposals -- either
complete draft laws or proposals on specific aspects of the
electoral law -- and testified before the commission. Public
participation in the process culminated in a two-day workshop
with Commission members in late November, held in the Grand
Serail, the seat of government.


4. (SBU) Following this, Commission members retired behind
closed doors to deliberate and draft a proposed new law,
along with comprehensive supporting documentation. (Note:
Just after the end of the quarter, the deadline was extended
to the end of February 2006.) In discussions with Lebanese
interlocutors, the Ambassador and emboffs emphasized the
importance of genuine electoral reform as a deliverable for
the Siniora government, demonstrating its ability to
implement a broader reform agenda with the support of "Core
Group" friends of Lebanon.


5. (SBU) In support of the technical secretariat organized
by the UN for the commission, IFES, funded by the DRL bureau,
arranged for internationally-reputed elections experts to
serve as consultants for the Commission. IFES experts were
also available to respond to specific research and analysis
taskings from individual Commission members. Given the
paucity of support staff and other resources at the
Commission members' disposal, their ability to tap IFES
expertise was invaluable.


6. (SBU) Also during this quarter, the Embassy coordinated
closely with an informal consortium of Lebanese and
international NGOs (IFES among them) preparing for "phase
two" of the electoral reform process, which begins when the
Commission submits a proposed draft law and supporting
documentation to the Prime Minister. The consortium's
strategy for "phase two" will focus on public awareness of
electoral reform as a way of building constituencies for
change.


7. (SBU) Public awareness will be of particular importance
when the draft law is submitted to Parliament for debate.
All members of Parliament were elected on the basis of the
electoral law currently in effect, and many can be expected
to resist change without "bottom-up" pressure for meaningful
reform.


8. (SBU) In addition to DRL funding for IFES and the
National Democratic Institute (NDI),a USD 800,000 MEPI grant
to the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) supported an
ongoing public awareness project on electoral reform. NDI,
LTA, and LTA's sub-grantee, the Lebanese Center for Policy
Studies, are all members of the informal NGO electoral reform
consortium.

COMPETENT, EFFECTIVE, TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT
--------------


9. (SBU) In coordination with the Core Group, the Siniora
government continued to work on a reform program -- one that
included administrative reform as a component -- during the
quarter. In keeping with this agenda, the Office of the
Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) in
October 2005 launched a new program for recruiting senior
civil service personnel. The program -- which announced, and
accepted applications for, senior positions via the World
Wide Web -- aimed at recruiting senior personnel in a way
that was more merit-based, transparent, and objective than
before. A committee of experts was formed to short-list
applicants.


10. (SBU) In November 2005, Prime Minister Siniora publicly
announced that he would hold three separate working sessions
to brief cabinet ministers on his overall economic reform
plan. The assassination of MP Gebran Tueni and the
subsequent boycott of cabinet sessions by Hizballah- and Amal
Movement-aligned ministers blocked further progress on this
front. The cabinet boycott was not resolved until after the
quarter ended. However, "buy-in" by all cabinet factions
remained a necessary (if not sufficient) condition for a
workable reform plan. Of the three outcome areas in our
country strategy for Lebanon, this was the one most seriously
affected by December's cabinet crisis.


11. (SBU) Specific MEPI and related programs or activities
aimed at this outcome during the quarter included staff
training and technical assistance for legislatures in
Francophone Arab countries, Lebanon included. Post began
working with NEA/PI to identify a more focused and effective
follow-on program. Also, in cooperation with the Ministry of
Administrative Reform, Ministry of Finance, and a number of
municipalities, USAID has continued to promote transparency
through "e-government" initiatives, which link municipal
databases with those of the central government. Senior
Embassy officials used public speaking events to press for
the governmental reform agenda; these events were reported in
the press along with the content of Embassy remarks.


12. (SBU) In response to a campaign of bombings and
assassinations aimed at destabilizing Lebanon, post's legal
attache proposed using FBI training to support the creation
of "evidence response teams" for the Lebanese authorities.
Different elements of the mission, including the FBI and
USAID, collaborated to develop a program funded by the USG's
economic support fund for Lebanon. Training was to start in
the next quarter.

REFORM OF THE JUDICIARY
--------------


13. (SBU) Lebanon's judiciary continued to suffer from a
widely perceived lack of independence from political pressure
during the quarter. The continued presence of the UN
International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC),
charged with investigating the February 2005 assassination of
former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, gave the judiciary some
much-needed "backbone" in tackling this highly sensitive
issue. Four senior security and intelligence officials
arrested at the recommendation of the UNIIIC in August 2005
remained in detention for the duration of the quarter.


14. (SBU) The UNIIIC's mandate was extended to the full
extra three months allowed under UN Security Council
resolution (UNSCR) 1595, to December 2005. That month, the
Security Council renewed the UNIIIC's mandate to June 2006
under UNSCR 1644. While the UNIIIC is of course not a MEPI
initiative, a strong U.S. position in support of the UNIIIC's
mission and integrity played an important role in advancing a
"freedom agenda" in Lebanon, including in judicial reform.


15. (SBU) Specific MEPI programs or activities aimed at this
outcome during the quarter included an ongoing one-year
project, conducted by a local MEPI partner, on monitoring
judicial sentences relevant to human rights and democracy.
On the public diplomacy front, post finalized arrangements
for Jean Fahd, general prosecutor of the military court, to
participate in a January 2006 International Visitor
Leadership Program with the themes of: 1) an introduction to
the U.S. federal judicial system, 2) an independent
judiciary, and 3) federal government and the rule of law.
FELTMAN