LEAHY HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING REQUIRED FOR ALL GPOI

UNCLAS STATE 116138 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MASS PHUM SUBJECT: LEAHY HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING REQUIRED FOR ALL GPOI ACTIVITIES REF: A. 05 STATE 111757 ¶B. 05 STATE 21314 ¶C. 03 STATE 34981 ¶D. 05 STATE 131486 ¶1. (U) Summary: The Department requests that all Posts participating in the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) conduct human rights vetting for related training and activities as mandated by the annual Foreign Operations Appropriations Acts (FOAA) (Section 551 in the FY 2006 FOAA). Please see paragraph 4 for detailed instructions on vetting procedures. End Summary. -------------- BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. (U) The Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) is a five-year initiative to train peace operations troops around the world, train stability police units (SPU) to participate in peace operations, and provide deployment support through an international mechanism. For more information, please see reftel A. Addressees are GPOI partners and thus need to follow certain provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, as well as other legislative mandates. ¶3. (U) Section 551 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act for FY 2006, P.L. 109-102 (FOAA),includes a provision commonly referred to as the Leahy Amendment that states: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be provided to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible evidence that such unit has committed gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that the government of such country is taking effective measures to bring the responsible members of the security forces to justice." ¶4. (U) In order to comply with the Leahy Amendment, State has issued policy guidelines that require Posts to perform human rights vetting for all units and individual members receiving FOAA-funded training or assistance. Participating in GPOI activities requires such human rights vetting as well. The Department encourages Post to consult "A Guide to the Vetting Process" located on the SIPRNet at http://aces.state.sgov.gov and reftels B and C for detailed guidance on Leahy vetting procedures and information. The human rights vetting process may be summarized under the following steps which are detailed more fully in reftels B, C and D: (a) U.S. Embassy investigates unit/individual for human rights violations by reviewing files and databases, including the Abuse Case Evaluation System (ACES) database. (b) If derogatory information is found on an individual presented for vetting, the officer at Post tasked with the vetting will enter that information into the ACES database (please see ACES user manual for complete instructions on how to use ACES located on the SIPRNet at http://aces.state.sgov.gov). (c) The U.S. Embassy cables the regional bureau at the State Department with search results and requests a similar review of the Department's files/databases. (d) Information on the unit/individual is circulated to appropriate personnel in the State Department, including the Bureaus of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL); Intelligence and Research (INR); and Political-Military Affairs (PM) for review. (e) If no credible derogatory information is found, the regional bureau sends a reply cable to Post indicating that no credible derogatory information has been found and the individual/unit may participate in training/assistance. (f) If credible derogatory information is found, the regional bureau sends a reply cable to Post indicating that credible derogatory information has been found and the individual/unit may not participate in training/assistance. Any ongoing training/assistance will be terminated immediately. ¶5. (U) The Department points of contact for GPOI are: PM/PPA Rachel Featherstone (202-647-7092),Christina Rosati (202-647-3034),and Michael Smith (202-647-7714). The Department point of contact for Leahy vetting is: PM/PPA Nicole Porreca (202-647-4998). End text. RICE