BENIN: GOVERNMENT PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO WJEI LETTER OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COTONOU 000872

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W (BANKS),INL (SUSAN SNYDER)
PARIS FOR D'ELIA

C O R R E C T E D COPY (ADDITIONAL ADDRESSEES)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL EAID BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: GOVERNMENT PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO WJEI LETTER OF
AGREEMENT

REF: (A) STATE 135996 (B) STATE 64896

COTONOU 00000872 001.2 OF 002



1. This is an action request. Please see Paragraph 9.


2. SUMMARY: Post transmitted the Letter of Agreement (LOA) (Ref B)
to the GOB on September 11, 2007. Post received the GOB's response,
a revised draft of the LOA, on November 5, 2007. In its response,
the GOB renamed the LOA an Accord, re-organized the LOA, and
proposed 5 amendments to the original LOA. Post has translated into
English the sections of the French draft that contain the amendments
and will forward an electronic copy (in French) of the entire
proposed agreement to INL. END SUMMARY

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"Lettre d'Entente becomes "Accord"
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3. The GOB restructured the Letter of Agreement to conform to the
outline and format of an agreement in the French legal tradition
which is used in Benin. The document was renamed an "Accord" in
French instead of the Department's translation of Letter of
Agreement as "Lettre d'Entente". Eusebe Agbangla, the MFA's
Americas' Office Director, explained that in Benin "Accord" refers
to an agreement between states and has more legal force than a
"Lettre d'Entente".

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AMENDMENT #1 - Funding
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4. The GOB proposed that the funding available under the LOA may be
increased if an evaluation of the GOB's obligations requires it.
Post's word for word translation of this proposal, contained in
Article 14 of the revised LOA submitted by the GOB, follows:

Article 14: General Obligations

Funding could be increased in case an evaluation of the GOB's
obligations requires it.

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AMENDMENT #2 - Evaluation
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5. The GOB proposed changes giving more structure to the Evaluation
Plan contained in Ref B and changing the frequency of evaluation
meetings from every 3 months to every 6 months. The GOB proposed
the creation of an evaluation committee, named the "Women's Rights
Promotion Joint Committee", to evaluate the WJEI's progress. The
proposed committee would be composed of representatives from the
GOB's ministries of Justice, Interior, Family and Women, and Foreign
Affairs and their USG counterparts and would meet every 6 months.
Post's word for word translation of the new Evaluation Plan,
contained in Article 16 of the revised LOA submitted by the GOB,
follows:

Article 16: Monitoring Body

In order to ensure the evaluation of this Agreement, a "Women Rights
Promotion Joint Committee" shall be set up, named hereafter "the
Joint Committee"

The "Joint Committee" shall comprise the representatives of the
following ministries of both countries:

The ministries of Justice
The ministries of Interior
The ministries of Family and Woman
The ministries of Foreign Affairs

The "Joint Committee" shall meet every 6 months in Cotonou
During the sessions of the "Joint Committee", its members shall
review progress towards achievement of the programs and project
goals referred to in Article 2 of this Agreement. The results
attained shall be assessed using the criteria described in the
Article 6 of this Agreement.

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AMENDMENT #3 - Protocols
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6. In this amendment the GOB proposed the creation of separate
protocols (guidelines) between the USG and the GOB's relevant
agencies setting out the methods which will be used to implement the
two DOJ components of WJEI in Benin. Post's word for word
translation of this proposal, contained in Article 18 of the revised
LOA submitted by the GOB, follows:


COTONOU 00000872 002.2 OF 002


Article 18: Conditions and mode of execution of the Agreement

The conditions and modes of execution of this Agreement shall be
defined in separate agreements signed with Beninese agencies that
are responsible for the portions 1 and 2 of the project set forth in
Article 3 of this Agreement.

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AMENDMENT #4 - Duration
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7. The GOB proposed a change to the agreement giving the WJEI a
length of 3 years which will be renewed unless one of the parties to
the agreement states it wants to end the agreement. The change also
states that the agreement can be amended with the agreement of both
parties. Post's word for word translation of the GOB's proposal on
the WJEI's duration, contained in Article 19 of the revised LOA
submitted by the GOB, follows:

Article 19: Term, amendment and termination of the Agreement

This Agreement shall cover three years and be renewed by tacit
agreement. It may be amended by a joint agreement of both parties.

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AMENDMENT #5 - Dispute Resolution
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8. The GOB's final amendment calls for the use of negotiation to
settle any dispute arising under the agreement. Post's word for word
translation of the dispute resolution mechanism, contained in
Article 20 of the revised LOA submitted by the GOB, follows:

Article 20: Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising from the execution and the interpretation of
this Agreement shall be resolved by negotiation.


9. Action Request. Please inform Post if the Department accepts
these changes.

BROWN