AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES RULE OF LAW CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000173

SIPDIS
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TAGS CHANGED)

SIPDIS, SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SCA/FO (GASTRIGHT),SCA/A, S/CRS, SCA/PB,
STATE/INL (SCHWEICH),S/CT, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/CDHA/DG
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN
OSD FOR KIMMITT
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD

E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS PTER KCRM AF
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES RULE OF LAW CONFERENCE
WITH ITALIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

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1. (U) SUMMARY: The Ambassador and Embassy Rule of
Law (ROL) Coordinator met January 15 with Italian
Ambassador Sequi and a delegation from Rome led by
Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Vernetti. The meeting
produced an agreement that the upcoming Rome ROL
Conference would be held in April with an agenda
focused on core ROL issues. Planning for the
conference would be driven from Kabul and by the GOA.
The Ambassadors also exchanged views on steps to
encourage reform of the Afghan judicial system,
including the need for better cooperation between
senior officials. END SUMMARY.

Plans for Rome ROL Conference
--------------


2. (U) On January 15, 2007, the Ambassador and the
Rule of Law Coordinator met at the Italian Embassy
with Italian Ambassador Sequi and with a delegation
from Rome led by Deputy Foreign Minister Vernetti.
The delegation included Anna Della Croce, Special
Envoy for Afghanistan. The purpose of the meeting was
to discuss plans for the upcoming Rule of Law
Conference that will be hosted by Rome.


3. (U) Vernetti confirmed the conference would be held
in April (after Easter) and will last two days. The
Ambassador agreed that it was helpful for Italy to be
in the lead, as opposed to the U.S., and that the
conference should be Afghan and Kabul-driven. Italy
will be establishing a conference working group in the
next few days. The Ambassador promised U.S. support.


4. (SBU) Asked whether the conference should include
counter-narcotics and security issues, or a discussion
of transitional justice, the Ambassador encouraged
Italy to focus the agenda on justice institution
reform and core ROL issues. (NOTE:
Despite this conversation, a subsequent news story
stated that Italy announced the conference will cover
justice, security, human rights, and counter-
narcotics. The Embassy has learned that NSA Rassoul
requested that security be a major topic at the
conference. While DFM Vernetti was apparently
receptive to the idea at first, both Rome and Italy
have subsequently confirmed the previous
understandings about the focus of the conference on
the justice sector. The Italian Ambassador will be
informing NSA Rassoul of this fact shortly. It is
envisioned by the GOI that sub-topics could include
the connections between drugs and ROL and police-
prosecutor interaction. END NOTE.) DFM Vernetti also
expressed an interest in including discussion of the
interplay of secular, sharia and customary law. The
Ambassador responded that this was a longstanding
issue that the Afghans would have to address.


5. (U) The Ambassador agreed on the value of a
concrete action plan for the conference and for
specific outcomes. They concurred it will be useful
to gain clarification on areas of agreement and
disagreement among donors as to how to engage with the
Afghanistan's ROL ministries and on what basis (e.g.
current reform plans of the Chief Justice or others).
Areas of disagreement can be solved in the JCMB and
Tea Club mechanisms.


6. (U) With respect to conference attendance, no

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specific groups or countries were mentioned, but the
Ambassador said that those invited should be current
donors or be willing to commit as new donors. Vernetti
expressed the view that there should be high-level
representation for the opening and closing of the
conference, particularly from foreign ministries,
although others would be involved in conference
proceedings. He pressed for high level US attendance.


7. (U) The Italians did not raise the issue of
Brahimi's involvement, and it was not discussed.
(Note: The Embassy has learned that his assistance is
sought by Ms. Della Croce personally and is not a
policy position of the GOI. The Ambassador's view is
that the decision should be left in the hands of the
GOA. Separately, Ambassador Neumann spoke with
President Karzai about Brahimi. Karzai said he would
welcome Brahimi's help in organizing the RoL
conference, but not as a long-term figure in the
justice sector, unless Brahimi plans on spending
significant amounts of time in Kabul. End Note.)

Encouraging Afghan Legal Reform
--------------


8. (SBU) The Ambassador stressed the importance of
encouraging Chief Justice Azimi and Attorney General
Sabit to work cooperatively with one another. At this
juncture, it is important that the Supreme Court
ensure open and fair trials and appropriate sentences,
while Sabit must secure trials and convictions, rather
than simply arrests. The Italians agreed with this
approach and with advancing it broadly with a unified
international position. The Ambassador also stressed
that while juridical solutions to crime and corruption
were necessary in reforming the GOA, they were not
sufficient, and that equally important was changing
the societal view of corruption and public service.


9. (U) Agreeing that salaries for judges and
prosecutors remain too low, the Ambassador expressed
the concern that salary supplementation programs can
be counter-productive if they do not have long-term
funding. He supported Ambassador Sequi's idea to
provide more perquisites such as better housing for
judges, which is a recommendation addressed in the
Supreme Court's 5-year plan. No final position was
adopted.

NEUMANN