JUSTICE REFORM ADVANCES SLOWLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000824 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR DRL S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV HA SUBJECT: JUSTICE REFORM ADVANCES SLOWLY REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 370 ¶B. PORT AU PRINCE 526 PORT AU PR 00000824 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). ¶1. (C) Summary: Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis will officially present the justice ministry's three laws on reform (ref A) on May 3, along with the rest of the government's legislative program. MINUSTAH political officer Lizbeth Cullity said the presidents of the national assembly and chamber of deputies, Joseph Lambert and Eric Jean Jacques, assured SRSG Edmond Mulet that parliament will pass the laws by May 14. At a meeting with Haiti's major donors on April 24, Justice Minister Rene Magloire asked the donors to develop an action plan for the ministry. He reported that President Rene Preval has created a commission to examine the justice ministry's initiatives over the past year and to come up with an action plan for justice reform. Meanwhile, the Minister's kidnapping task force has successfully tried and sentenced some of Haiti's best-known kidnappers. Notwithstanding the new draft legislation and Minister Magloire's task forces, the donor community is increasingly convinced that justice reform, if left up to Minister Magloire, may stall. End summary. PM Presents Justice Reform to Parliament - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (C) According to the minister, President Rene Preval and his council of ministers determined that the justice ministry should make revisions to the legislation that had been submitted to parliament mid-March (ref A),in advance of the Prime Ministers official presentation. Presidential advisor Bob Manuel was the main critic of the original legislation, and he worked closely with the justice minister and MINUSTAH's justice section officers to rework the legislation in April. The justice ministry re-submitted the new draft legislation, which MINUSTAH justice section chief Danielle Saada reported has the unified support of the justice minister, the PM and Manuel. ¶3. (C) If the legislation does not pass by the end of the current session on May 14, Lambert and Jean Jacques told the SRSG that the national assembly will go into extraordinary session. Cullity reputed that this is not consistent, however, with the calendar provided by the parliament's justice commission heads, Senator Youri Latortue and Deputy Patrick Dumond, who have protracted the review process until sometime this summer. Cullity said that MINUSTAH is prepared to launch a very aggressive public campaign to encourage the quick passage of the legislation. MINUSTAH's political staff question Latortue's motives. (Comment: Parliament has not voted on much legislation in the past year, thus Lambert and Jean-Jacques' May 14 date seems ambitious. End comment.) The Ministry Needs an Action Plan - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) To justify his request for help with an action plan, the Minister explained that President Preval has set up a commission to examine various initiatives that the justice ministry oversees. The commission comprises representatives from civil society, political parties, parliament, and the international donor community; and the justice ministry's director general, Josue Pierre Louis; and the secretary of state for justice reform, Caius Alphonse. (Comment: Over the past few months tension has reportedly increased between the justice minister and his director general and secretary of state for justice reform. Some in the donor community suspect that Louis and Alphonse encouraged President Preval to set up this commission. End note.) MINUSTAH's justice section chief and commission member Danielle Saada speculated that though the meetings are poorly attended, the commission may have their report/action plan finished in two weeks. In response to Saada's comments, Magloire outlined the justice ministry's progress on a number of conventions and accords, the majority of which he claims have left the ministry for parliament's or the prime minister's review. ¶5. (U) The donors, including the U.S., France, the EU, Canada, and MINUSTAH, were visibly hesitant to agree to draft the justice ministry's action plan. All participants tried to dissuade the minister from his idea to present the GoH with a donor-drafted action plan, stating that this would send the wrong signal to the president's commission and the public. After the meeting, donors expressed dismay that, one year after taking office, Minister Magloire remained uninformed about donor activities on the ground, despite the many updates they have provided to the ministry. If it were just the minister, one donor representative lamented, it would be understandable, but in general, the justice ministry does not participate in the many programs donors are initiating country-wide: ''no wonder he wants us to write his action plan.'' ¶6. (U) After the minister had left, the donors discussed the upcoming report by the president's commission. More optimistic representatives thought that it will serve as an action plan and bring everyone on the same page. On the other hand, the commission appears to be politically motivated, and because it did not include the minister himself, the report may create further tension within the ministry. The donors have decided to wait for two weeks to see what the president's commission produces, and to see the final product of a NCSC-funded consultant who is working at the ministry to create a five-year plan, before moving forward with yet another action plan. Kidnappers Sentenced - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (U) Magloire confirmed press reports that the public prosecutor's office in Port-au-Prince (parquet) has tried and sentenced almost 20 kidnappers over the past month. This is a direct result of Minister Magloire's kidnapping task force created to speed up the process between arrest and trial for Haiti's most serious criminals (ref B). The minister said that he hoped to initiate more task forces for drug-trafficking, money-laundering and organized crime in the coming months. The Justice Minister also addressed his plan to create a commission on pre-trial detention times. The prisons, which were already overcrowded, have reportedly been overflowing with pre-trial detainees as the Haitian Police (HNP) step up their arrests. ¶8. (C) Comment: As reported in reftel, the key elements contained in the reform legislation remain the establishment of a separate administration to ensure judicial independence and a mechanism to sanction and remove corrupt judges. Many Haitian and international observers are optimistic that Lambert and Jean-Jacques will keep their promises and the legislation will pass, though parliament's unpredictability and Youri Latortue's machinations are cause for concern. The overall viability of the reform effort under Magloire's leadership remains questionable however. While the establishment of his anti-kidnapping task forces is an undeniable success, broader success will depend on initiative and coordination skills that he has yet to demonstrate. SANDERSON