PLAN ECUADOR FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND EQUITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000953

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR MASS MOPS SNAR PTER EC CO
SUBJECT: PLAN ECUADOR FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND EQUITY
RELEASED

Classified By: PolOff Jarahn Hillsman, Reasons 1.4 (b&d)


1. (C) Summary: President Rafael Correa on April 24
unveiled "Plan Ecuador for Peace, Justice, and Equity," aimed
at countering the negative impacts of Colombia's internal
conflict on Ecuador. The plan purports to guide GOE and
international donor development activity in the northern
border region thru 2018. Long on general themes and short on
specifics, the Plan lists goals of strengthening provincial
and municipal institutions, promoting economic development,
improving social services, enhancing natural resource
management, countering illicit activities, protecting human
rights and supporting displaced persons, and safeguarding
national sovereignty. Plan Ecuador seems in part designed to
embarrass its northern neighbor as well as to change
realities on the ground. However, a more integrated and
well-coordinated GOE approach to these issues would in fact
be useful. The GOE hopes to attract more international aid
with the Plan. While still welcoming USG assistance, they
clearly prefer to give a higher profile to any and all
others. End Summary.

Correa Unveils "Plan Ecuador" Amidst Fanfare


2. (U) President Correa on April 24 unveiled "Plan Ecuador
for Peace, Justice, and Equity" to diplomats, international
organization representatives, military officials, municipal
and provincial officials, and civil society leaders gathered
at the Presidential Palace. He was accompanied at the event
by Minister Coordinator for Internal and External Security
Fernando Bustamante, Foreign Minister Maria Espinosa, and
Defense Minister Lorena Escudero. PolMilOff and AidOff
represented the USG. Correa declared that Plan Ecuador would
guide the GOE's policy in the northern border region, and
would focus on peace rather than violence. He lamented the
negative affects of Colombia's internal conflict on Ecuador,
claiming adverse health and environmental impacts in Ecuador
of aerial glyphosate spraying on the Colombian side of the
border. Correa also stressed the need to work with Colombia
to find solutions to common border problems. On April 24,
Correa sent Ambassador Alejandro Suarez back to Bogota after
a four-month absence to protest the spraying.


3. (U) Correa welcomed international participation and
funding of his plan, which calls for $130 million in
investment. Any foreign participation would be guided by
principles laid out in the Plan. UNDP Representative
Mauricio Valdes read a letter from UN SecGen Ban Ki-moon
commending Ecuador for its initiative. Valdes said the UN
remains committed to supporting development and displaced
persons efforts in northern Ecuador. Ki-moon's missive noted
ongoing UN technical support being provided to Ecuador for
development of the bi-national plan with Colombia and urged
the two nations to work together.

Inter-Agency Approach to border Issues


4. (U) "Plan Ecuador" will target the northern provinces of
Esmeraldas, Carchi, Imbabura, Sucumbios, and Orellana,
providing special attention to the cities of San Lorenzo,
Cascales, Lago Agrio, and Putumayo. The plan is valid thru
2018 with progress reviews required every four years.
Implementation of the Plan will be led by Minister
Coordinator for Internal and External Security Fernando
Bustamante, in coordination with Minister Coordinator for
Social Development Nathalie Cely, the Foreign and Defense
Ministers, and the Minister of Government. Municipal
governments, provincial councils, human rights groups, social
organizations, and the Secretariat of Communities and Social
Movements will each have one representative on the review
committee.


5. (SBU) The GOE's proposed budget of Plan Ecuador is
approximately $130 million. It will reportedly be funded by
the national government, municipal and provincial
governments, and international donors. The press reports
that Canada has already offered $5 million, South Correa
$900,000, and Norway an unspecified amount. A UNDP
representative told PolOffs that the UN, which had previously
encouraged Ecuador to develop a comprehensive plan for border
development in concert with Colombia, would likely fund $2
million for development projects under the Plan and would
encourage additional donor participation.


The Seven Points of Plan Ecuador


6. (U) Plan Ecuador lists no specific projects or next
steps, focusing instead on broad strategic goals including
promoting the consolidation of security and a culture of
peace; maintaining a policy of international relations based
on equity and solidarity; affirming a defense policy focused
on protecting citizens, natural resources and patrimony; and
controlling Ecuadorian territory. The plan offers the
following seven areas for GOE engagement in the region:

--Strengthen Institutions for Peace and Development: Improve
the technical and financial capacity of provincial and
municipal governments, town councils, and social
organizations.

--Promote Economic Development and Job Creation: Generate
employment in tourism, productive agriculture, fishing,
transportation, and other areas.

--Improve Basic Social Services: Improve the coverage and
quality of basic services for residents living in the border
region, especially in rural and marginalized urban areas.
Focus on health, education, and basic social services to
support productive activities.

--Improve Natural Resource Management: Develop mechanisms for
conservation and sustainable use of national resources;
encourage use of clean technologies in resource extraction;
improve the production and transport of natural resources;
preserve the region's fragile ecosystems.

--Justice and Control of Illicit Activities: Strengthen
prevention methods and national intelligence collection
practices to better counter illicit activities and achieve a
reduction of crime in the border region. Adopt long-term
methods for addressing narcotics trafficking, arms trading,
money laundering, precursor chemicals smuggling, trafficking
in persons, organized crime, and corruption.

--Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance, and Refuge Support:
Guarantee the protection of the border population's human
rights. Fulfill international obligations by providing
humanitarian assistance and refuge to displaced persons.

--Protection of National Sovereignty and Integrity of the
State: Reaffirms Ecuador's position of no intervention in
the internal affairs of other countries; rejects the use of
force in international relations; find peaceful solutions to
conflicts. The GOE will not participate in combined or
coordinated military operations with the Colombia military,
preferring political, diplomatic, judicial, and other
non-military responses to combat arms smuggling, narcotics
trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, extortion, and
illicit activity.

USG Interests


7. (C) Plan Ecuador could help bring national and
international attention to the historic neglect of the border
region, and to the security threats posed by international
criminal and terror groups now active in Ecuador. It is
undeniable, however, that the GOE's initiative sidesteps an
opportunity to bring the previous government's binational
development efforts to fruition in favor of proclaiming
Ecuador's unilateral victimhood from Colombia's internal
conflict. On paper, the Plan notes the aerial glyphosate
spraying issue as just one of several reasons for
establishing the policy. The return of Ecuador's ambassador
to Bogota may be a sign of goodwill to cushion the
anti-Colombia publicity blitz surrounding the unveiling of
the Plan. USG security and development interests in the
border region are unlikely to be affected by the plan and in
fact, a better coordinated GOE strategy could be helpful.
While publicly there appears to be a conscious effort by the
GOE to omit any recognition of USG contributions to security
and development efforts in the northern border region,
privately the GOE has signaled its desire to maintain and
even increase USG engagement and investment.
JEWELL