EU SEEKS GREATER COOPERATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001463

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA; NEA/MAG (HOPKINS/HARRIS); DRL
(JOHNSTONE)
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO TS
SUBJECT: EU SEEKS GREATER COOPERATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
ISSUES IN ADVANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING

REF: A. TUNIS 389


B. TUNIS 409

C. 06 TUNIS 2482

D. 06 TUNIS 1390

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Summary. The Ambassador, acting head of the
European Commission and key members of the two mission teams
met in advance of the November 12 EU-Tunisian sub-committee
meeting on human rights. The US and EU missions shared the
view that Tunisia has made too little progress in recent
years on political liberalization and human rights. The EU
will use its sub-committee meeting, and a long-delayed
EU-Tunisia ministerial session on November 19, at which many
other issues will also be on the agenda, to raise with the
GOT concerns about the slow political progress. The
Ambassador suggested issues the EU could raise, including how
the GOT might level the playing field for opposition
political parties in advance of the 2009 elections. The EU
agreed to share the outcome of its meetings, and promised
further coordination. We recommend that USEU express
appreciation to the EU in Brussels for this coordination in
Tunis and urge EU representatives in the two meetings to
stress to the GOT the importance of further political
opening. End Summary.

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Human Rights Sub-Committee Meeting
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2. (C) On October 31, the Ambassador and EmbOffs met with
several members of the EU delegation, including Charge
Bernard Philippe, as well as Portuguese Ambassador Maria Rita
da Franca de Sousa e Ferro Levy Comes, representing the
Presidency, to discuss the human rights situation in Tunisia.
Philippe explained that the EU wanted to coordinate with the
USG as it prepares for the recently scheduled November 12
EU-Tunisian Sub-Committee on Human Rights. This meeting had
been on hold for over a year-and-a-half, due to GOT
insistence that the meeting not take up "specific cases."
Ultimately, however, the GOT agreed to the meeting, which
will take place in Tunis, as the EU had made clear that it
was a precondition for an EU-GOT Ministerial, which has now
been scheduled for November 19 in Brussels. The EU will
avoid raising specific cases in this inaugural meeting of the
Human Rights Sub-Committee, but it intends to hold more
detailed discussions in the future.

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The Lay of the Land
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3. (C) The EU human rights framework concentrates on seven
main themes:

-- Participation in Public Life (elections, etc.)
-- Transparency/Corruption
-- Judicial Aspects (prisons, judicial independence, trials,
etc.)
-- Compliance with International Conventions
-- Freedom of Association and Expression
-- Women's and Children's Issues
-- International Cooperation

In reviewing the EU-Tunisia Neighborhood Policy Agreement
Plan of Action on political and human rights issues,
Ambassador and EmbOffs offered several ideas on how to
translate the human rights-related principles in the Plan of
Action into concrete changes on the ground. In doing so, we
drew from a non-paper Post prepared (and provided to our
interlocutors) that mirrors the checklist on freedom of
expression and freedom of association steps laid out in our
Democracy Strategy (Refs A and B). For example, under the
rubric of strengthening democratic institutions, the
Ambassador referred to the signals Ben Ali has given that he
would like to see the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally
(RCD) Party weakened and opposition parties strengthened. In
this context, the Ambassador suggested encouraging greater
separation between the mechanisms of the ruling party and the
state, as well as expanding opposition party and NGO access
to domestic television.



4. (C) The Ambassador explained that the USG has tended to
focus on freedom of expression and freedom of association
issues in Tunisia, as progress in these areas will provide
the foundation for broader progress across the political
reform spectrum. Philippe and the Ambassador concurred that
US-EU coordination and cooperation represent the best chance
at encouraging the GOT to pursue democratic reform. Philippe
also requested information about specific cases for use
during follow up discussions with the GOT, which the
Ambassador promised to provide.

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Comment
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5. (C) The conversation between the Ambassador and EU
Charge confirmed that not only do the EU and US share many of
the same goals with regard to promoting human rights in
Tunisia, but we also face many of the same challenges.
Beyond that, the EU faces the added complication of forging
consensus among its disparate members, a point that Philippe
openly acknowledged. Sustained US-EU cooperation represents
the best possibility of persuading the GOT to pursue reform.
Both sides view the period leading up to the 2009
presidential and legislative elections as an opportunity to
encourage electoral reform. With this in mind, we recommend
that USEU express appreciation to the EU in Brussels for this
coordination in Tunis and urge EU representatives in the two
meetings to stress to the GOT the importance of further
political opening. In the end, however, the success or
failure of reform efforts will depend on the extent to which
GOT decision makers are convinced that those reforms are in
Tunisia's interests, including by contributing to prosperity
and economic growth. End Comment.
GODEC