FRANCE: S/WCI AMBASSADOR WILLIAMSON DISCUSSES WAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001828

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM KAWC FR UN
SUBJECT: FRANCE: S/WCI AMBASSADOR WILLIAMSON DISCUSSES WAR
CRIMES ISSUES WITH GOF

Classified By: Pol/D Andrew R. Young for reasons 1.4 (B & D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: S/WCI Ambassador Williamson met with French
MFA officials on September 12 to discuss human rights abuses
in Georgia and the status of the International Criminal
Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda (ICTY and ICTR),the
Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL),the Khmer Rouge
Tribunal (KRT),and Guantanamo Bay detainees. On Georgia,
MFA human rights director Sylvie Bermann said the EU was
preparing to deploy military police observers to the buffer
zone in South Ossetia as soon as October 1. She said a
formal announcement would most likely come sometime this week
during the GAERC on September 15 (Note: The EU made this
announcement as previewed). Bermann noted there would be
more discussions on Georgia coming up in the UNGA, UNAMIC,
OSCE, as well as a conference set to take place in Geneva on
October 15. Although there had been no official
announcement, an EU deployment of 200 observers was set to
commence October 1. Bermann said the GOF would know more
soon about a UN fact-finding mission to Georgia. Bermann and
advisor to the foreign minister Sylvie Pantz said the GOF was
supportive of Georgian efforts to ask the ICC for a formal
investigation into human rights abuses. On the KRT, MFA
officials expressed concern about corruption and lack of
focus for the tribunals. They are pleased the USG would now
serve as a donor, which they believed would help address the
corruption issue. The MFA also expressed concern about the
lack of progress toward closure on the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Pantz noted the GOF was
becoming increasingly more supportive of assisting in Iraq.
She also expressed concern about France accepting an Algerian
detainee who had been adopted in France. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) S/WCI Ambassador Clint Williamson met with MFA
advisor to the foreign minister Sylvie Pantz, and MFA human
rights director Sylvie Bermann, Christian Bernier, Gurvan Le
Bras, and Marc Giacomini in Paris on September 12.


Georgia: Push for Investigation of Abuses
--------------


3. (C) Ambassador Williamson briefed Sylvie Bermann and MFA
officials on his September 10-11 trip to Georgia, stressing
the need for an immediate, robust EU mission to Georgia and
separatist regions. While noting the U.S. is not a party to
the ICC, Williamson added he did discuss with Georgian
officials their thinking on an International Criminal Court
(ICC) investigation. Williamson believed the Georgians were
going to make a formal request to the ICC for an
investigation into war crimes and human rights abuses, but
that the request would probably not come for some time since
the Georgians are currently focusing their resources on their
International Court of Justice case. In the meantime,
Williamson feared that as time progressed more of the
evidence would be lost, so it was important for observer
missions to act quickly and get access to areas where crimes
occurred. In addition, Williamson stressed that it would be
helpful for missions to be staffed with individuals who have
experience analyzing and investigating these types of crimes.



4. (C) Bermann explained that the EU observer mission's
mandate has been agreed upon and that the participation of 65
EU military police were approved during force generation
discussions. She was not optimistic that the EU would be
able to add specialists that could deal with these crimes to
the mission, saying that the mission will be deployed October
1 and that once deployed, officials might be able to push for
greater access and an expanded mandate. Williamson noted
that military police could help to investigate crimes and saw
their inclusion as a positive step. Bermann added there
would be more discussions on Georgia coming up in the UNGA,
UNAMIC, OSCE, as well as a conference set to take place in
Geneva on October 15. Williamson asked Bermann if all EU
members were participating. Bermann replied not all EU
members would but that they had received 360 proposals from
them. She said the EU would intervene, if necessary, even if
Russia refused an EU observer deployment to areas around the
South Ossentian buffer zone. Williamson questioned whether
there was anything the U.S. could do to help document crimes,
noting that U.S. imagery of destroyed villages corroborated
claims by NGOs Human Rights Watch and Moscow-based Memorial.
Bermann's honest assessment was that U.S. support would cause
many to view the mission as biased. Williamson agreed and
told Bermann that he had expressed the same concern to the
Georgians after they requested U.S. assistance in
investigating crimes.


PARIS 00001828 002 OF 003



Cambodia: U.S. Support for ICC Tribunal
--------------


5. (C) During a lunch meeting with Sylvie Pantz, Pantz asked
what role the USG was going to play with regards to the
special UN tribunal on war crimes in Cambodia. Williamson
replied that Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte was
planning to travel to the country to announce that the U.S.
would give close to 2 million dollars to support the
tribunal. He added that Negroponte would stress to the
Cambodians that the U.S. and the international community are
concerned about corruption. Pantz wanted to know if the U.S.
could place special conditions on the tribunal since they
were now donating. Williamson replied that further U.S.
donations would be evaluated on an annual basis but noted the
current donation would give the U.S. a seat on the steering
committee. Williamson said the Japanese gave the most money
but had not adequately monitored spending of the funds to
make sure they were being used correctly. The U.S. was
working to get Japan to do more to encourage the Cambodians
to battle corruption. Another concern was Chinese financial
support that is provided without conditions. This practice
might give Cambodia another reason not to accept any
conditions from other donors, Williamson said.


6. (C) In an afternoon meeting at the MFA, Giamcomini
commended the U.S. for its contribution to the tribunal. He
estimated that as a result the Japanese would most likely
reduce their contribution. Bernier noted that the tribunals
so far were not working, especially when the prosecutors kept
calling for 200 or more witnesses to testify. He said the
key was to ensure that just a few "eye witnesses" testified.
Williamson noted the tribunal process has also been
complicated by Cambodia's unwillingness to allow for the
presence in the country of a UN special envoy to oversee the
tribunal.


ICTY and Rwandan Genocide Tribunals: Residual Issues
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Ambassador Williamson noted to MFA officials that
while the Russians had previously been outwardly difficult on
issues concerning the closure of the ICTY, they were
privately more cooperative -- agreeing that Radovan Karadzic
and Ratko Mladic should be tried in the Hague. Due to the
situation in Georgia, Williamson expected that the Russians
could become more difficult. Bermann agreed and asked about
next steps, to which Williamson replied that he would be
visiting the ICTY that week and his deputy would visit the
ICTR to press for bottom line figures and to convey the
message that an open ended process is unrealistic. Giacomini
envisioned a residual mechanism that consisted of a trial
chamber and an appeals court with administrative work
transferred to another UN structure if Mladic still had not
been captured. The ICTY would completely close after both
Mladic and Karadzic were tried. The ICTR was more
complicated, Bernier said. He noted the GOF believed that
Rwandan justice could not be trusted for the remaining cases,
and there were one or two criminals who would justify trial
by an international court. (Comment: Bernier did not explain
which of the 13 outstanding fugitives he saw as justifying an
international trial or give an explanation of where they
should be tried or what should happen to cases of other
fugitives.)


Special Court for Sierra Leone: Too Long and Costly
-------------- --------------


8. (C) Pantz expressed frustration with the Special Court for
Sierra Leone. Ambassador Williamson expressed the same
frustrations, noting that on his recent trip to Freetown, he
found the judges there were "very defensive" when questioned
about the length of the trial -- currently going on for four
years -- and why they took every Wednesday off. He said the
USG had repeatedly pushed the SCSL to be more efficient in
order to facilitate continued funding of the tribunal.
Williamson noted that DNA tests are currently being done on a
body believed to be that of Johnny Paul Koroma's. If it
proves to be Koroma, only limited residual mechanisms for the
SCSL will be needed. Giacomini complained that the problem
with international jurisdiction is any request for improved
management is seen is interfering with the courts.


Iraq: GOF Offers to train Iraqi Judges in Iraq
-------------- -


PARIS 00001828 003 OF 003



9. (C) Pantz said FM Kouchner wanted to do more to help Iraq.
She noted the French have opened an Embassy office in Irbil
(Iraqi Kurdistan),and had expanded training of Iraqi judges
in Paris. But now the time was ready to train these judges
on Iraqi soil, she said. (Comment: Pantz's comment stands in
stark contrast with a position the French staked out in a
non-paper passed to S/I Satterfield earlier this year in
which the MFA noted that a constraint on its ability to
provide training for judges was "our inviolable principle of
not sending any French citizens to Iraq under the current
security conditions." Post will follow up to
clarify/encourage Pantz's position. End comment.)


Guantanamo: Release of Detainees a Problem
--------------


10. (C) Pantz inquired about the progress of the return of
Guantanamo detainees to their respective countries of origin.
She told Ambassador Williamson that Amnesty International
had approached the GOF about an Algerian detainee who might
have been adopted in France (Note: It is possible that Pantz
is confusing an Amnesty International approach with a U.S.
request to the French Embassy in Washington to consider
accepting this detainee),but it is difficult to convince a
French public that detainees are not dangerous. Pantz
believed Foreign Minister Kouchner is open to considering
accepting detainees and he should be pushed on the issue.


11. (U) S/WCI Williamson has cleared this message.
STAPLETON