LEGAL ADVISOR'S DISCUSSION WITH MOROCCAN

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 000850

SIPDIS

STATE FOR L, NEA, S/CT, DRL/NESCA, AND NEA/MAG
DOJ FOR JOHN EISENBERG (NATIONAL SECURITY BRANCH)
JOINT STAFF FOR COLONEL MIKE FRANKEL (J3)
OSD PLS PASS TO DEPSEC ENGLAND AND OFFICE OF DETAINEE
AFFAIRS;
NSC FOR SARAH KENDALL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2033
TAGS: PHUM PHSA PREL PTER MO
SUBJECT: LEGAL ADVISOR'S DISCUSSION WITH MOROCCAN
INTELLIGENCE CHIEF ON U.S. GITMO POLICIES

RABAT 00000850 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Ambassador Thomas T. Riley for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Legal Advisor John Bellinger met with
Moroccan intelligence chief Mohamed Yasinne Mansouri in Rabat
on September 7 to discuss issues related to the repatriation
of prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO). Bellinger
praised Morocco's cooperation on GTMO repatriations.
Mansouri underscored Moroccan efforts to achieve a balance
between providing security and ensuring protections of
individual rights. We believe Morocco could offer a model
for other nations. End summary.


2. (C) In Rabat for Secretary of State Rice's visit to
Morocco, State Department Legal Advisor John Bellinger met
with Director General of the Directorate General of Studies
and Documentation (the DGED, Morocco's external intelligence
service) Mohamed Yasinne Mansouri on September 7 to discuss
issues related to the repatriation of prisoners held in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO). Bellinger explained that the
U.S. had no specific requests for Morocco but wanted the GOM
to be aware of issues the U.S. had raised with other Maghreb
countries. Noting that President Bush has said that he would
like to be able to &close Guantanamo,8 Bellinger explained
that U.S. policy continues to be to reduce the population of
GTMO detainees by returning as many detainees to their
countries of origin as possible, with the exception of those
who would be prosecuted by military commissions or otherwise
pose a security threat.


3. (C) Bellinger said that in conducting returns, the U.S.
has two overriding goals: (1) to ensure that the detainees
do not pose a threat to anyone in the future, and (2) to
ensure that the detainees would be treated humanely and not
subjected to torture. (Note: In order to meet concerns that
a transferred detainee might pose a continuing threat to the
U.S. or its allies, the USG normally seeks assurances from
the receiving country that it will take appropriate steps
consistent with its own laws to prevent detainees from
returning to the fight. In order to meet concerns that a
detainee might be mistreated following transfer, the USG
seeks humane treatment and access assurances from each
country where post-transfer security measures are foreseen.
Security and humane treatment assurances for GTMO transfers
are evaluated within DoD and State, respectively, to
determine their credibility, and transfer decisions are taken
on the basis of those determinations. The State Department
will not recommend that detainees be transferred to any
country where we determine that they are more likely than not
to be tortured. This standard derives from the USG,s
non-refoulement obligations under the Convention Against
Torture (CAT). While the USG does not consider these
obligation CAT non-refoulement obligations to apply to GITMO
transfers as a legal matter, it nevertheless applies the
&more likely than not8 standard as a matter of firm and
longstanding policy. End Note.)


4. (S) Bellinger praised Morocco's cooperation with the U.S.
in this regard, noting that Morocco had responded positively
to every request made by the U.S. Bellinger said that that
U.S. has not made the same level of progress with other
countries in the region because of lingering questions about
treatment of detainees, e.g., in Tunisia and Libya, and
reluctance to accept repatriations, e.g., in Algeria).


5. (C) Mansouri said that Morocco has worked hard in recent
years to strengthen its justice system in order to achieve a
better balance of ensuring public security while protecting
individual rights. He admitted that this balance is an
ongoing challenge and is not always achieved, but nonetheless
must remain the goal. He said that, like the U.S., Morocco
must also meet stringent legal requirements in fighting
terrorism. Also, some non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
are sometimes overzealous, and appear to be lobbying on
behalf of wrongdoers without an understanding of what
infractions they have actually committed. While these NGOs
sometimes seem like they are complicating the jobs of the
security services, the government and security services fully
recognize the important role they play in Moroccan society.

RABAT 00000850 002.2 OF 002




6. (C) Mansouri said that in recent years Morocco has also
improved its extradition efforts, particularly with European
partners such as France, Italy, and to a lesser extent, the
United Kingdom. He said this process has been accelerated
because Morocco is able to provide credible assurances of
individual protections to all of its foreign interlocutors.
Mansouri underscored that Morocco is a regional leader in
this regard and that it will continue to strive to raise its
security and legal protection standards in the future.
Bellinger noted that some human rights groups would like to
prevent the practice of relying on diplomatic assurances of
humane treatment and to prevent entirely extraditions or
transfers of individuals to countries with poor human rights
records. Accordingly, he emphasized that it is very
important for Morocco and other Maghreb countries to
demonstrate to NGOs and national and international courts
that their nationals can be returned to them without facing
the possibility of mistreatment. Mansouri thanked Bellinger
for the summary he had provided on U.S. policy toward GITMO
detainees and Secretary Rice's trip. Mansouri underscored
the close working Moroccan-U.S. relationship in regard to
GTMO repatriations and anticipated further cooperation in the
future.


7. (C) Comment: We believe that Morocco's treatment of its
nationals who have returned from GITMO may provide a good
model for other countries. Moreover, Morocco could usefully
share its experiences with other countries. End comment.


8. (U) Tripoli minimize considered.


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Riley