PAKISTANI AND FRENCH ENVOYS CRITICIZE UN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000474 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INSB, S/CT, INR, DRL AND S/WCI DOJ FOR OSI/CRM E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER KDEM KISL PHUM KAWC BG SUBJECT: PAKISTANI AND FRENCH ENVOYS CRITICIZE UN INVOLVEMENT IN BANGLADESH WAR CRIMES PROCESS REF: A. DHAKA 120 ¶B. DHAKA 345 Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty, reasons 1.4 (b&d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The Pakistani High Commissioner told the Ambassador May 10 he questioned the legitimacy of the UNDP Representative's interactions with the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) on the war crimes issues stemming from Bangladesh's 1971 War of Liberation. The French Ambassador indicated that the Government of France (GOF) was unwilling to cause additional problems for the Government of Pakistan (GOP) at this time and was therefore not enthusiastic about UN involvement either. Per ref B, the UN has told post it was working on constituting an advisory team likely to visit Dhaka either this month or next. Following an announcement that the war crimes process would begin April 8 (ref B) with the appointment of investigation and prosecution teams, the GOB has twice announced delays in these appointments. While the concerns expressed by Pakistan and France appear legitimate, international involvement in Bangladesh's war crimes prosecutions could enhance the prospects for justice being served. We would appreciate any insight into current UN thinking in New York and Geneva. End summary. PAKISTANI HIGH COMMISSIONER: UN SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Pakistani High Commissioner Alamgir Babar told Ambassador May 10 he was particularly annoyed at the UN for becoming involved in the issue. He said his Political Counselor had met with UNDP Representative Renata Lok Dessalien and asked her under what authority the UNDP was consulting with the GOB on war crimes. Apparently, Dessalien responded this was part of, first, the UNDP Rule of Law Program and, second, part of a transitional justice activity. Alamgir said the GOP had also asked around in New York to see whether the UN were aware of UNDP Dhaka,s involvement. He claimed that no-one at a senior level at the UN in New York admitted to having authorized this activity, although some lower-level staff received briefings. Alamgir said the GOP saw the war crimes issue as political and feared it would open up other issues (such as the question of genocide) which would be a problem for the GOP. �A; FRENCH AMBASSADOR: WE AGREE -------------- ¶3. (C) At a May 11 meeting he requested, French Ambassador Charley Causeret told the Ambassador the Pakistani High Commissioner had also approached him with concerns about UN involvement in the war crimes trial process. The GOF was disinclined to do anything that would cause additional problems for Pakistan at the moment and was cool to the idea of UN involvement, Causeret said. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador told Causeret the USG position on the issue was that war criminals should be held accountable and that credible allegations should be investigated. That said, that any trials process must be up to acceptable international standards, and the process should not be politicized. The Ambassador said he had not yet spoken to Dessalien about UN intentions, but he imagined that if UN assistance led to technical improvements in the GOB capacity to hold internationally-credible trials, that would be consistent with the current USG position. The Ambassador also acknowledged, however, that war crimes trials could very quickly become politicized in the Bangladesh environment. ¶5. (C) Causeret said he had always had the impression that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was not personally very committed to the war crimes process, recalling that her previous five-year government had not taken up the issue. The Ambassador responded that the landscape had changed with the establishment of the Sector Commanders Forum (ref A),a DHAKA 00000474 002 OF 002 dedicated interest group that raised the war crimes issue profile considerably during and after the December 2008 elections. Another contributing element was the inclusion in the current cabinet of some strong proponents of holding war crimes trials, the Ambassador added. UN TEAM TO ARRIVE "END OF MAY OR JUNE" -------------- ¶6. (C) A UN staffer in Dhaka told post April 21 that the UN advisory team it had agreed with the GOB to constitute (ref B) was "coming together," and that membership and dates were under discussion. The staffer said the team would likely be a four-member team including a team leader, senior specialists on war crimes prosecution and transitional justice mechanisms, and a senior jurist. DELAYS IN NAMING INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION TEAMS -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Per Ref B, the GOB announced in early April that the war crimes process would formally begin April 8 with the appointment of investigation and prosecuting teams. The Law Ministry has since twice announced delays in the process, most recently saying the appointments would be made sometime in June. Some suspect the process was delayed prior to the Prime Minister's recent visit to Saudi Arabia to avoid antagonizing international supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). (Note: JI is Bangladesh's largest Islamic political party; several of its leaders are likely to face war crimes charges should the trials proceed. Per Ref A, JI has made clear their position that any war crimes process should include members of the Pakistani military implicated in war crimes activity during the 1971 War of Liberation. End note.) COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶8. (C) Ultimately, the decision to move forward on war crimes prosecutions will be driven by Bangladeshi domestic politics. In our view, a process based on Bangladesh's 1973 International Crimes Tribunals Act could well fall far short of meeting international standards. The prospect of justice being served might be enhanced by some level of international involvement, an argument for UN involvement in the process. On the other hand, UN involvement could also be used to lend legitimacy - and urgency - to a process that could nevertheless end up being politicized. Post would appreciate any light USUN is able to shed on the status of UN thinking and intentions with regard to the war crimes trials process in Bangladesh. MORIARTY