C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 000280

SIPDIS

EUR, IO, PRM, S/WCI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019
TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL KDRG PGOV PTER MOPS KAWK KISL
KPAO
SUBJECT: S/WCI AMB. WILLIAMSON'S GENEVA CONSULTATIONS WITH
ICRC AND UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

REF: GENEVA 263

Classified By: Mark C. Storella, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., reasons 1.4 b
and d.


1. (C) Summary: S/WCI Ambassador Williamson met separately
with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR). In both
meetings he outlined the Department of Justice (DOJ) -led
review of the remaining 241 detainees at Guantanamo that is
currently underway and explored possible ways in which the
organizations could contribute to USG efforts to resettle
detainees in Europe. Both offered to support resettlement
efforts, the ICRC through information sharing and UNHCHR
through more direct engagement with European countries on a
case by case basis. A separate cable was sent on Ambassador
Williamson's meeting at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR - see Ref. A). End Summary.

Update on Guantanamo Detainees
--------------


2. (C) Ambassador Williamson briefed both the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) on the DOJ-led review
of Guantanamo detainees as well as diplomatic efforts to
resettle 50-60 low-threat detainees in third countries. He
noted that President Obama signed the Executive Order to
close Guantanamo on his second day in office, which
highlights the high priority placed on the issue by the new
Administration. He explained that lead responsibility for
the review of Guantanamo detentions has shifted from the
Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of Justice. A
three-tiered review process is in place to examine the
individual Guantanamo cases. An interagency team reviews
detainee information and recommends whether to pursue
prosecution, clear for transfer, or clear for release.
Recommendations go to a senior interagency Review

Panel, for
concurrence or modification. These decisions are then
approved by the Attorney General. In the case of
disagreement within the Review Panel, the Attorney General
resolves the dispute in consultation with counterparts from
other agencies.


3. (C) The Ambassador explained that there are approximately
50-60 detainees who will be cleared for release, but who
cannot go home due to humane treatment concerns. While
several European governments have sent promising signals on
accepting detainees, deeds have thus far not completely
matched these statements. Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal,
Switzerland and Ireland have been very forward leaning in
their efforts to reach an agreement with the U.S. Italy,
Spain, France, Germany, and Sweden, while considering taking
some detainees, are not as far along in their internal
deliberations. An EU framework facilitating member states to
accept detainees is a critical element to the resettlement
strategy which will hopefully be finalized in the coming
months. Ambassador Williamson said that several Schengen
countries unwilling to take detainees are concerned about the
effects of another Schengen member admitting these people
into their territory. The U.S. is sensitive to these factors
and is pursuing possible solutions with EU staff, including
voluntary travel restrictions on transferees.


4. (C) Williamson highlighted the difficulty in resettling
Uighur detainees due to fear of political repercussions with
China. He also discussed the 99 Yemenis currently detained
in Guantanamo, who the USG would prefer to admit into the
Saudi Arabian rehabilitation program rather than repatriate
directly back to Yemen. While the U.S. does not have
significant concerns about humane treatment of detainees
returned to Yemen, there are regional security concerns that
would arise with their immediate repatriation.

International Committee of the Red Cross
--------------


5. (C) Ambassador Williamson met with Pierre Kraehenbeuhl,
Director of Operations for ICRC, Barbara Hintermann, Head of
Region for North America, Western, Central and South-Eastern
Europe at ICRC, and Jelena Pejic, Legal Advisor, ICRC.
Kraehenbeuhl welcomed Williamson's comments and said that
ICRC supported the closure of Guantanamo, seeing the action
as a strong benchmark for international humanitarian law. He
also appreciated ICRC recommendations being considered in
Admiral Walsh's recent report on conditions at the facility.
After hearing of the new review process currently underway,
Kraehenbeul offered to contribute ICRC information collected

at Guantanamo to the review panels. He also informed
Williamson that in interviews with detainees ICRC encouraged
sharing of information on family ties in third countries.
Williamson indicated that this is extremely helpful and said
that the U.S. is also working directly with the lawyers
representing the detainees to determine locations for
resettlement. However, when Ambassador Williamson suggested
more direct engagement with European countries in
resettlement efforts, Kraehenbeuhl noted that he was wary to
actively encourage other governments to resettle detainees.
Ambassador Williamson acknowledged ICRC's special status and
said that he understood the limitations on what ICRC is able
to do. Kraehenbeuhl did say that ICRC would answer questions
from other governments as to how it views the review process
as a whole, which is generally positive. To reinforce this
opinion, Ambassador Williamson explained additional details
of the U.S. resettlement strategy, noting that the USG was
not asking for prosecution nor robust security measures for
any detainees cleared for release. The U.S. would be
responsible for many of the most dangerous inmates at
Guantanamo for years to come, prosecuting them in either
Federal Courts or military courts martial. The U.S. was
asking European governments and international organizations
to assist in resettling the lower threat detainees.


6. (C) On Yemen, Kraehenbuehl noted that ICRC has not been
able to visit detention facilities in Yemen and does not have
a prison visit program there. He added that in the past ICRC
has not been able to get support from the U.S. Embassy to
pressure the Yemeni authorities to open these detention
facilities. For this reason he questioned the assessment
that Yemen did not present humane treatment concerns for
cleared detainees. Ambassador Williamson explained that the
we look at the totality of the situation in any given
country, and while Yemen does not have a perfect record, the
most compelling factor for the USG was that detainees
previously returned to Yemen had not been mistreated.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
--------------


7. (C) Navanethem Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, welcomed Ambassador Williamson,s briefing on
Guantanamo detainee issues and offered her assistance on a
case-by-case basis. She supported the closing of Guantanamo
and called for the U.S. to move quickly to either prosecute
detainees or release them. Commending the thoughtful
approach of the USG reviews, she called for them to include
the "principle of reparation." "If you do this well," she
said, "it could be the example for tribunals and other
countries to follow."


8. (C) Williamson explained how the US was actively engaged
in discussion with a number of governments as well as
detainees, lawyers, human rights groups such as Human Rights
Watch and Amnesty International, Special Rapporteur on
Torture Manfred Nowak, and others to try to match detainees
to suitable resettlement countries and encourage governments
to accept them. The Ambassador stressed that public and
private encouragement by UN bodies on the humanitarian
imperative of detainee resettlement could strengthen the hand
of governments. Pillay responded that Nowak had raised the
matter with her and that they are both prepared to help. She
indicated that she would be receptive to requests from the
USG to engage specific governments if needed.


9. (C) Regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC),
Williamson explained to Pillay that U.S. engagement with the
institution had increased over the past two years, but that
more could be done. The Administration, he said, is
undertaking a review of the US position vis--vis the ICC
with an open mind. While it is too early to say how the
comprehensive policy approach might change, there will almost
certainly be a further increase in engagement.


10. (C) Pillay stated that U.S. ratification of the ICC
would be "excellent." She reported that many countries are
sitting on the fence regarding ratification and that a
positive U.S. decision would bring many countries along in
its wake, particularly in Asia. Even short of ratification
though, Pillay said that increased U.S. engagement would be
highly beneficial. For example, the ICC suffers from the
lack of U.S. staff assisting with jurisprudence and other
important tasks, and that since the quality U.S. officials in
other tribunals has been so high, their absence at the ICC is
keenly felt. Williamson commented that he recognized that
the Court had suffered from the absence of U.S. participation
and from the lack of pro-active diplomatic support that the

USG provided for other tribunals. He noted that while some
efforts had been made to address these issues over the last
two years, the new Administration was inclined to do more and
to put its relationship with the ICC on a more regular
footing.
Ambassador Williamson has cleared this cable.
STORELLA