1267/TERRORISM: GUIDANCE REGARDING YEMENI

S E C R E T STATE 038036

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2019
TAGS: EFIN KTFN PREL PTER UNSC XA
SUBJECT: 1267/TERRORISM: GUIDANCE REGARDING YEMENI
PROPOSAL TO HOST HASSAN DAHIR AWEYS

REF: USUN 000365

Classified By: IO PDAS JAMES B. WARLICK FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 6.

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SUMMARY
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2. (S) Per reftel, Yemeni Perm Rep Abdullah Alsaidi on April
2 told USUN Ambassador DiCarlo that Yemen is prepared to
submit a travel ban exemption request to the 1267
(al-Qaida/Taliban sanctions) Committee to seek permission to
allow Somali national Hassan Dahir Aweys' relocation to
Yemen. He wanted to know if the United States would support
such a request, which Alsaidi claims would allow Yemen to
"control better" Aweys, whom the Yemeni Government believes
is an extremist working to destabilize Somalia. Department
would not support this request.

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BACKGROUND
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3. (S) Hassan Dahir Aweys -- a Somali national who was added
in November 2001 to the UN 1267 Consolidated List based upon
his connection to al-Qaida-linked Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya
(AIAI) -- is indeed playing the role of a spoiler in
Somalia's peace process. Aweys had been residing in Eritrea,
but recent press reporting indicates he may have traveled to
Khartoum, Sudan, and then returned to his native Somalia.
His presence in Eritrea, which supports insurgent and
terrorist groups opposed to Somalia's Transitional Federal
Government (TFG),is problematic, but his relocation to Yemen
would be worse. Aweys would be able to exploit Yemen's black
market in arms to equip Somali insurgents, and in the worst
case, could form a link between violent Somali extremists and
al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. Moreover, it is not clear how
Yemen would ensure Aweys would move, or that any such move
would be voluntary -- despite claims by Alsaidi that the
Foreign Minister believes Aweys could be convinced to travel
to Sanaa. Also, Yemen's capacity to monitor Aweys is
questionable.


4. (U) Pursuant to paragraph 1 b of UNSCR 1822, Member States
are obliged to prevent entry into or transit through their
territories of listed individuals with three possible
exceptions: 1) "provided that nothing in this paragraph shall
oblige any state to deny entry into or require the departure
from its territories of its own nationals"; 2) "and this
paragraph shall not apply where entry or transit is necessary
for the fulfillment of a judicial process"; 3) "or the
committee determines on a case by case basis only that entry
or transit is justified."


5. (SBU) Yemen's proposal to seek a travel ban exemption for
Hassan Dahir Aweys to relocate to Yemen would have to be
deemed by the 1267 Committee as "justified," as the request
does not fall within the first two categories outlined above.
The committee infrequently receives exemption requests that
fall into this third category, which -- as reflected in the
Committee's guidelines -- contemplates travel for discrete
periods of time to accomplish specific objectives (such as
receiving medical treatment). Under the Committee's
guidelines, Yemen would be required to provide extensive
information to the 1267 Committee in support of its request,
including information explaining the purpose of and
justification for the proposed travel. It is difficult to
see what justification Yemen would advance for Aweys'
exemption that would be acceptable to the Committee.
Furthermore, Department is concerned that critics of targeted
sanctions would view USG support for or involvement in any
relocation of Aweys as further evidence that the sanctions
lack transparency and fairness. Therefore, Department does
not believe we could or should support Yemen's request, nor
should we entertain similar proposals to relocate Aweys to
another friendly third state for monitoring. We remain open,
however, to travel ban exemption requests on a case-by-case
basis for Aweys for purposes beneficial to the peace process
in Somalia.

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ACTION REQUEST
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6. (SBU) Action Request: Department requests USUN inform
Yemeni PermRep Abdullah Alsaidi that we would not support a
travel ban exemption request to the 1267 Committee to allow
Aweys' relocation to Yemen for purposes of keeping closer
tabs on Aweys' activities and whereabouts. USUN should thank
Yemen for the courtesy of consulting with us in advance, but
express our view that travel ban exemptions were not set up
to accommodate such open-ended exemptions for travel, nor
could we support an exemption request -- from Yemen or any
other Member State -- for purposes of keeping closer tabs on
a listed individual's activities. USUN should explain to
Yemen that we could not support or encourage any move which
might be viewed as unduly pressuring or coercing listed
individuals.

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POINT OF CONTACT
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7. (U) Inquiries may be directed to IO/PSC (Erin Crowe,
202-736-7847).
CLINTON