STAFFDEL GROVE EXPLORES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TRIPOLI 000074



SIPDIS



DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, H



E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/26/2020

TAGS: OREP, PREL, PGOV, PHUM, LY

SUBJECT: STAFFDEL GROVE EXPLORES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE OPPORTUNITIES AND

CONSTRAINTS



CLASSIFIED BY: Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador, US Embassy Tripoli,

Department of State.

REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: The Executive Director of the Qadhafi

Development Foundation (QDF),Yusuf Sawani, told STAFFDEL Grove

that the Foundation served as an "umbrella society" for Libya's

developing NGO community pushing for humanitarian development,

national reconciliation for past human rights violations, and

political reforms that enshrined individual rights. The

Foundation is registered in Switzerland, and therefore subject

to annual, independent review by a Swiss auditor and has an

annual operating budget of approximately $3.25 million. While

Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi serves as the Foundation's chair, he

receives no remuneration and a Board comprised of both Libyan

and foreign -- including American -- representatives guide its

policy. Sawani told the STAFFDEL that the QDF had served as the

facilitator for various international organizations operating in

Libya, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International,

and that the Foundation actively promoted the founding of

additional Libyan NGOs. In a subsequent lunch with

international organizations and major donors, the STAFFDEL was

encouraged to "make do with [the organizations] we have in

Libya". Noting that would-be civil society leaders were, under

the current political reality, able to function only under the

QDF banner, the UK Ambassador counseled that the U.S. "should

not be frightened by the name Qadhafi" but instead seek

opportunities that benefited both Libyan and American interests

to build trust and a foundation for political and economic

change. End Summary.



QDF: A THINK TANK AND ENGINE FOR DEVELOPMENT



2. (C) In a December 8 meeting with the Ambassador and Paul

Grove of the Senate Appropriations - Foreign Operations

Subcommittee, Qadhafi International Charity and Development

Foundation (QDF) Executive Director Yusuf Sawani described the

QDF's mission as "humanitarian diplomacy" and applying pressure

on the Libyan government to implement economic and political

reforms. Sawani characterized the Foundation as operating as an

"umbrella society" that enables the work of five independent

organizations (list them here). Saif al-Islam founded the first

of these organizations in 1999 to discourage the use of drugs

among Libyan youth and formally established the QDF in Geneva in

2003. Still a registered Swiss NGO, the QDF is audited on an

annual basis by Swiss independent auditors and is subject to

Swiss law. Sawani reported that the Foundation's annual

operational budget remains near 4 million Libyan dinar ($3.25

million) and that Saif al-Islam, the QDF's chairman, receives no

remuneration from its activities. According to Sawani, Saif

al-Islam also pays for his official travel on QDF-related

business with his own personal funds. Sawani confided that

should Saif al-Islam take on the official government role as

General Coordinator of the Social Committees to which he has

been named, he will be required to resign his position as QDF's

chairman.



3. (C) Describing the QDF's operations as a series of

partnerships and pilot initiatives to foster the creation of

NGOs and facilitate the work of international NGOs in Libya,

Sawani said that some of those partnerships had faced serious

resistance from government officials. Most recently, the QDF

had facilitated Human Rights Watch's (HRW) research studies in

Libya in early 2009 and the December launching of HRW's Libya

report from Tripoli. The QDF concurrently released its own

human rights report that recounted human rights violations,

corruption, lack of transparency, and acts of impunity by

security officials. Admitting that the QDF's report was a

"pre-emptive strike" intending to take air out of Libyan

officials' arguments that the HRW report was designed to

undermine the regime, Sawani said that Saif al-Islam considered

it to be an important piece of the South African-style national

reconciliation he sees as necessary for Libya to move forward on

political reforms. Saif's frustration with the pace and scope

of political reforms led directly to his August 2008 decision to

withdraw from politics, according to Sawani.



4. (C) In addition to working closely with HRW, Sawani noted

that the QDF had close partnerships with various international

organizations including Amnesty International, the Arab Alliance

for Human Rights, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the

International Organization for Migration, the International

Committee for the Red Cross, and UNESCO, among others. While

the independent constituent societies can and do have their own

relationships with these organizations, Sawani said that the

QDF's status both domestically and internationally often made

initial interaction through the Foundation more palatable for

Libyan authorities. He cited the Human Rights Society of

Libya's five-year project with the UK-based Law Society to

prevent torture and promote human rights in Libyan detention

centers as an example of a relationship forged with the QDF's

assistance that had since devolved entirely to the subsidiary



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group -- a model that the QDF seeks to continue in order to

build a more effective and engaged civil society.



5. (C) Codifying political reform and increased space for

dissent were top recommendations in HRW's December 2009 report,

and Sawani reported that both remain top priorities for the QDF.

Its premier initiative, according to Sawani, is a five-year

project to draft and implement a new constitution. The drafting

committee, like the QDF's own board, consists of both Libyans

and foreigners -- including several Americans. The QDF is also

studying changes to Libya's penal code and, in a consultative

capacity, the QDF is promoting legislation currently under

review by Libya's General People's Congress that would allow the

legal formation of NGOs and other associations. Sawani lamented

that the Foundation had a mixed record of helping establish

independent NGOs in Libya, noting that the QDF-assisted Center

for Democracy and the Libyan Justice Society had its licenses

revoked within 96 hours of formation. Nonetheless, Sawani

judged that the QDF would continue to play an important role as

a "think tank" and civil society incubator for the foreseeable

future.



INTERNATIONAL PARTERS: WORK IN LIBYA WITH THE TOOLS AVAILABLE



6. (C) In a lunch with representatives from the UN, IOM,

European Commission, and UK Embassy, the consensus opinion was

that Libya required extensive engagement to be brought up to

international standards on development and good governance but

lacked the necessary expertise and decision makers to implement

those programs. The British Ambassador told Grove, "We need to

work with what we have in Libya, and you shouldn't be frightened

by the name Qadhafi. It goes with the territory." The UN

Resident Coordinator said that even his organization was limited

in its reach due to Libya's boycott of UNESCO. (Note: The

boycott is due to Libyan sensitivities with UNESCO's Bulgarian

leadership. Libya continues to protest Bulgaria's presidential

welcome of five Bulgarian nurses, who had been sentenced to

death in Libya, on return to Sofia after over seven years in

prison. End Note).



7. (C) UK Poloff assessed that the QDF stood out as an

organization comprised of young, energetic Libyans that would go

on to become civil society leaders as political space opens.

All agreed that it was important for any engagement with the

Libyan government to find a high-level champion for the project

-- one who could make the case for implementation, especially

within a system run by regime hardliners that are resistant to

change. Only through steadily building both trust and capacity

could Libyan organizations effectively participate in

international cooperation without using groups like the QDF as

an intermediary. The British Ambassador opined that "it's our

job to deliver what [Libya] can absorb, which means starting

engagement on their terms." The UN representative agreed,

noting that Libya remained at "stage zero" on some elements of

development and that basic support for programs designed to

teach young, civic-minded Libyans English language and computer

skills would pay dividends as Libya continues to open

politically.

CRETZ