US embassy cable - 04SANAA146

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000146 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KDEM, YM, KICC, HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRATIC REFORM 
SUBJECT: REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND 
THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) 
 
REF: A. 03 SANAA 2754 
 
     B. 03 SANAA 2839 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edmund J. Hull for Reasons 1.5 (b,d) 
 
1.  (U)  Summary and Comment:  The Sanaa Inter-Governmental 
Regional Conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Role 
of the International Criminal Court was held January 10-12, 
sponsored by No Peace Without Justice (an EU-affiliated NGO), 
the ROYG, the European Union and several European governments 
and Canada.  Participants included a wide variety of 
government and civil society representatives from the Middle 
East and beyond.  The U.S. was represented by the Ambassador 
and kept a low profile because of the Conference's ICC 
component.  The opportunity to discuss ideas of democracy and 
human rights regionally and a  Declaration establishing a set 
of principles on democracy, human rights and the rule of law 
present a step in the right direction for democratic 
advancement.  However, the rhetoric far exceeded practical 
commitments to real democratic change.  End Summary and 
Comment. 
 
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Background on Conference: Organizers, Goals, Participants 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
2.  (U)  The Conference was the brainchild of No Peace 
Without Justice (NPWJ) founder Emma Bonino, a former European 
Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs who has close personal 
ties to Yemen.  NPWJ organized several conferences outside 
the Middle East on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and 
was looking for a host in the region.  Several months ago, 
Bonino approached the ROYG Minister of Human Rights Amat 
al-Alim al-Suswa.  The Minister told Pol/Econ Deputy that she 
expressed reservations on the irony of the ROYG hosting a 
conference to convince themselves and fellow governments to 
ratify the Rome Statute (ICC).  However, ultimately the ROYG 
expanded the aims of the Conference to include democracy and 
human rights and agreed to host it. 
 
3.  (C)  The Conference was organized by NPWJ and the ROYG, 
and sponsored by the European Union, Canada, Germany, France, 
Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, 
UNDP and the Open Society Institute.  Participants included 
Arab and Islamic governments (including Iraqi GC Minister of 
Human Rights and an Afghani delegation), neighboring African 
states, the Arab League, the United Nations, the United 
States and European governments and civil society activists 
from the region and the West.  It was organized into plenary 
sessions and smaller "thematic sessions" on:  the ICC; 
Democracy and Human Rights; and the Role of Civil Society in 
Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law.  Note:  Because 
of the Conference's ICC component and originally unclear 
aims, the USG delegation was low-key and led by the 
Ambassador.  Prominent U.S. NGO representatives included 
participants from the National Democratic Institute and 
Partners for Democratic Change.  The DCM delivered remarks 
during the Democracy and Human Rights thematic session on the 
importance of democracy, President Bush's vision as outlined 
in his November 6 speech, the Middle East Partnership 
Initiative and practical steps needed to advance democracy. 
End Note. 
 
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Sanaa Declaration Calls For 
Furthering Democracy and Human Rights in the Arab World; 
ICC Ratification Downplayed 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
4.  (U)  The "Sanaa Declaration on Democracy, Human Rights 
and the Role of the International Criminal Court" outlines 12 
principles on democracy, human rights and the rule of law, 
including specific references to the importance of 
representative institutions, civil society, effective 
judicial systems, combating corruption and free and 
independent media.  The participants agreed to 10 specific 
points, including to "work seriously" to fulfill the 12 
principles, empower women, ensure equality, establish a free 
and independent judiciary and establish an Arab Democratic 
Dialogue Forum to continue the dialogue on democracy and 
human rights.  Despite the original aims of the Conference to 
promote ratification of the ICC, the ICC was mentioned only 
once in the Declaration as one avenue to strengthen 
international judicial institutions. 
 
5.  (C)  The U.S. delegation did not participate in the 
closed-session Declaration negotiations, which were attended 
by the regional government participants and the organizing 
European countries.  The U.S. delegation did not/not 
officially attest to the Declaration because of reservations 
to its ICC component and an oblique reference to "occupation" 
being "contrary to international law."  Before viewing the 
final version of the Declaration which contained the new 
occupation language, the Embassy officially noted its 
reservations over the ICC in a brief letter.  A UNDP contact 
not inside the discussions told Pol/Econ Deputy that he 
believed the ICC language was downplayed primarily because of 
reservations from Saudi Arabia, which has not signed or 
ratified the Rome Statute. 
 
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Some Controversy Over Participants; Poor Organization 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
6.  (U)  The Conference attempted to combine government and 
non-government participants to foster a dialogue during the 
conference.  Several governmental delegations did not react 
well to some of the non-governmental participants invited to 
the Conference.  For example, the Egyptian government 
delegation almost did not attend and ultimately became more 
low-level with the participation of Saad Eddin Ibrahim. 
According to conference organizers, the Iranian delegation 
threatened not to attend should 2003 Nobel Prize winner 
Shirin Ebadi attend.  Note: She did not attend. End Note. 
Yemeni NGO leaders, opposition parties and journalists also 
complained of late invitations (the parties were invited 
three days before the event) and denial of participation of 
specific NGOs and journalists because of political reasons. 
 
7.  (U)  The Conference was organized in less than three 
months, and its specific makeup and design was not finalized 
until mid-December.  Participants were added until the last 
minute, almost doubling the original estimate of participants 
to more than 800.  Comment:  This disorganization caused some 
problems during the Conference, particularly in terms of 
logistics.  However, several observers expressed surprise 
that the Conference went as well as it did.  End Comment. 
 
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Good Rhetoric But What Next? 
---------------------------- 
 
8.  (U)  In addition to the Declaration, Conference speeches 
and interventions were full of language praising human rights 
and democracy.  For example, a speech from a Saudi Arabia 
government participant noted KSA commitment to move on the 
democratic path, albeit at a measured pace.  ROYG President 
Saleh -- who invested the conference with high-level support 
by personally presiding over the opening plenary and closing 
ceremony -- called democracy a "rescue ship" for autocratic 
governments. 
 
9.  (C)  Comment:  The interventions of several delegations 
from autocratic countries praising democracy and human rights 
were somewhat ironic. e.g., Iran's recent denial of 
participation from reform candidates.  The Conference 
contained few practical or effective steps to move the region 
towards democracy and human rights beyond dialogue.  However, 
as the first of Conference of its kind in the region, the 
event and its Declaration represent an Arab advance in the 
direction of meaningful principles on democracy and human 
rights.  The Conference did not visibly advance regional 
support for the ICC.  End Comment. 
HULL