US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI451

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000451 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/E AND INR/B 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAID, PHUM, SCUL, PINR, DJ 
SUBJECT: JUSTICE MINISTER SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS PROMOTION IS 
KEY FOR DJIBOUTI 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR MARGUERITA D. RAGSDALE. 
REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) Minister of Justice, Ismail Ibrahim Houmed, told 
Ambassador that he intends to take a more active role in 
human rights promotion in Djibouti than the Ministry had 
previously.  The occasion for Houmed's declaration was the 
Ambassador's courtesy call on him March 4 at Ministry of 
Justice offices. 
 
2. (C) According to Houmed, human rights remains an issue not 
only between the government of Djibouti and the country's 
citizens, but among individuals concerned with civil and 
political rights.  The Minister presides over the Ad-Hoc 
Committee on Human Rights, which he created in 2002.  This 
Committee, comprised of ten members, includes lawyers, 
teachers, a human rights organization members, a journalist 
and a physician and is well-known for its criticisms of the 
current Government, Houmed said.  The Committee is a neutral 
body that has participated in various seminars and workshops, 
and has invited African human rights groups to visit 
Djibouti. Now, Houmed continued, the Committee plans to 
undertake a major project to report on the current state of 
human rights in Djibouti. 
 
3. (C) The initial phase of this project is funded by the 
U.S. government, through the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, and 
consists of organizing a conference to debate human rights 
issues.  A participatory approach is planned whereby the 
government, civil society, non-governmental organizations and 
the opposition will be invited to take part.  Recommendations 
made during the conference will be compiled and made 
available to the public. International organizations such as 
the African Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations 
High Commission on Human Rights.  The Ad-Hoc Committee also 
expects to complete a first-ever  human rights report on 
Djibouti produced by the Government of Djibouti.  This report 
will be accessible to the public and will also be shared with 
the African Union and the United Nations, according to 
Houmed.  The Minister stated that he hopes to establish a 
fully independent human rights organization in Djibouti in 
the long-term.  A final priority of his is the implementation 
of numerous human rights conventions that Djibouti signed and 
ratified, however, implementation will be subject to 
sufficient human and material resources, Houmed said. 
 
4. (C) BIO-DATA on Houmed:  Ismail Ibrahim Houmed is an Afar 
in his mid-fifties.  He began his professional career in the 
field of nursing in Djibouti and immigrated to France in 
1967, where he continued to practice nursing.  Ismail is 
reported to have done some university studies in philosophy 
while in France.  Prior to Djibouti's independence, he was a 
member of the "Mouvement Populaire pour la Liberation (MPL)," 
an Afar political party opposed to the "League Populaire 
Africaine pour l'Independance (LPAI), a pro-independence 
political party.  Later, Ismail was a founding member of the 
"Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite Democratie" (FRUD), 
which entered into armed conflict with the Government of 
Djibouti in the mid-90s.  He left Djibouti afterwards, but 
returned in 2000 and was soon nominated as Minister of 
Justice. (Note: The Government of Djibouti wanted to show 
that it harbored no grudges against the opposition party, and 
put in place two FRUD members as Ministers in its 
organization: Houmed, and Minister of Defense, Ougoreh Kifleh 
Ahmed.) 
 
5. (C) BIO-DATA continued:  Ismail wrote a controversial book 
about his political journey, harshly criticizing the current 
regime.  His colleagues at the Ministry of Justice have 
indicated privately that Houmed is difficult to work with 
because of a tendency to be suspicious by nature, and because 
he lacks experience in administration.  He is still a member 
of FRUD, but reportedly does not have a strong connection 
with the party at this time. 
RAGSDALE