US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI725

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000725 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, DJ 
SUBJECT: FIRST NATIONAL FORUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS  BOYCOTTED BY 
OPPOSITION 
 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: The Government of Djibouti's Ad-Hoc 
Committee on Human Rights held the first ever national 
forum on Human Rights 17-18 May, 2004.  This forum was 
funded by a DHRF grant from Embassy Djibouti and by 
United Nations Development Program (UNDP).  The main 
goal of this forum was to open debate on Human Rights 
among the population of Djibouti.  Results were to be 
incorporated into new laws on Human Rights and guides 
for parliamentarians on creating laws with human rights 
in mind.  However, the forum was boycotted by opposition 
leaders, including the President of the Djiboutian 
League of Human Rights.  The Minister of Justice 
commented in his opening remarks that the opposition 
was invited but didn't deem it useful to make their 
opinions public.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) Under extreme security and by invitation only, 
the Government of Djibouti held its first ever National 
Forum on the Status of Human Rights 17-18 May, 2004 at 
the hall of the Union National des Femmes Djiboutienne 
(UNFD - National Union of Djiboutian Women). 
Participants were required to show their invitation, 
pass through metal detectors and leave all mobile phones 
at the door before entering.  Those that did not have an 
invitation or came late were turned away.  Reportedly, a 
few reporters from Radio Television Djibouti (RTD) were 
turned away by the Republican Guard, even though they had 
invitations.  While participants waited for the opening 
ceremony to begin, a popular musician played songs of 
social commentary.  The forum began upon the arrival of 
President Guelleh, who presided over the opening 
ceremonies along with the Minister of Justice, the 
President of the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister. 
 
3. (C) The site of the forum was a point of contention 
with opposition groups, who said they preferred "a 
neutral site."  The initial location was to be the 
Palais du Peuple, a civic center built by China, but 
the air conditioning has been broken for several months 
so the site was nixed.  The alternate site acceptable 
to the opposition was the Sheraton Hotel.  According to 
a press release from the Djiboutian League for Human 
Rights (LDDH) carried in the May 19th edition of Realite, 
an opposition party journal, this option was ruled out 
for financial reasons, despite requests for extra funds 
from the UNDP, one of the donor organizations funding 
the forum.  This, however, was not the main reason for 
the boycott by the opposition.  In a "Lettre Ouverte" 
published in the 17 March 2004 edition of Realite, the 
four main opposition groups declared they would not 
attend the upcoming forum on Human Rights.  They said 
the Government of Djibouti had not made steps to 
fulfill its promises of decentralization written in 
the 2001 peace accords and had committed several 
violations of human rights.  President of the LDDH, 
Jean Paul Noel, told Pol/Econ the opposition felt that 
it was not worth its participation when nothing had 
been done on any of the Government's earlier promises. 
 
4. (U) In his opening statement at the Forum, Minister 
of Justice Ismail Ibrahim Houmed claimed that the 
opposition had been informed of the dates of the Forum 
and had agreed, but three weeks later published an open 
letter saying they would not attend and were not in 
agreement.  Houmed went on to say that two days before 
the forum, he sent invitations once again to the 
leaders of the opposition, but they did not deem it 
useful to express their contradictions in public. 
Houmed commented in his opening remarks that this 
conference is held with an international context in 
mind, contrasting notably with situations in 
Palestinian territories, Iraq and Ivory Coast.  Houmed 
also remarked that the "great powers" of the world had 
taken no action in Palestine and Iraq.  He went on to 
say that "after the toppling of the dictator in Iraq 
and the promise of a free and democratic country, human 
rights are being abused.  The Iraqi people have lost 
their basic rights as human beings.  In a world on fire, 
Djibouti is an island of peace."  Houmed highlighted 
that "of the 350 prisoners in the one jail in Djibouti, 
none are political prisoners and there is no death 
penalty." 
 
5. (U) Media reaction to the Human Rights forum was 
strong and broad.  The 19 May edition of Realite carried 
a press release from the LDDH stating that the forum 
should have been postponed until the next judicial 
session, in order to give the Ministry of Justice the 
necessary time to fulfill necessary conditions for the 
best success and transparency of the forum.  Among these 
conditions were holding the forum at a neutral site and 
ensuring participation of international Human Rights 
organizations to act as observers and the participation 
of all politicians. The statement also demanded 
tangible and palpable elements in favor of total 
independence of the judiciary and a solemn declaration 
of the end of impunity, and abuses of power by the 
installation of completely independent judicial 
structures. 
 
6. (U) Also in Realite, a press release from the 
Association for the Defense of Human Rights and 
Freedoms (ADDHL) deplored the absence of the 
International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), based 
in Paris, the Inter-African Union for Human Rights 
(UIDH), based in Ouagadougou, as well as the Djiboutian 
labor unions.  It further said that without the 
participation of the opposition parties, the forum had 
become an item of non-interest.  The ADDHL added that 
the status of Human Rights could not be objectively 
described without discussion and debate. 
 
7. (U) Le Renouveau Djiboutien, the opposition journal 
of Daher Ahmed Farah -- arrested several times in 2003 
for his publications -- called President Guelleh "the 
Champion of Violations of Human Rights."  The article 
also called the event only a "family affair" citing the 
absence of opposition parties and of defenders of 
Human Rights. 
 
8. (U) La Liberte, opposition journal of the Front pour 
la Restauration de l'Unite et de la Democratie (FRUD), 
said the opposition "could not support this parody of 
democracy."  It went on to say that by participating, 
the opposition's presence would have supported a regime 
that denies all free speech and civil liberties. 
Liberte also called the invitations "selective," 
indicating that the true spectrum of the Djiboutian 
population had not been represented. 
 
9. (C) COMMENT: Post believes that the objectives of 
this forum were a step in the right direction on the 
issue of Human Rights in Djibouti.  However, with the 
boycott of opposition political parties, the forum may 
not bring the effective change that is desired by many 
in the population.  The reasons for the stagnation of 
change and implementation of the peace accords may lie 
with the Government, but the silence of the opposition 
on this matter does not help and does not reflect a 
true understanding of the importance of participation 
in democratic processes, regardless of their 
sentiments about the existing government.  END COMMENT. 
RAGSDALE