US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI669

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000669 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/E AND DRL 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID REDSO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, DJ 
SUBJECT: JUSTICE MINISTER SEEKS USG ASSISTANCE FOR 
INFRASTRUCTURE REHABILITATION 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Marguerita D. Ragsdale. 
Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1. (C) Ambassador and Pol/Econ met 5 July with Minister of 
Justice, Mohamed Barkat Abdillahi, and Secretary General at 
the Ministry of Justice, Abdi Ismail Hersi, at their request, 
to be briefed on changes being implemented at the Ministry 
since Abdillahi assumed charge in May.  Abdillahi said the 
Ministry has plans for much needed renovation and development 
of judicial buildings and infrastructure.  At the top of the 
list was complete overhaul of the Palais de la Justice and 
the Ministry's office building, and the construction of a new 
prison.  In addition, Abdillahi said, all judicial affairs 
are currently carried out in Djibouti City.  None of the 
districts had suitable structures in which to hold court 
hearings or detain prisoners, creating an untenable situation 
whereby all decisions were obliged to be made in Djibouti 
city.  He commented that the Ministry is considering 
establishing a "mobile court," which would allow magistrates 
and lawyers to travel to the districts and hear cases at 
District Commissioners' offices. 
 
2. (C) Abdillahi noted the urgent need of Djibouti to bring 
justice to the doorsteps of its citizens.  He said the 
Ministry has been "knocking on doors" to seek funding from 
bilateral partners.  He asked whether the U.S. might be able 
to help in this regard. 
 
3. (C)  Ambassador acknowledged that Djibouti's physical 
infrastructure supporting the judicial system was in need of 
improvement.  She added, however, that it is also important 
to focus on developing judicial personnel, laws and systemic 
infrastructure.  She offered the view that in Djibouti, for 
example, judges lack access to legal libraries and may not be 
aware of decisions that have been rendered in similar cases 
with similar facts.  Often, justice on paper is not 
necessarily the justice witnessed by ordinary Djiboutians. 
Abdillahi opined that the absence of libraries and the lack 
of legal documentation of prior cases can be deemed "excuses" 
by judges for their own failures to apply law strictly.  A 
good judge, he continued, would have these resources.  While 
not offering how that might be possible, Abdillahi conceded 
that when the Palais de la Justice is finally renovated, 
perhaps a legal library could be built with access for all 
judges and magistrates.  He reiterated that it was the 
responsibility of judges to apply laws strictly, but there 
also must be an institution to enforce it. 
 
4. (C) Still, Abdillahi preferred to blame these problems on 
physical infrastructure, which, he said, should be his 
Ministry's main priority.  He used the example of the current 
prison's inadequate infirmary to illustrate the problems the 
Ministry faces.  The prison's infirmary cannot adequately 
serve prisoners currently incarcerated because it lacks 
capacity to provide qualified doctors, medicines or 
facilities.  Ambassador suggested that this be brought to the 
attention of the Ministry of Health to see if that need could 
be worked into current assistance programs for improvement of 
Djibouti's health delivery system. 
 
5. (C) Abdillahi stated that his Ministry had benefited in 
several years past from assistance from the U.S. Embassy. 
Specifically, in 2002 and 2004, Embassy Djibouti's Democracy 
and Human Rights Fund served projects on human rights 
improvement.  He said the Ministry would like very much to 
receive this kind of assistance again, but admitted that it 
erred in not submitting proposals for the current fiscal 
year.  Pol/Econ offered to send to the Minister guidelines 
and information on proposal submission for DHRF.  Ambassador 
encouraged Abdillahi to submit a proposal to the embassy in 
the realm of judicial reform.  She asked if the Minister was 
aware of good governance reform efforts underway via a 
presidential committee and if the committee were linked in 
any way to the Justice ministry.  Abdillahi indicated vague 
awareness, but said there was no link in this activity to his 
ministry. 
 
6. (C) Comment:  Djibouti needs to move its judicial reform 
efforts along three tracks simultaneously:  physical 
rehabilitation of its appalling judicial buildings, courts 
and prison; reform of judicial laws to deliver transparent 
justice to all; and professional development of personnel who 
service the judicial system.  There may be resources at our 
disposal to help Djibouti tackle all of these in some 
measure, along with other donor partners.  We will need to 
determine priorities and will work closely with USAID to 
discuss possibilities under existing or anticipated 
assistance programs.  End comment. 
RAGSDALE