US embassy cable - 03HANOI554

UNCLAS HANOI 000554 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/AAE; EAP/BCLTV; UNVIE FOR FISHER AND BARMON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, PREL, EAID, VM, CNARC 
SUBJECT:  UNODC CONCERN OVER VIETNAM FUNDING 
 
REF:    02 Hanoi 2979 
 
1.  (U)  This is an action request - see paragraph 8. 
 
2.  (U)  UNODC country representative Dr. Doris Buddenberg 
contacted poloff on March 6 to express concern over 
Department's decision to reprogram USD 740,000 originally 
intended to fund UNODC's law enforcement project 
"Interdiction and Seizure Capacity Building with Special 
Emphasis on ATS and Precursors."  Embassy continues to 
support the project, while understanding the apparent need 
for more urgent programming elsewhere.  As a fallback, 
Embassy would support the suggestion of  using USD 500,000 
intended for the now moribund Song Ma project for this law 
enforcement project. 
 
3.  (U)  Vietnam continues to face numerous challenges 
regarding the drug and crime situation, including: (1) the 
lack of financing resources for technical drug control and 
crime prevention activities; (2) the possible re-emergence 
of opium poppy cultivation; (3) growing drug trafficking and 
consumption problems; (4) rising crime concerns connected to 
drugs, such as corruption, money-laundering and trafficking 
in persons; and (5) restrictive internal policies regarding 
the sharing of drug intelligence information with foreign 
counterparts. 
 
  4. (U)  Within the UNODC country program for Vietnam, law 
enforcement has always been - with support from the USG - an 
important component of drug control.  Through law 
enforcement projects such as this one, the UN and donor 
agencies are in regular contact with the Ministry of Public 
Security (MPS).  This allows foreign agencies to chip away 
at one of the toughest problems in dealing with Vietnam's 
drug problems - developing a cooperative counternarcotics 
relationship with MPS.  Without a significant improvement in 
MPS cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies, this 
project can serve as a useful conduit for better access to 
information and influence on decision-making, thus helping 
UNODC to implement the multifaceted approach to drug control 
as envisaged by the UNODC mandate and the UN Conventions on 
drug control, especially the UN Convention of 1988.  With 
increased training, GVN law enforcement agencies should also 
become more aware of issues such as human rights, 
international dimension of criminal and drug activities, 
international cooperation, and mutual legal assistance. 
With the US-Vietnam counternarcotics agreement still 
pending, contributions to UNODC's Vietnam projects are a 
cost-effective way of advancing the mission's and USG's 
counternarcotics and law enforcement goals. 
 
5.  (U)  Significantly, the project document includes a 
provision on drug profiling, where GVN authorities agree to 
heroin profiling being conducted by partner laboratories 
abroad.  While the profiling is linked to heroin only in 
this project, it opens the door for future cooperation in 
other drug categories, such as ATS.  This activity will 
enable law enforcement authorities to have a better idea 
from where seized heroin is coming.  The GVN has been 
extremely reluctant to cooperate with such profiling on a 
bilateral basis. 
 
6.  (U)  Action request:  Embassy requests that INL consult 
with UNODC headquarters and favorably consider funding the 
UNODC project with the USD 500,000 available from Song Ma or 
from other available sources. 
BURGHARDT